Special Issue:

2009 NPT PrepCom – Pluses, Minuses, and Bottom line

After two weeks of discussions since May 4, at the UN Headquarters in New York, the Third Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Review Conference of the Nonproliferation Treaty – NPT, called by its nickname PrepCom, closed its sessions last Friday, May 15, without reaching consensus on the text of the final recommendation on the three pillars of the Treaty: disarmament, nonproliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Anyway, several facts during the deliberations could be assessed as very positive signs vis-à-vis the 2010 RevCon.

Key Documents   Agenda for 2010 NPT Review Conference. Draft Recommendations to the Review Conference (7 May 2009). Revised Draft Recommendations to the Review Conference (13 May). Second Revised Draft Recommendations to the Review Conference (15 May). Draft final report. P5 Joint Statement.

Pluses • Best climate in many years. • Unusual quick agreement on the 2010 RevCon’s Agenda. • Obama’s message to the PrepCom restating its administration’s commitment with nuclear disarmament. • See more Pluses   Minuses • Wash down between successive drafts of wording about disarmament commitments. • Some key paragraphs removed, such as “refraining from qualitative improvement of nuclear weapons” or “a convention or framework of agreements to achieve global nuclear disarmament”. • Second draft less balanced than first one. • See more Minuses   Bottom line Several opinions indicate that the result is promising, mainly if differential improvements vs. former Sessions are taken into account. See the whole Bottom line

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Statement on the CTBT to the 2009 PrepCom

On Tuesday May 5 a joint statement on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty - CTBT by NGOs was presented to the Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Review Conference for the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The declaration, presented at the second day of meetings, endorses the great significance of the CTBT as a key part of the Disarmament and Nonproliferation regime. It also makes a call to the signatory States to develop a common diplomatic strategy to persuade the remaining states to sign and/or ratify the treaty, so that it will be able to enter into force.

The declaration was coordinated by the Arms Control Association and endorsed by NGOs around the world, among them: NPSGlobal Foundation, Campaign for a Nuclear Free World, Stimson Center, Global Security Institute, Union of Concerned Scientists, Acronym Institute, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, WILPF, Monterey Institute of International Studies.

See the complete statement

Nonproliferation for Global Security Foundation - NPSGlobal
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