Canadian Working Paper Seeks Administrative Support to NPT
April 8, 2010
ISIS has obtained a copy of a working paper recently submitted by Canada and seventeen other countries for consideration in advance of the meeting. The paper calls for regularized meetings between Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) gatherings, meetings between current and past conference chairs, and the creation of a small institutional support unit to administer NPT review conferences and oversee the implementation of conference decisions.
The paper notes that “The decisions made to strengthen the review process have not yielded the outcomes that were envisioned in1995 and 2000…The proposals in this paper would make the process more sustainable and responsive to States Parties.” It continues, “States Parties have foregone opportunities to make decisions and to send clear messages on subjects of critical importance during the Preparatory Committee meetings. Rather, they have chosen to wait until the Review Conference for collective action, even though at that time —as evinced in 2005 — these subjects may be addressed inadequately.”
According to the Acronym Institute, the United States opposed at the 2008 PrepCom the creation of a standing bureau to manage the NPT regime because it saw the regime’s challenges as political rather than institutional or procedural. Despite its growing support, it is unclear whether the initiative will be able to gain traction at the upcoming review conference in light of numerous other competing priorities.
Recent news and resources:
News:
“No India-Type Nuclear Deal for Pakistan,” Indo-Asian News Service, April 8, 2010.
“Nuclear Weapons: Is Full Disarmament Possible?” Christian Science Monitor, April 6, 2010.
“Obama’s Nuclear Strategy Intended as a Message,” New York Times, April 6, 2010.
“A Season for Disarmament,” International Herald Tribune, April 4, 2010.
“Obama Nuclear Policy Review Expected Out Next Week,” Politico, March 31, 2010.
“G8 Foreign Ministers Reaffirm Support for NPT Treaty,” Xinhua, March 31, 2010.
“Nuclear Weapons-Free World: A Vision of Kennedy, Reagan, Obama,” Christian Science Monitor, March 26, 2010.
“Analysis: The NPT at 40: Can We Salvage the Nonproliferation Treaty for the Next Forty Years?” The Huffington Post,
March 24, 2010.
“India to Examine its NPT Options Ahead of Nuclear Summit,” Indo-Asian News Service, March 21, 2010.
Remarks by officials:
Remarks by U.S. Ambassador Susan Burk during Carnegie Endowment for International Peace/Arms Control Association event, “Toward a Successful NPT Review Conference,” March 31, 2010.
Statement by Mr. Kang Yong, Head of the Chinese Delegation, at the General Debate of the United Nations Disarmament Commission, March 29, 2010.
Diplomatic documents:
Further Strengthening the Review Process of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Working paper submitted by Canada et al
May 2010
Eighth Review Conference of the Parties of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Working Paper submitted by Australia and Japan to the United Nations, “A New Package of Practical Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Measures,” March 24, 2010.
Resources:
Disarmament Diplomacy’s compilation Proposals, Positions and Prospects: Issues facing the 2010 NPT Review Conference
Arms Control Association/Arms Control Today NPT Review Conference publications
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s Briefing Booklet for the Review Conference, “Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament: Shifting the Mindset”
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