2010 NPT Review Conference

In May, the 2010 Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 3 to 28 May 2010.^[1] The President of the Review Conference is Ambassador Libran N. Cabactulan of the Philippines.^[2][3] UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon used the opening of the conference to note that "sixty five years later, the world still lives under the nuclear shadow".^[4]

The Review Conference is expected to consider a number of issues, including: universality of the Treaty; nuclear disarmament, including specific practical measures; nuclear non-proliferation, including the promoting and strengthening of safeguards; measures to advance the peaceful use of nuclear energy, safety and security; regional disarmament and non-proliferation; implementation of the 1995 resolution on the Middle East; measures to address withdrawal from the Treaty; measures to further strengthen the review process; and ways to promote engagement with civil society in strengthening NPT norms and in promoting disarmament education.^[1]

Background

Main article: Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), which entered into force in 1970, recognizes the right of five countries to possess nuclear weapons, conditional upon eventual disarmament, and the right of other signatories to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, conditional upon their non-acquisition of nuclear weapons. Its ratification is nearly universal, with the exception of Israel, India, and Pakistan. North Korea left the NPT and tested its first nuclear weapon in 2006. ^[5]

Conferences to review the operation of the Treaty have been held at five-year intervals since the Treaty went into effect in 1970. Each conference has sought to find agreement on a final declaration that would assess the implementation of the Treaty’s provisions and make recommendations on measures to further strengthen it.^[2] The treaty's last Review Conference in 2005 ended without a consensus document primarily because of disputes related to the nuclear program of Iran and Egypt's focus on Israel's nuclear program and implementation of the 1995 NPT resolution calling for a Middle East zone free of all weapons of mass destruction.^[5]

Context

Three major events occurred prior to the NPT Review Conference:

• The New START treaty was signed on April 8, 2010 in Prague by U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
• The 2010 Nuclear Security Summit was held on April 12–13, 2010 in Washington, D.C.
• Iran held a conference on disarmament and non-proliferation on April 17–18, 2010 in Tehran.

Participants

President Ahmadinejad of Iran was the only head of government participating in the Review Conference. In addition to Secretary Clinton, Foreign Ministers of Austria, Indonesia, and several other countries, as well as Baroness Ashton, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy of the European Union.^[3]

Discussions

On 3 May, the conference began with speeches by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon^[4] and IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano,^[6] both of whom called for promoting the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and technical cooperation, and for greater cooperation on issues of nonproliferation and disarmanent.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened his speech by discussing the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, and noted that "sixty five years later, the world still lives under the nuclear shadow". Ban-Ki Moon called for additional steps to be taken by nuclear weapon states towards nuclear disarmament, including steps for the universality of the NPT, a "framework of legal instruments that complement the NPT", and "progress towards a nuclear-weapon-free-zone in the Middle East and on other regional concerns".^[4]

Amano noted that "it is expected that between 10 and 25 new countries will bring their first nuclear power plants online by 2030" since it is for each sovereign State to decide whether or not to use nuclear power, and said that "more efforts are needed to achieve sufficient, assured and predictable funding of technical cooperation". Amano also said that "IAEA safeguards are a fundamental pillar of the nuclear non-proliferation regime" and that the Agency was working to "resolve important safeguards implementation issues in three states".^[6] Amano said the IAEA General Conference had adopted resolutions in recent years on the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East and Israeli nuclear capabilities, and that he would take these issues up as well.^[6]

Statements by countries

 Indonesia Indonesia's Foreign Minister, R. M. Marty N. Natalegawa spoke on behalf of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). "While there are some positive signs in the field of nuclear disarmament, much more needs to be done to achieve complete nuclear disarmament," he said. NAM recognized the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, but said it remained "below the international community's expectations which anticipate more concrete uniform and systematic nuclear disarmament". NAM further noted that modernization of nuclear weapons arsenals constituted "non-compliance by the Nuclear Weapons States with their obligations under Article VI of the Treaty". NAM also called for the freezing of cooperation with states which were working outside of the treaty, and for the establishment of a nuclear-weapon free zone in the Middle East.^[7]

 Iran President Ahmadinejad of Iran,^[8] criticized and charged Washington with leading a skewed international system that seeks to deny peaceful nuclear power to developing nations while allowing allies such as Israel to stockpile atomic arms^[9] and put forward a proposal for nuclear disarmament. Ahmadinejad called for guarantees against the use of nuclear weapons, a halt to research of nuclear weapons, a halt to cooperation with states operating outside of the treaty, the establishment of a nuclear free zone in the Middle East, the dismantling of nuclear weapons in Europe, and a legally binding framework for nuclear disarmament.^[10]

 United States U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a statement that called for NPT Parties to "focus on promoting practical solutions, not pursuing unrealistic agendas, adding that "Now is the time to build consensus, not to block it." She accused Iran of "whatever it can to divert attention away from its own record and to attempt to evade accountability," and said Iran "has defied the UN Security Council and the IAEA, and placed the future of the nonproliferation regime in jeopardy." Clinton also touted the U.S. record on nuclear disarmament, citing the Nuclear Posture Review, the New START Treaty and reductions in the U.S. nuclear weapon stockpile. She announced that the Obama Administration would seek Senate approval of the Protocols to the nuclear-weapon-free zones in Africa and the South Pacific, and announced a U.S. pledge of $50 million to launch an IAEA Peaceful Uses Initiative.^[11]

 Japan State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Japan Tetsure Fukuyama said "the citizens of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki are watching with very keen eyes what will come out of this Conference. It was as few as two atomic bombs that claimed the lives of more than 200 thousand civilians, and left many to suffer from the after-effects of radiation even today 60 years later." Fukuyama also said "that all Parties to the Treaty must work to bridge the differences in their respective positions and find common ground for collaboration in the spirit of multilateralism, in order to pave the way for a "world without nuclear weapons" while also maintaining "atoms for peace."^[12]

Events

• On May 3 2010, the U.S. Defense Department released aggregate stockpile numbers for 1962-2009^[13] which brought up to date a 1994 release by the U.S. Department of Energy.^[14] The release led the Federation of American Scientists to estimate the United States as having 9,613 total assembled nuclear warheads.^[15]
• On May 4 2010 Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announced Iran's agreement in principle to Brazilian mediation to revive a U.N.-brokered nuclear fuel swap deal with world powers.^[16] On May 17, the Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Turkey issued a statement agreeing to exchange its enriched uranium for fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor (see Nuclear program of Iran#Uranium exchange). Soon afterwards, the UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program (see United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929).

Outcome

The Conference closed on May 28th and until the last minute was hard to know if it would have a positive outcome, as the risk of blocking persisted. Consensus was achieved during the afternoon that day, when the plenary was finally gathered and Ambassador Cabactulan got the approval for his proposal of Final Document.^[17]

See also

• Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
• Barack Obama speech in Prague, 2009
• Nuclear disarmament
• Nuclear proliferation
• Anti-nuclear movement

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b} Background, 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 3-29 May 2010.
2. ^ ^{a b} 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 3-29 May 2010.
3. ^ ^{a b} Day 1 at the NPT: Transparency, bluster, and practical commitments, Rebecca Johnson, Acronym Institute.
4. ^ ^{a b c} Address to the 2010 Review Conference of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 3 May 2010.
5. ^ ^{a b} Fifteen Nuclear Agendas to Watch by CFR
6. ^ ^{a b c} Statement to 2010 Review Conference of Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, 3 May 2010.
7. ^ Non-Aligned Movement: Statement by Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia on behalf of the NAM States Party to the Non-proliferation of nuclear weapons Treaty
8. ^ Speakers list, addressed conference
9. ^ U.S. Declares Size of Nuclear Arsenal
10. ^ Text of President Ahmadinejad's Address to the UN NPT Review Conference
11. ^ Hillary Clinton's Remarks before the 2010 NPT Review Conference
12. ^ 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: Statement by H.E. Mr. Tetsuro Fukuyama, State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Japan
13. ^ U.S. Department of Defense: Increasing Transparency in the US Nuclear Weapons Stockpile
14. ^ U.S. Department of Energy: Declassification of Certain Characteristics of the United States Nuclear Weapon Stockpile
15. ^ Fedeartion of American Scientists: United States Discloses Size of Nuclear Weapons Stockpile
16. ^ Iran accepts Brazil mediation to revive atom deal
17. ^ Satisfaction with the NPT RevCon's Outcome

External links

• Official website
• EU Institute for Security Studies, Nuclear Weapons After the 2010 NPT Review Conference, EUISS, April 2010
• Videointerviews mit Diplomaten und NGOs bei den Vertragskonferenzen seit 2007