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Non-proliferation conference stays on the rails

Tuesday, 15 May 2007

It took over a week to agree on the agenda. Now the first meeting in preparation for the 2010 review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has drawn to a close with delegates unable to agree on a closing statement.

Nevertheless, the United Nations' Department of Public Information hailed the Preparation Committee as a success, describing it as "constructive discussions on substantive issues in a notably positive atmosphere."

At the outset of the meeting, held in Vienna, Austria, from 30 April to 11 May, UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon called on delegates to "show the world what multilateral cooperation can achieve." He felt it necessary to send a message to the meeting, the first from a UN secretary general to an NPT Preparatory Committee, "because of a persisting crisis of confidence in the treaty."

Some 106 states took part in the conference, as well as representatives of the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Iran's statement to the conference, made early on in the proceedings, disputed wording in the meeting's agenda. In the end it took until 9 May - two days before the conference was due to end - for the agenda to be agreed, when Iran accepted a compromise.

The conclusions of the meeting were presented as a working paper rather than as a closing statement, reportedly as a result of objections from Iran and other Non-Aligned Movement nations. Particularly at issue, from Iran's point of view, was a paragraph expressing "serious concern over Iran's nuclear program" and strongly urging Iran to comply with UN Security Council and relevant IAEA resolutions without delay. The document noted that Iran had indicated its readiness to "resolve issues in the framework of the IAEA" provided that "Security Council disengagement was realized."

States also called on India, Israel and Pakistan - all non-signatories of the Treaty - to become party to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and on India and Pakistan to maintain their moratoria on nuclear testing. Also noted in the 51-paragraph working paper was concern over the possibility of weapons of mass destruction falling into the hands of terrorists, reinforcing the need to strengthen the treaty and its implementation.

The NPT came into force in 1970 and is seen as the cornerstone of global non-proliferation. It is reviewed every 5 years. The meeting is the first one of three preparatory committee meetings to be held in the run-up to the next scheduled review in 2010. The next meeting is scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland from 29 April to 9 May 2008, and will be chaired by Volodymyr Yelchenko of Ukraine.

Further information

International Atomic Energy Agency

Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference

WNA's Safeguards to Prevent Nuclear Proliferation information paper

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