Please find below a short analysis of the nuclear disarmament
assessments and recommendations contained in the report from
the Secretary-General's High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges
and Change. The analysis has been prepared to provide some
background to the recommendations and offer support and critique
where appropriate.
The first of December signifies a lot: colder weather is now
upon us (in the northern hemisphere), there are holiday gifts
to get, families to visit, New Year's plans to make and, most
importantly, only five months left of preparation for the
Seventh Review Conference of the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty!!
This is the first in a series of NPT-focused updates from
Reaching Critical Will. Over the coming months, more important
information regarding your participation at the Review Conference
will be disseminated through this subscription service, including
information on housing, registration, accreditation, side
events and other opportunities for you and your organization
to get your views across.
Of course, there are other events outside of the NPT framework
to look out for, so we included a few other news items at
the bottom.
In this advisory:
Invitation to participate in an NGO Strategy E-Discussion
on the NPT Review Conference
NGO Presentations
Countdown to the NPT Calendar
Vertical proliferation wins and losses
IAEA-Iran update
Also, tomorrow the General Assembly will begin to take action
on the resolutions adopted by the First Committee. Be sure
to check RCW's First
Committee page to view the results of the GA voting.
As always, we welcome all comments, questions and concerns.
We also welcome all tax-free donations made to the Reaching
Critical Will project. The General E-News Service and the
other services from Reaching Critical Will cannot continue
without your support! Please consider a donation today and
visit: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/about/donate.htm
to make a secure on-line payment.
Best wishes,
Rhianna Tyson
Project Manager
1. Invitation to participate in
an NGO Strategy E-Discussion on the NPT Review Conference
The achievements of the 2000
Review Conference have been ignored, undermined or, in
some cases, even denied.
Nuclear proliferation, both vertical and horizontal, continues
to threaten our global security.
The third
Preparatory Committee of the NPT failed to agree on any
recommendations for the Review Conference, ensuring a rough
start to what will surely be a difficult month of negotiations
next May.
With all of this in mind, all NGOs concerned with disarmament
and nonproliferation must come to the Seventh Review Conference
with a solid, effective and coherent strategy in mind.
RCW will be launching an E-Discussion
for NGOs to strategize around the seventh Review Conference.
This e-forum will be moderated by RCW and will run from January
10th until April 1st, 2005. We invite all NGOs to participate
in this discussion.
In this E-Discussion, we will be framing our discussion around
specific questions such as:
- What are our demands and expectations from the Conference?
- What types of proposals will be coming from our governmental
allies and how do we best support them?
- What will be the Nuclear Five's strategy and how do we best
counter it?
- What is our media strategy?
- What kind of side events (panels, workshops, seminars) do
we want to convene?
- How can civil society best amplify their messages so that
they are heard by our representatives?
Over the next few months, NGOs and governments will be holding
an array of preparatory meetings around the world. (See Item
4. below) Others will be engaging in a grassroots campaign
with students and other peace and justice groups to try to
bring their attention to the Review Conference. We encourage
participants to the E-Discussion to offer the various findings,
questions, conclusions and salient points that were raised
at these meetings and events.
At the end of each week, participants will receive a summary
of the main points raised and discussed.
This forum is for the purposes of strategizing only. It is
not to be used as a news-list nor to hold two- or three-way
conversations.
Some NGOs are already thinking about this year's crop of NGO
presentations. In previous years, Reaching Critical Will has
coordinated the presentations process. First, ideas for presentations
were brainstormed, debated, and finally selected over conference
calls, meetings, email listserves, and web-based information.
Then, several NGOs volunteered to comprise each presentation’s
drafting committee, headed up by one convenor, who was responsible
for writing the drafts. Each of the drafts was submitted to
the group at large, whereby every NGO was invited to comment,
critique, and edit. After months of international conference
calls, wrangling on-line and in person, the drafts were finalized
and the presenters were chosen from a wide group of experts.
This year, some NGOs are exploring alternative ways of getting
our message of disarmament across. Some of these ideas include:
A "speech competition". All civil society participants
would be invited to submit a 5-8 minute long statement to
a "high-level" panel of expert writers, poets
and journalists. The winning 10 speeches would be selected
by this committee.
A "radio play". In this scenario, all or part
of the three hours designated to NGO presentations would
be delivered in a dramatic, play-reading style. The "play"
would incorporate the issues and points that the NGO community
wants to make, but in a more exciting, entertaining and
media-grabbing way.
Mayors for Peace would deliver some or all of the presentations.
Statements would be drawn up in the same way as they were
in the past, but read out loud by celebrities, youth, or
other big-name peace advocates.
Inviting youth from around the world to deliver their
own messages.
Utilizing the same process as the years past but forgoing
the usual themes of health risks, missile proliferation
and the like, focusing instead on a more grassroots message
so as to alert the world's governments of the growing popular
movement against nuclear weapons.
Regardless of the approach that we take this year, we must
go to great lengths to ensure the broadest possible range
of participants. We invite all interested NGOs to participate
in a global conference call Tuesday, December 14th, at 12
PM EST (9 AM west coast, 5 PM London, 6 PM Paris, 6 AM {Wednesday}Wellington
and so forth.) All participants must cover their own cost
for the phone call.
Call in#: +1 (641) 497-7200
Access code: 382902#
Please RSVP to Rhianna if you will be able to join the call.
A reminder to all RSVPed participants will go out a few days
prior to the call.
3. Countdown to the
NPT Calendar
Groups, governments and grassroots coalitions are meeting
in dozens of places at dozens of times throughout these next
few months, all for the singular purpose of maximizing progress
at the Review Conference.
If you or your organization is holding its own NPT-focused
event, contact us today and have your event posted on the
calendar. Be sure to include the event title, description,
location and contact information.
4. Vertical proliferation wins
and losses
While NGOs are scurrying with their NPT preparations, some
governments are busying with their own proliferation plans.
This week, Russia successfully conducted a successful test
of an "anti-missile missile" at the Sary-Shagaz
testing grounds in Kazakhstan. This missile test comes just
weeks after President Putin boasted of Russia's plans to develop
"next-generation nuclear missile", believed to be
a modified Topol-M.
Meanwhile on the other side of the northern hemisphere, the
US Congress slashed funding for its own vertical proliferation
programs. The FY05 Omnibus Appropriations bill deleted all
funds for the Robust Nuclear Earth Penetrator (RNEP) and for
the "Advanced Concepts Initiative" on new low-yield
nuclear weapons. These cuts are, as Senator Dianne Feinstein
(D-CA) called, "a consequential victory for those of
us who believe the United States sends a wrong signal to the
rest of the world by reopening the nuclear door and beginning
testing and development of a new generation of nuclear weapons."
But, as some in the peace and security community have pointed
out, the fight in the US is far from over. The Washington
Times ran an editorial, "Nuke Rep. Hobson's bill,"
saying "[t]his wrong decision needs to be reversed promptly..."
(See )
These cuts can still be reserved in the supplemental appropriations
bill, expected to be submitted with the regular budget on
February 7.
Read more about Russia's vertical proliferation here:
http://www.mosnews.com/news/2004/11/29/antimissile.shtml
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/11/17/russia.putin/index.html
On Nov 28, the IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei received
a letter from Iran, declaring its intention to place 20 sets
of centrifuge components under IAEA surveillance. These 20
sets had been the one exception to the Agency's surveillance
capability over the Iranian nuclear programs. This agreement
was the product of the negotiations between Iran, France,
Germany and the UK (with support from the High Representative
of the EU) reached on November 7, whereby Iran agreed to freeze
its uranium enrichment program. This agreement is now contained
in document INFCIRC 637.
On Monday, November 29th, the IAEA Board of Governors passed
a resolution which, inter alia, emphasizes that Iran's suspension
of its enrichment and reprocessing facilities "is a voluntary,
non-legally-binding, confidence building measure, to be verified
by the Agency". On Tuesday, Iran's top nuclear official,
Hassan Rowhani, remarked that Iran's concession did not signify
an abandonment of its enrichment and reprocessing facilities,
but only a suspension of them for “several months”.
Mr. Rowhani also stated that "(t)he suspension (of enrichment
activities) will be limited to the negotiation period with
Europe and not beyond. In case negotiations cease or are unsuccessful,
there will not be any sort of suspension."
In a statement on Monday, ElBaradei said that "should
the suspension not be fully sustained, or should the Agency
be prevented from verifying all elements of the suspension,"
the Director-General will notify the Board for possible further
action, which could include action by the Security Council.
For more on the IAEA-Iran Update, see:
Full coverage from the IAEA:
The IAEA Board Resolution:
The Director-General statement:
************************************************
November 22
Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,
Now that the General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament
and International Security has come to a close, it is now
time to set our sights on the big prize ahead: the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty Seventh Review Conference, to be
held in New York, May 2-27, 2005. RCW and the entire global
disarmament community have big plans in the works- be sure
to keep checking RCW for all updates pertaining to this all-important
conference.
In this advisory: 1) First Committee Monitor: Final Edition
2) Countdown to the NPT Calendar
3) Happy holidays to RCW
4) The IAEA on Nuclear Terrorism
As always, we welcome all comments, questions or concerns
you may have regarding the General E-News service or any other
service provided by Reaching Critical Will. Send all comments
to: info@reachingcriticalwill.org.
WILPF strongly supports the wide dissemination of all of RCW's
news services. A copy of this message, and all other General
E-News Advisories, can be found on our site at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/action/Advisories04.html
Best wishes,
Rhianna Tyson
Project Manager
1) First Committee Monitor: Final Edition
You can now find on our website all five editions of the First
Committee Monitor, the weekly newsletter published by
Reaching Critical Will in collaboration with the NGO Working
Group on the First Committee. The Monitor offers
independent views on over a dozen of the most salient issues
facing the First Committee, including nuclear disarmament,
small arms and light weapons, verification, the New Agenda,
missiles and more.
The Monitor was produced every Sunday night throughout
the five weeks of the General Assembly First Committee on
Disarmament and International Security. Over 800 subscribers
around the world received either the HTML or PDF version of
the weekly report, and each delegate to the Committee received
a copy on Monday.
Click here to read the editorial Introduction from the final
edition of the Monitor, No. 5. Or check out the Final
Edition in its entirety, with articles on issues such as:
Missiles
Nuclear Disarmament
Fissile Materials
Terrorism
Chemical and Biological Weapons
Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space
Disarmament and Development
Conventional Weapons
A New Agenda
Negative Security Assurances
Verification
Disarmament Education
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
Regional Issues
Landmines
2) Countdown to the NPT Calendar
It seems that NGOs, think tanks, activists and governments
are plotting a thousand events over the next few months in
order to make the Seventh Review Conference of the NPT as
successful as possible.
In the next few weeks, RCW will be tracking all of these events
and posting them on our new Countdown to the NPT Calendar.
If you or your organization will be hosting an NPT-related
event, we urge you to send us information ASAP. Be sure to
include:
the title of your event
a brief description of your event
contact information and website
location of your event.
This Countdown Calendar will be up and running by the start
of the December holidays- just in time for you to make your
travel arrangements for the upcoming year.
3) Happy holidays to RCW
There are only six weeks left in 2004- only six weeks remaining
for you to give a much-needed, immeasurably appreciated, tax-free
donation to Reaching Critical Will.
WILPF created the Reaching Critical Will project to serve
YOU- the global community of disarmament experts, analysts
and activists. Only you understand how crucial the RCW project
is to our community, and now it is up to you- and only you-
to save RCW and ensure our continued services throughout the
next important months.
Give yourself a holiday gift by considering a donation to
Reaching Critical Will today. A gift in the amount of $100,
$500 or $1000 will ensure that RCW can follow through with
our NPT plans, which include:
- hosting an NPT Strategy Summit, February 2005
- facilitating an online NPT strategy discussion forum
- daily reporting in the News in Review
- publishing "Nuclear Disarmament: What Now?!"
- publishing an NPT Challenges Resource Guide
- publishing the 2005 edition of the NGO Shadow Report: Accountability
is Democracy, Transparency is Security
- coordinating the NGO presentations
- facilitating side events at the Conference
- organizing an NGO orientation session at the start of the
Review
- holding daily briefings between NGOs and government delegations
and much, much more.
But none of this can happen without your vital support!! A
donation to Reaching Critical Will is an easy, powerful way
to give support to the entire international disarmament community
as we prepare to head in to the seventh Review Conference
of the NPT.
We now have an easy-to-use PayPal account available on our
site, to make your credit card payment easier and safer. Just
visit: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/about/donate.htm
Or, if you prefer, we also welcome checks made out to:
Jane Addams Peace Association
777 UN Plaza, 6th floor
New York, NY 10017
(Be sure to put RCW in the memo line of the check!)
As a Reaching Critical Will friend and advisor, we also encourage
you to introduce us and our work to other colleagues who might
be interested in becoming an RCW Friend and Advisor as well.
After all, they'd be in good company.
4) The IAEA on Nuclear Terrorism
Earlier this month, the International Atomic Energy Agency
Director-General Mohamed ElBaradei called for strengthened
measures to keep nuclear materials out of the hands of terrorists.
Below is an article from the UN News Service reporting on
Mr. ElBaradei's statement to the Asia-Pacific Conference on
Nuclear Safeguards and Security meeting in Sydney, Australia.
UN WATCHDOG URGES BETTER STEPS TO KEEP NUCLEAR MATERIAL
OUT OF TERRORIST HANDS
New York, Nov. 8 2004. 3:00PM
Declaring that the "threat of nuclear terrorism is real
and current," the head of the United Nations atomic watchdog
today called for urgent international measures to prevent
radioactive matter from falling into the hands of terrorists,
citing increased trafficking of nuclear or other radioactive
materials as a "disturbing" sign.
"The security of nuclear and other radioactive material
has taken on dramatically heightened significance in recent
years," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General
Mohamed ElBaradei told the Asia-Pacific Conference on Nuclear
Safeguards and Security meeting in Sydney, Australia.
"The events of September 2001 (terrorist attack
on the United States) propelled the rapid and dramatic re-evaluation
of the risks of terrorism in all its forms, whether related
to the security of urban centres, sports arenas, industrial
complexes, harbours and waterways, oil refineries, air and
rail travel, or nuclear and radiological activities,"
he said. "Nuclear security should be urgently strengthened,
without waiting for a 'watershed' nuclear security event to
provide the impetus for needed security upgrades."
Mr. ElBaradei said that "perhaps the most disturbing
lesson to emerge" from IAEA probes into recent nuclear
programmes in Iran and Libya was the existence of an extensive
illicit market for the supply of nuclear items which clearly
thrived on demand. "The relative ease with which a multinational
illicit network could be set up and operated demonstrates
clearly the inadequacy of the present export control system,"
he added, noting that 60 incidents of trafficking were reported
in 2003 and the total for this year will be even higher.
While the majority of these incidents did not involve
nuclear material and most radioactive sources involved were
of limited concern, the number showed that measures to control
and secure nuclear and other radioactive materials need to
be improved. "They also show that measures to detect
and respond to illicit trafficking are essential," Mr.
ElBaradei said.
He called for better control of the sensitive parts of
the nuclear fuel cycle, namely the production of enriched
uranium and the reprocessing of plutonium essential elements
in producing nuclear weapons.
Who does possess indigenous capability for the full nuclear
fuel cycle? Who has enriched uranium and where is it? How
much do they have? How big are the existing plutonium stockpiles
in the world? Find out the answers to these and other questions
relating to nuclear terrorism in the NGO Shadow Report: Accountability
is Democracy, Transparency is Security, available at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/shadowreport/ngoshadrepindex.html.
1) A call to support the New
Agenda Coalition resolution at the First Committee
The New Agenda Coalition (NAC), the group of seven States
which are primarily responsible for the drafting and successful
adoption of the 13 Practical Steps of the 2000 NPT Review
Conference, has put forth a new draft resolution this year,
59/L.22, "Accelerating the implementation of nuclear
disarmament commitments." You can also find the resolution
in Spanish and French, as well as English, at www.lcnp.org.
All NGOs must contact your foreign ministries and missions
in New York and urge them to vote "yes" on the New
Agenda resolution, L.22. While all of the resolutions on disarmament
deserve the fullest support of civil society and the governments
that represent them, it is particularly important to amass
as much support as possible for the NAC resolution, as this
year's version has a significant chance of garnering support
from key US allies, including NATO States.
The short, concise resolution is designed to obtain the maximum
amount of support heading into the 2005 NPT Review Conference,
a text that can unite the world's Non-Nuclear Weapon States
in demanding progress on disarmament. It lists priority areas
where steps can reasonably be taken by the Nuclear Weapon
States prior to the Review Conference. It could encourage
action prior to the Conference, and serve as a basis for assessment
of compliance at the Review Conference. In general, it is
aimed at providing a focused means to highlight and oppose
the nuclear weapons states' flouting of the commitments they
made in 2000.
Last year, with the exception of Canada, which voted yes,
NATO countries, Japan, and Australia abstained. Civil society
advocacy in capitals could make a difference this year. It's
needed soon - the First Committee vote will likely come prior
to November 2, and ministers may be making a decision on how
to vote as early as this week. (See last year's voting results
here: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1com03/voting/L40WHOLE.pdf)
Please call, fax and email your representatives today!
If you have further questions, contact John Burroughs at Lawyers'
Committee on Nuclear Policy: johnburroughs@lcnp.org
1) Action Alert: NGO participation at the First Committee
i. ALERT NGOs!
ii. Sample Letter
iii. Suggested list of experts
(unconfirmed)
2) First Committee Monitor, No. 1: October 4-8, 2004
We encourage wide dissemination of this news advisory, especially
the NGO Action Alert. As always, this and all other RCW General
E-News Advisories can be found on our website, or by clicking
on "News" on the top of our homepage. We welcome
all comments and questions regarding this or any other service
from Reaching Critical Will.
Best,
Rhianna
1) Action Alert: NGO participation at
the First Committee
i. ALERT NGOs!!!
The issue of UN Reform is emerging as the hottest topic at
this year’s session of the UN General Assembly. At the
First Committee on Disarmament and International Security,
a few proposals have been put forth on ways to improve the
First Committee, including the United States, Argentina, China,
Cuba, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Sierra Leone, Switzerland,
the European Union and the Non-Aligned Movement.
The Chairman of the Committee, Ambassador Luis Alfonso de
Alba (Mexico), has also put forth his own informal proposal
verbale, which would, among other things, invite NGOs to address
the Committee during the thematic debate (beginning Monday
October 18), according to their area of expertise. For instance,
during the thematic debate on conventional weapons, NGOs would
be allowed to make one short statement after the Member States
have delivered their interventions. The statement would be
short, concise, and provide a context for the various draft
resolutions. Following the NGO statement, Member States would
be invited to engage in a question and answer session with
the NGO speaker.
The NGO statement, as well as the following Q&A session,
would be held during the formal session, but kept off the
record, so as to ensure a greater level of frank and productive
interaction.
If this unprecedented proposal is to succeed, the Chairman
must have the full support of as many Member States as possible.
It is therefore up to civil society to push our governments
to support this bold proposal, and to provide the Chairman
with the names of local experts on the various issues facing
the Committee.
We call upon all NGOs to contact their governments, both in
their capitals as well as their Missions in New York, and
urge their governments to support increased NGO participation
at the First Committee. We recommend that copies of these
letters be CCed to the Chairman. We have included below a
sample letter to be faxed to your government.
We have also included a list of suggested NGO experts who
could address the Committee during the thematic debate. This
is simply a list of unconfirmed, suggested experts; feel free
to add or delete other experts that you wish to put forward.
Your input at this time will be crucial. Increased NGO participation
at the First Committee can have a positive effect on civil
society participation within the entire United Nations system
as a whole, as recommended by the recently concluded Secretary-General
Panel of Eminent Persons on Civil Society and UN Relationships
(the Cardoso report).
Whether or not these proposals are carried through this year,
support from Member States today will help to ensure enhanced
civil society participation at the UN in the future.
You can follow these developments and others as they arise
within the First Committee by subscribing to the First Committee
Monitor, the weekly newsletter published by the NGO Working
Group on the First Committee.
Yours truly,
Rhianna Tyson
Editor, First Committee Monitor
ii. SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Ambassador/Minister ______________,[i]
As you know, the issue of reform has emerged as a major theme
at this year’s General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament
and International Security. We understand that a number of
informal proposals have been put forth to the Committee, including
one that would invite NGO experts to address the Committee
off-record during the official Thematic Debate.
We urge you to support this proposal to increase non-governmental
organizations’ (NGO) participation in the Committee.
Such interactivity with NGOs would enhance the work of the
Committee, by increasing its transparency and by providing
depth and context of the issues upon which all Member States
will be voting soon.
The Secretary-General’s Panel of Eminent Persons on
Civil Society and UN Relationships (A/58/817) recommends,
inter alia, that:
“The General Assembly should permit
the carefully planned
participation of actors besides central Governments in its
processes. In particular, the Assembly should regularly invite
contributions to its committees and special sessions by those
offering high-quality independent input.”
In the Secretary-General’s report on this panel (A/59/354),
he concurred with this proposal, asserting that: “More
effective engagement with NGOs… increases the likelihood
that United Nations decisions will be better understood and
supported by a broad and diverse public.”
We strongly encourage you to join the Chairman and the growing
number of Member States who have already voiced appreciation
for NGOs in the First Committee. Attached is a list of suggested
experts that we believe will be able to enhance the discussions
taking place at the First Committee.
Increased NGO participation at the First Committee can have
a positive effect on civil society participation within the
entire United Nations system as a whole, which in turn will
make the work of the United Nations more transparent, more
useful, and more effective in the long term.
Thank you very much for your attention.
Sincerely,
Your Name Here.
[i] You can find the name of your Foreign Minister and Permanent
Representative in New York, as well as the name of the Disarmament
Counselor in charge of the First Committee through the Reaching
Critical Will Government Database: www.reachingcriticalwill.org/resources/govcontacts/govindex.html.
If writing to your mission in New York, we recommend CCing
the Disarmament Counselor in the head of your letter.
Be sure to CC the Chairman:
Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba
Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations
Fax: (212) 688 8862
iii. SUGGESTED LIST OF EXPERTS
based on the Indicative Timetable for Structured Discussion
of Specific Subjects on the Adopted Thematic Approach on Disarmament
and International Security Agenda Items (A/C.1/59/CRP.2)
Nuclear weapons
1) Rebecca Johnson, Acronym Institute. rej@acronym.org.uk
2) Jackie Cabasso, Western States Legal Foundation, wslfweb@earthlink.net
3) Daryl Kimball, Arms Control Association. dkimball@armscontrol.org
Other weapons of mass destruction (BCWs)
1) Barbara Rosenberg, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
brosenberg@armscontrolcenter.org
2) Mark Wheelis, Center for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation.
mwheelis@armscontrolcenter.org
Outer Space
1) Bruce Gagnon, Global Network against Weapons and Nuclear
Power in Space. globalnet@mindspring.com
2) Alice Slater, Global Resource Center on the Environment.
aslater@gracelinks.org
3) Theresa Hitchens, Center for Defense Information. Thitchens@cdi.org
Conventional Weapons
1) Rebecca Peters, International Action Network on Small Arms.
director@iansa.org
2) Randall Forsberg, Institute for Defense and Disarmament
Studies. forsberg@idds.org
3) Ruslan Pukhov, Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies,
Russia. (+7-095) 135-13-78,
4) Otfried Nassauer, Berlin Information Center. Otfried.Nassauer@bits.de
Other disarmament measures and disarmament machinery
1) Rebecca Johnson, Acronym Institute. rej@acronym.org.uk
2) Rhianna Tyson, Women's International League for Peace and
Freedom. rhianna@reachingcriticalwill.org
Related matters of disarmament and international security,
including nonproliferation education
1) Dr. Kathleen Sullivan, Educators for Social Responsibility.
edna@bestweb.net
2) Jean duPreez, Center for Nonproliferation Studies. jean.dupreez@miis.edu
September 23
Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,
Although the General Assembly in full swing and the First
Committee on Disarmament and International Security just around
the corner, we must keep our eye on the big prize: the Seventh
Review Conference of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
In this brief E-News Advisory, we wanted to bring your attention
to both what is going on now at the United Nations, as well
as some food-for-thought as you begin your own preparations
for this historic Review Conference in May 2- 27, 2005.
In this E-News Advisory:
1. Disarmament Index Now Online
2. NPT Strategy Session, October 8
3. "Nuclear Disarmament: What NOW?" - an updated
educational booklet from RCW
4. Contextualizing Past, Present and Future Challenges to
the NPT
5. Excerpts on Disarmament and Nonproliferation from the Secretary-General
Report to the General Assembly
6. Statement by the New Agenda Coalition on Disarmament and
Nonproliferation
As always, this and all other News Advisories from RCW can
be found by clicking on "News" at the top of our
website. If you have any questions, comments, concerns or
suggestions regarding any of the services from RCW, please
never hesitate to contact us.
Best wishes,
Rhianna
1. Disarmament Index of the
2004 General Assembly
The Disarmament Index of the 2004 General Assembly is now
online. This is an index of all references made to issues
of disarmament, peace and security, made in the High-Level
General Debate of the General Assembly. http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1com04/disarmindex.html
Included are all references made to arms control, arms expenditures,
disarmament, multilateralism, nuclear energy, nuclear weapon
free zones, security, proliferation, terrorism and weapons.
Each entry also includes a link to the complete text of the
statements.
This resource is a unique tool by which to gauge the issues
to be detailed during the First Committee of the General Assembly,
starting October 4, 2004.
With the help of RCW's newest interns, Renee O'Connor and
Kerstin Bihlmaier, RCW is updating this Index every evening
after the close of the day's statements. Be sure to check
it daily!
Reminder: Do not forget to subscribe to the First Committee
Monitor to receive all of the updates coming from the General
Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International
Security!
2. NPT Strategy Session, October
8
On Friday, October 8, NGOs will be holding the another NPT
Strategy Session in the lead-up to the 2005 Review Conference.
Several groups- including the Japan-based Gensuikyo- will
be in New York at this time, and all NGOs are encouraged to
attend.
The meeting will be held in Conference Room B in the United
Nations building. A UN badge is required. For more information,
including how to obtain a day-pass at the UN, contact either
Monika Szymurska, Abolition 2000 Coordinator, or Joseph Gerson,
AFSC.
For a full listing of events taking place over the next two
months, see the First Committee Calendar of Events.
3. "Nuclear Disarmament:
What NOW?" - an updated educational booklet from RCW
It's been five years since Reaching Critical Will published
its, "Nuclear Disarmament: What Next?" designed
to teach activists, students and the media the basics of the
NPT regime, and the implications of the historic 2000 Review
Conference Final Document.
In the next six months we intend to do as much awareness-raising
and outreach as possible. As part of that effort, we will
be publishing a new edition of this booklet, one of our most
successful teaching tools, now entitled- "Nuclear Disarmament:
What NOW?" With the input from dozens of our colleagues
around the world, this booklet will look back on the treaty,
the promises of the 13 steps, our assessments of 2000 and
prospects for the future.
You can read the 2000 version, "Nuclear Disarmament:
What Next?" here: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/about/pubs/edkit.pdf.
4. "Contextualizing Past,
Present and Future Challenges to the NPT," article by
RCW's Rhianna Tyson in upcoming Disarmament Forum
The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
also has its sights set on the 2005 Review Conference. In
the next issue of UNIDIR's quarterly journal Disarmament Forum
focusing entirely on the NPT, RCW's Rhianna Tyson offers a
piece on "Contextualizing Past, Present and Future Challenges
to the NPT."
To order a hard copy of Disarmament Forum, check out UNIDIR's
website. http://www.unidir.org.
Below is an excerpt from Rhianna's article, which is available
in both English in French.
"In this age where crucial disarmament mechanisms remain
blocked to the point of paralysis, it seems that actors throughout
the international security community can scarcely agree on
anything. Yet advocates across the spectrum—from counter-proliferation
trumpeters to nuclear abolitionists—certainly agree
on one truism: non-proliferation is facing one of its most
formidable crises in the history of the nuclear age.
With only a few months remaining before the 2005 nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT) Review Conference (RevCon), activists, analysts,
experts and governmental representatives are seeking to understand
what has gone wrong with the disarmament and non-proliferation
regime, and how they can address the current challenges within
the NPT system. Even as the oft-cited ‘cornerstone of
disarmament’ has, for over thirty years, halted the
proliferation of new nuclear-weapon states prophesized by
United States President Kennedy, the current challenges are
prompting the international community to scrutinize the nuclear
disarmament and non-proliferation regime, doubt its current
efficacy and seek to understand where things went so wrong.
After a short assessment of the missteps that contributed
to the situation we are faced with today, it is time to ask
‘what can we now do right?’ What alchemy was at
work in 2000 that facilitated the Thirteen Steps of the 2000
RevCon Final Document? What opportunities lay ahead of us
that could create more favorable conditions in the future?"
5. Excerpts on Disarmament
and Nonproliferation from the Secretary-General Report to
the General Assembly
The Secretary-General's Report to the General Assembly is
now available online. In the section, "Achieving Peace
and Security," the Secretary-General notes that "The
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and terrorism
remain issues of great concern." (page 3, 11)
The SG urges the Conference on Disarmament to "resume
its role of negotiating new arms control agreements"
while noting that the Conference has "benefited from
focused high-level discussions during which foreign ministers
voiced strong political support." (page 18, 68)
He notes "several issues" that "remain of
great concern to the international community" including
"the slow pace of disarmament, violations of non-proliferation
commitments, evidence of a clandestine nuclear network and
the threat of terrorism," noting that these "developments
jeopardize international peace and security and may increase
the risk of new instances of unilateral or pre-emptive use
of force." (page 18, 69)
You can read the section on Disarmament on the RCW website
at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/SG2004.pdf.
6. Statement by the New Agenda
Coalition on Disarmament and Nonproliferation
from the International Herald Tribune, Tuesday, September
21, 2004
Nuclear weapons, a legacy of the cold war, today give rise
to dangerous new perspectives. Old and new threats converge,
putting at risk the security of us all.
Seven years ago the foreign ministers of our countries -
Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa
and Sweden - joined together in a New Agenda Coalition to
work toward a security order where nuclear weapons would no
longer be given a role. Today, we are more convinced than
ever that nuclear disarmament is imperative for international
peace and security.
We are faced with the perils of nuclear weapons finding their
way into more military arsenals and the risk that these old
tools of deterrence might become new tools of terrorists.
Nonproliferation is vital. But it is not sufficient. Nuclear
nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament are two sides of
the same coin and both must be energetically pursued. Otherwise
we might soon enter a new nuclear arms race with new types,
uses and rationales for such weapons and eventually also more
warheads. And the primary tool for controlling nuclear weapons,
the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, risks falling apart,
with further proliferation as a consequence.
The nonproliferation treaty cannot be complied with à
la carte. It is a legally binding agreement, which relies
on a fine balance between the commitments of the five nuclear-weapon
states - China, France, Russia, Britain and the United States
- and those of the nonnuclear-weapon states. The heart of
the treaty is that the latter will not develop nuclear weapons
in return for which the nuclear powers will reduce and eventually
eliminate their nuclear weapons.
In 1995 and 2000 this bargain was further refined. In 1995,
the nonnuclear-weapon states agreed to the indefinite extension
of the nonproliferation treaty, provided that the nuclear
powers pursued nuclear disarmament and that all worked toward
the entry into force of the comprehensive nuclear test-ban
treaty.
In 2000, the nuclear powers made an unequivocal undertaking
to eliminate their nuclear arsenals, and all parties adopted
a practical plan for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. Since
then, however, very little progress has been made.
There are deeply disturbing signs pointing in the opposite
direction. Instead of working toward the entry into force
of the nuclear test-ban treaty, the United States, which was
the first country to sign the treaty, has withdrawn its support.
And China delays its ratification process year after year.
Instead of eliminating nuclear weapons, some nuclear powers
have plans to modernize or develop new kinds of nuclear weapons
or new rationales for them.
Some even entertain the notion that nuclear weapons may be
used pre-emptively against nonnuclear-weapon states. In Russia,
nuclear weapons are increasingly seen as a possible defense
against conventional weapons. Instead of destroying their
nuclear warheads, the United States and Russia store them.
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty is an important step
in the right direction, but it does not require the destruction
of these weapons, does not include tactical nuclear weapons
and does not have any verification provisions. The process
is neither irreversible, nor transparent.
If the nuclear-weapon states continue to treat nuclear weapons
as a security enhancer, there is a real danger that other
states will start pondering they should do the same. Recent
developments show that this has already happened.
What, then, can be done?
First, all parties must comply with their commitments under
the nonproliferation treaty, and the treaty should be made
universal. All states should raise the guard against the further
spread of nuclear weapons. And the nuclear-weapon states must
comply with their commitments and pursue nuclear disarmament
in good faith. Any plans to develop new nuclear weapons, new
uses, roles or rationalizations for their use, must be shelved
immediately.
Second, the entry into force of the nuclear test-ban treaty
should be pursued as a matter of urgency.
Third, talks on a verifiable fissile material cutoff treaty
should start immediately. The treaty would ban the production
of key components of nuclear weapons, enriched uranium and
plutonium, and form a cornerstone in the nuclear disarmament
process.
It would impose restraints on India, Israel and Pakistan,
the three states still outside the nonproliferation treaty.
Together with the test-ban treaty, it would go a long way
to uphold the nonproliferation treaty and strengthen the norm
on nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament.
The future depends on our actions.
This article was signed by Foreign Ministers Celso Amorim
of Brazil; Ahmed Ali Aboul Gheit of Egypt; Brian Cowen of
Ireland; Luis Ernesto Derbez Bautista of Mexico; Phil Goff
of New Zealand; Nkosazana Dlimini-Zuma of South Africa; and
Laila Freivalds of Sweden.
Yesterday, the 2003 Session of the General Assembly , and the incoming General Assembly President,
Mr. Jean Ping, Foreign Minister of Gabon, opens the 2004 session
today.
With the start of the new GA comes also the closing of the
Conference on Disarmament 2004 session, the preparations for
the GA First Committee on Disarmament and International Security
and the start of a deluge of work from Reaching Critical Will
and our NGO colleagues (and I hear the diplomats are busy
as well).
In this General E-News Advisory:
1. Conference on Disarmament 2004 Session Closes
2. General Debate Disarmament Index
3. General Assembly First Committee
4. Update on Security Council Resolution 1540
5. Event: Reaching Critical Will is Honored in New York City
6. Abolition Now! Campaign
As always, we welcome all comments, questions, concerns and
suggestions regarding RCW's News Services, website or other
services. We look forward to hearing from you.
All the best,
Rhianna
**************************************************************************
1. Conference on Disarmament
2004 Session Closes
The 2004 session of the Conference on Disarmament has drawn
to a close. The President of the Conference, Ambassador U
Mya Than of Myanmar, will deliver a resolution based on the
CD’s
Final Report to the General Assembly First Committee in
New York, October 2004.
Another year has passed, and still the Conference has failed
to adopt a formal program of work or to officially establish
(or re-establish) any mechanism to facilitate progress on
any of its agenda items. While support for the Five Ambassadors
Proposed Agenda (the A5) continues to mount, the Conference
has yet to adopt a working plan of action for the 2005 session.
As is the tradition, key proposals and positions were offered
towards the end of the annual session. On July 29, the United
States announced the result of its long-awaited review of
a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT).
US Ambassador Jackie Sanders also proposed
a ban on all "persistent" landmines, a much
more narrow ban than the one enshrined in the Ottawa Convention.
On August 26, China and Russia tabled two non-papers on the
Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS).
These non-papers, "Verification
Aspects of PAROS" and "Existing
International Legal Instruments and Prevention of the Weaponization
of Outer Space" will be followed by a third non-paper
on "Definitions in the Legal Instrument of PAROS."
Canada has already offered some suggestions on PAROS definitions
in its statement
to the CD on August 26.
RCW has just updated a new version of the Reaching
Critical Will Guide to the Conference on Disarmament,
an advocacy and educational tool for activists, journalists
and students. In it, you can find a history of the CD, learn
about the items on its agenda, catch up with a summary of
the major issues, and get an overview of the current political
context and more.
We have also finished the 2004 edition of the CD
Summary of Statements by Topic, a tool by which you can
easily assess where the CD Member States stand on the important
issues facing the Conference.
he 2005 session of the Conference on Disarmament will start
on January 24, 2005.
2. General Debate Disarmament
Index
On September 21, the General Debate of the General Assembly
opens, wherein heads of state, foreign ministers or other
high-level representatives have the opportunity to address
the entire international community to express their State's
concerns, priorities and opinions.
Reaching Critical Will compiles a Disarmament
Index of all references to issues of disarmament and international
security made during the General Debate, to be used to gauge
the range of positions and increased concerns on disarmament
and non-proliferation issues expected to be detailed during
the First Committee, starting October 4, 2004.
NGOs from around the world share the concerns of many governments
about the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction, increased
military expenditures and the trade in armaments. The ongoing
conflicts in over 35 countries, as well as global concerns
about terrorism, have made the work of the First Committee
even more urgently relevant. NGOs will continue to offer analysis
and constructive input while providing public education on
the work of the United Nations General Assembly. We look forward
to working closely with official governmental delegations,
United Nations staff and the broad NGO community in this 59th
Session of the United Nations General Assembly.
(See past RCW News Advisories from August
4 and August 20 for previous important
updates on the First Committee.)
Calendar of Events
RCW has arranged for a Conference Room in the UN to be used
by NGOs throughout the First Committee. We have posted a First
Committee Calendar of Events on our website, featuring
the many workshops, briefings, strategy sessions- even a Disarmament
Education course for diplomats!- taking place over the next
few months.
If you or your organization would like to organize an educational,
networking or advocacy event during the First Committee, contact
the Project Manager today to reserve a room. These events
will be held during the lunch session (normally 1-3 PM) so
as to enable more delegates' participation.
NGO Working Group on the First Committee
Reaching Critical Will coordinates an NGO Working Group on
the First Committee which shares the monitoring and reporting
responsibilities in an attempt to make the work of the First
Committee more transparent and useful for people not directly
involved in the small New York disarmament community. The
fruit of our collective labor is compiled and edited in the
weekly newsletter, the First
Committee Monitor, covering the broad range of issues
discussed by the First Committee. The Monitor is
distributed to all delegates of the First Committee, and is
available on our site and through a free email-based subscription
service in both PDF as well as HTML.
The first meeting of the working group will be held on Monday,
September 20, at 3 PM, 8th floor of the UN Church Center (777
UN Plaza/44th street and 1st avenue). This is an open meeting
and all NGOs are encouraged to attend. Please RSVP as soon
as possible.
The Monitor has been hailed by diplomats, UN staffers
and activists as one of the most useful resources produced
during the General Assembly. The HTML versions include easy-to-use
hyperlinks to all governmental statements, while the PDF versions
include important announcements, calendars of events, resource
spotlights, and more.
Stay updated with the First Committee by subscribing
to the Monitor today. Be sure to indicate if you would prefer
PDF, HTML or both formats.
4. Update on Security Council
Resolution 1540
On April 28, 2004, the Security Council passed resolution
1540 on non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Tomorrow, September 16, the Chairman of the Security Council
Committee established pursuant to resolution 1540 will hold
a briefing on the work of the Committee. For further information,
contact Mr. Ionut
Suseanu, Permanent Mission of Romania, or the Secretariat
focal point, Mr. Jeremy Farrall:
(212) 963-2475.
Continue to check RCW's
page on the Security Council for all important updates
regarding the Council's work on disarmament and nonproliferation.
5. Event: Reaching
Critical Will is Honored in New York City
On Thursday, October 7, the Art Club will be honoring the
work of Reaching Critical Will, the Lawyers' Committee on
Nuclear Policy, United for Peace and Justice, Western States
Legal Foundation and Women in Prison Project of the Correctional
Association of New York.
All of RCW's friends and advisors are invited to mix and
mingle at this informal gathering of art and feminism at the
Tribeca Studio of Linda Stein, 100 Reade Street, between West
Broadway & Church St., one block north of Chambers St.
There is no charge for this event, and refreshments will
be served. You must, however, RSVP at (212) 964-6007, and
tell the receptionist that Reaching Critical Will referred
you. Or, you can email Linda@LindaStein.com.
For those who want the 15 minute art tour/talk about our
host:
Victoria Watkins came to a recent Stein event and wrote:
“Linda Stein, best known for her anti-war, feminist
and androgynous art, showed us several rooms of her artwork
spanning three decades of her career as a sculptor, painter
and printmaker. Each studio room represents a period of her
work, which parallels her personal evolution from emerging
artist in the mid-1970s to feminist activist and established
artist.
Her mood portraits of prominent women's rights leaders --
including Bella Abzug, Flo Kennedy, Billie Jean King, Margaret
Sanger, Gloria Steinem, and Virginia Woolf-- are striking
in the way moods are shown through dazzling patterns and colors.
In her anti-war sculpture, I like how Linda transformed steel
machete blades from crude tools and weapons associated with
violence to sensuous curvilinear sculptures that display beauty
and strength as they seemingly float from the ceiling of her
studio.
Her recent sculpture reflects the female shape combining
embedded engraving plates, calligraphic glyphs, musical sounding
forms, stone and other objects reminiscent of our past and
present civilizations. What a lift when Linda encouraged us
to touch her sculpture! I loved how she drew us into her art
work beyond the visual experience.”
6. Abolition Now! Campaign
In the coming year, the Abolition 2000 Network, a network
of over 2000 NGOs dedicated to the abolition of nuclear weapons,
announce their new campaign, Abolition Now! Dare to Plan!
Working with the Mayors
for Peace Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons to
create the political will, Abolition Now! calls for completing
negotiations for a nuclear weapons free world by 2010 with
the complete abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020.
In the lead-up to the NPT Review Conference at the UN in
New York this May, Abolition Now! asks your support for the
call for concrete plans for a nuclear free world during the
60th Anniversary Year of Remembrance and Action for a Nuclear
Weapons Free World from August 6, 2004 to August 9, 2005.
Please check the new website to download the brochure and sign-on form, sign the Abolition
Now! petition, and join efforts with the Mayors for Peace
Campaign.
Please feel free to send comments and questions about the
Abolition Now! campaign to mszymurska@gracelinks.org.
Your efforts and feedback are greatly appreciated.
Mexico's Ambassador Luis Alfonso de Alba will Chair the session.
The Vice-Chairmen include Dziunik Aghajanian (Armenia), Alon
Bar (Israel), and Sylvester Ekundayo Rowe (Sierra Leone).
The Rapporteur is Mohamed Ali Saleh Alnajar (Yemen).
What Can NGOs Do Around the First Committee?
The First Committee is one of the best opportunities for outreach,
education and advocacy efforts on disarmament and nonproliferation
issues. Most of the disarmament-focused diplomats- normally
based in Geneva- will be working in New York throughout the
five weeks of the Committee, and much of the groundwork for
the spring's NPT Review
Conference will be laid out at this time.
1) Organize an event in New York
RCW will be able to provide your organization with a conference
room at the United Nations for any educational, networking
or advocacy event that you would like to hold during the First
Committee. These events will be held during the lunch session
(normally 1-3 PM) so as to enable more delegates' participation.
If you would like to organize an event, contact RCW immediately
to book your event and have it posted on the First
Committee Calendar.
2) Monitor the First Committee
Stay updated with what your country does or does not say
on the important disarmament and international security issues
facing us today. You can see what your head of state or foreign
minister says at the General Debate through our Disarmament
Index.
You can also stay updated with the First Committee by subscribing
to the First
Committee Monitor, a weekly publication reporting on a
dozen of the most pressing, controversial issues discussed
in the First Committee. Read archived issues and subscribe
today.
3) Media Outreach
While decisions taken on matters of disarmament and nonproliferation
are some of the most critical issues to the world, there remains
a lack of adequate coverage of these issues by the mainstream
media. Many mainstream media agencies are subsidiaries
of military corporations. These agencies are never going
to give positive media coverage to groups and messages that
challenge their power.
Notice the correspondents in the print, radio and TV media
covering nuclear or foreign policy matters. Build a data base
of media contacts and keep a select group of journalists,
or your entire list, informed of your activities and analysis
of events and developments in this field.
CREATE YOUR OWN MEDIA: newsletters, radio shows, video documentaries,
email lists, webpages. To find out how to get involved with
local independent media near you, see: .
4) Organize an event at home
With the First Committee in session, it is a prime teachable
moment to continue your own education, outreach and advocacy
efforts at home. To find out what disarmament NGOs are working
in your area, check our NGO
contact database or contact Monika
Szymurska, Global Coordinator for , a network of over 2000 civil society groups dedicated
to the abolition of nuclear weapons.
5) Reach out to your representatives
Contact your representatives in New York and in your capital.
Fax or email them letters urging them to support disarmament-focused
resolutions. Offer them resources for more information and
demand a response. For more information on writing a letter,
click here.
Organize a meeting with your representatives; listen to their
opinion on nuclear issues- share yours.
2) Invitation to participate in the NGO Working Group
on the First Committee
If you will be in New York during the First Committee, we
encourage you to participate in the NGO Working Group. Since
2000, Reaching Critical Will has coordinated this diverse
group of NGOs sharing the monitoring and reporting responsibilities
in an attempt to make the work of the First Committee more
transparent and useful for people not directly involved in
the small New York disarmament community. The fruit of our
collective labor is compiled and edited in the weekly newsletter,
the First Committee Monitor, covering the broad range of issues
discussed by the First Committee. The Monitor is distributed
to all delegates of the First Committee, and is available
on our site and through a free email-based subscription service
in both PDF as well as HTML.
The first meeting of the working group will be held on Monday,
September 20, at 3 PM, 8th floor of the UN Church Center (777
UN Plaza/44th street and 1st avenue). Please RSVP as soon
as possible.
The Monitor has been hailed by diplomats, UN staffers and
activists as one of the most useful resources produced during
the General Assembly. The HTML versions include easy-to-use
hyperlinks to all governmental statements, while the PDF versions
include important announcements, calendars of events, resource
spotlights, and more.
Your organization's participation will be an important contribution
to the success of this year's reporting. Contact us today!
3) Resources on missiles, missile defense, and the
prevention of an arms race in outer space
Rather than working to negotiate a strengthened, verifiable
and effective ban on missiles, and refuting any attempts to
begin serious work on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer
Space (PAROS) in the CD, the United States has instead chosen
to address the threat posed by missiles by developing and
deploying an untested, unproven, wasteful and dangerous missile
"defense" system.
This week, the US deployed the first of six ground-based
interceptors at Fort Greely, Alaska, with another four planned
for Vandenberg Air Force Base, California in the following
weeks. The US plans on deploying 20 ground-based interceptors
by the end of 2005.
And it doesn't stop there. According to President Bush's
December 17, 2002 address, these deployments are just the
first part of a multi-layered missile "defense"
system, with interceptors deployed on land, sea and air. While
still short of President Reagan's "Star Wars" fantasy,
the first deployments of this multi-layered system spurs serious
questions as to the preservation of space for peaceful purposes.
These first deployments are also a serious boon to the major
defense contractors, Raytheon and Boeing, the latter of which
stands to reap $3 billion this year in missile "defense"
contracts alone.
For more information on missiles:
RCW's Missile
page
1) US announces policy on FMCT
Last week, at the start of the third and final session of
the Conference on Disarmament (CD), the United States announced
that it has concluded its policy review of a Fissile
Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT). Ambassador Jackie Sanders
affirmed the US's commitment to negotiations on the long-awaited
FMCT, but said that they doubt the treaty's verifiability.
An FMCT, like any disarmament or nonproliferation treaty,
requires effective verification mechanisms in order for that
treaty to be effective.
After China and Russia declared their willingness to begin
negotiations on an FMCT last year, the CD has remained stalled
on this issue as it awaited an official policy from the United
States. Now, in the final weeks of the 2004 session, progress
on the issue still remains to be seen.
The CD has not engaged in substantive work since 1996.
Click
here to read the RCW report on the CD. Click
here to read the responses to the US announcement from
Algeria, the Netherlands, the UK, France, Pakistan and others.
to read the press release from the Arms Control Association. Click
here to access the Governmental Contact Database: urge
your representatives in Geneva to include talks on verification
in any FMCT negotiations.
2) Invitation to NGOs to participate
in UN General Assembly First Committee working group
Since 2000, Reaching Critical Will coordinates a group of
NGOs sharing the monitoring and reporting responsibilities
in an attempt to make the work of the First Committee more
transparent and useful for people not directly involved in
the small New York disarmament community. We edit a weekly
newsletter, the First Committee Monitor, covering
the broad range of issues discussed by the First Committee.
The Monitor is distributed to all delegates of the
First Committee, and is available on our site and through
a free email-based subscription service in both PDF as well
as HTML.
If your group would like to participate in this important
collaboration, contact us today. In the upcoming weeks, we
will be holding the first of the meetings to coordinate the
various responsibilities required for such an effort.
Last year, participating groups included:
- Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy
- NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security
- Global Action to Prevent War
- Amnesty International
- Abolition 2000
- Franciscans International
- Quakers International
The Monitor has been hailed by diplomats, UN staffers
and activists as one of the most useful resources produced
during the General Assembly. The HTML versions include easy-to-use
hyperlinks to all governmental statements, while the PDF versions
include important announcements, calendars of events, resource
spotlights, and more.
Your organization's participation will be an important contribution
to the success of this year's reporting. Contact us today!
As we begin our preparations for the General Assembly (as
well as for the NPT), NGOs and governments are encouraged
to utilize the recommendations contained within the recently
released report from the Secretary-General's Panel of Eminent
Persons on United Nations- Civil Society Relations.
Chaired by the former President of Brazil, Fernando Henrique
Cardoso, the "Cardoso report" reviews existing guidelines,
decisions and practices that affect civil society organizations'
access to and participation in United Nations deliberations
and processes, and offers recommendations for strengthening
this relationship. As Chairman Cardoso writes in his letter
to the Secretary-General, "Constructively engaging with
civil society is a necessity for the United nations, not an
option. This engagement is essential to enable the Organization
to better identify global priorities and to mobilize all resources
to deal with the task at hand."
The report contains 30 proposals for strengthening and streamlining
civil society participation in United Nations efforts, including:
Proposal 6: The General Assembly should permit the carefully
planned participation of actors besides central Governments
in its processes. In particular, the Assembly should regularly
invite contributions to its committees and special sessions
by those offering high-quality independent input...The Secretariat
should help to plan innovative and interactive sessions linked
to but outside the formal meetings.
The report also includes recommendations directed at the Security
Council and the Secretariat, with foci on NGOs, businesses,
parliamentarians and local representatives.
Read the report here:
4) Biological Weapons Convention
Second Meeting of Experts Adjourns
The second Meeting of Experts from States Parties to the Convention
on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling
of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their
Destruction, was held in Geneva from 19 to 30 July 2004. The
Convention, generally known as the Biological Weapons Convention
(BWC), prohibits the development, production and stockpiling
of biological and toxin weapons.
Around 450 experts and officials from 87 BWC member countries,
as well as from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food
and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Organization
for Animal Health (OIE) participated in the Meeting of Experts,
which was convened to discuss two topics: (1) strengthening
and broadening national and international institutional efforts
and existing mechanisms for the surveillance, detection, diagnosis
and combating of infectious diseases affecting humans, animals
and plants; and (2) enhancing international capabilities for
responding to, investigating and mitigating the effects of
cases of alleged use of biological or toxin weapons or suspicious
outbreaks of disease.
Reaching Critical Will's Project Manager Rhianna Tyson has
recently returned from the United Nations Department for Disarmament
Affairs Conference on Disarmament Issues: "Mounting Challenges
to Peace and Security Today," held in Sapporo, Japan,
26-29 July.
Other books and articles have also recently been added to
RCW's resources
on gender and disarmament. We welcome all comments, questions
and suggestions on any of the resources available on our site.
************************************************
Rhianna Tyson
Reaching Critical Will
July 14, 2004
In this News Advisory:
1) New look for Reaching Critical Will
2) New RCW resource on Fissile Materials Cut-Off Treaty
3) Updated CD resources
4) Biological Weapons Convention conference
5) SALW Week of Action
6) Nuclear Summer
1) New look for Reaching Critical
Will
This past week, Reaching Critical Will launched a brand-new
look for its website. The new design makes it easier to find
all of the resources for which you have come to depend upon
Reaching Critical Will, including information on:
- the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
- the Conference on Disarmament
- the General Assembly First Committee
- Gender and Disarmament
and much, much more.
All of your favorite RCW webpages that you have bookmarked
will still function under the new design.
We would love to hear your comments on our new website! Please
have a look around the new layout and tell us what you think.
Send all comments to info@reachingcriticalwill.org.
2) New RCW resource on Fissile
Materials Cut-Off Treaty
Reaching Critical Will has recently added a new page of resources
on the long-awaited Fissile Materials Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT),
available at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/fmct.html.
On our new FMCT page, you can find:
- background information on the fissile materials debate,
including overview of contentious issues;
- statements, resolutions and other governmental materials;
- NGO resources and analysis of an FMCT.
We urge all organizations to use this information on an FMCT
to mobilize support for the treaty in their own communities
and in their capitals. We also urge all governments to send
us recent statements regarding their position on an FMCT,
so that civil society understands where you stand on the issue.
If you or your organization have more information on fissile
materials that you would like to see posted on RCW's new FMCT
page, please never hesitate to contact us. 3) Updated CD resources
The second session of the Conference on Disarmament came to
a close on June 25. Reaching Critical Will has updated its
Summary
of Statements by Topic, a quick guide to understanding
where each Member State stands on the issues facing the Conference.
The third and final session of 2004 will begin on July 26.
Be sure to subscribe to RCW's weekly CD advisory list before
the start of the next session. 4) Biological Weapons Convention conference
The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention Meeting of Experts
will take place July 19-30 in Geneva.
Among the other items on their agenda, the experts will be
discussing disease surveillance, strengthening and broadening
national and international efforts in accordance with the
BTWC, mitigating the effects of cases of alleged use of biological
or toxin weapons, and more.
Read also the background paper prepared by the Secretariat
on "Consideration of enhancing international capabilities
for responding to, investigating and mitigating the effects
of cases of alleged use of biological or toxin weapons or
suspicious outbreaks of disease" at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/bw/background.doc
Reaching Critical Will also has a variety of other background
materials on the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention on
our site.
5) Small Arms Week of Action
Non-governmental organizations in 30 countries participated
in the fourth annual coordinated Week of Action Against Small
Arms to draw attention to the human toll of small arms proliferation
and misuse, and to demand governments enact policies that
put their citizens' security first. Many of the events in
this year's extended Week of Action (1-10 July) are coordinated
with the Control Arms Campaign, the joint Amnesty International
- Oxfam - International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)
effort to regulate the arms trade.
First launched in 2001, the Week of Action has grown to be
the largest annual coordinated gun violence prevention event
in the world. Last year, 120 events were held in 42 countries
from Bangladesh to Uganda, in preparation for the UN Biennial
Meeting of States on Small Arms.
IANSA highlights some of the recently reported events surrounding
the SALW week of action:
UK
On 9 July family members of gun violence victims took part
in the destruction of 300 symbolic replicas of guns in London
to mark International Gun Destruction Day. The event was widely
covered by the UK press, including the BBC.
Salvador
The launch of the campaign 'Safe zones, No guns on the streets'
was reported by the national newspaper La Prensa Gráfica
in three articles. The Diario de Hoy and the website 'Sociedad
sin violencia' also covered the campaign.
Paraguay
During a press conference at the offices of Amnesty Paraguay,
Maria Cecilia Gortari, of IANSA member the Sociedad Paraguaya
de Criminología, presented the Control Arms campaign,
its objectives and activities in Paraguay. The national newspapers
Diario ABC Color and Diario Noticias covered the story, along
with Canal 9 and Diario Última Hora. Maria Cecilia
Gortari was also interviewed on Radio FM Trinidad and Radio
Cáritas.
Macedonia
Natasa Dokovska works for an organization called Journalists
for children and women rights and protection of environment
in Macedonia (JCWE). She organized a wide range of activities
during the Week of Action.
Uganda
The Ugandan government expressed its support for the ATT at
the workshop held 1-2 July. This was covered in both major
Ugandan newspapers, the New Vision and the Monitor. IANSA
participant PWD - Uganda has been generating public support
for the treaty through radio talk shows this week.
Argentina
IANSA member Espacios has organized an amazing assortment
of activities for the Week of Action, including student competitions
in poetry, sculpture, writing, short stories, and poster making;
the launch of the web site 'Argentina without weapons', and
the screening of the documentary 'Desarmados' in Buenos Aires,
Mendoza and Rosario. It is expected that 500,000 schoolchildren
will take part in 'Disarmament in the Schools' Week. La Nacion
covered these activities in an extensive article.
Philippines
On 1 July PHILANSA showed the Michael Moore film 'Bowling
For Columbine' to students at the International Studies Class
at the Miriam College in Quezon City, Metro Manila. This was
the start of a series of film screenings to more than 10 universities
and communities in Metro Manila, Central and South Philippines.
Visit IANSA's website for more information the Week of Action:
.
6) Nuclear Summer
As we in the northern hemisphere brace ourselves against the
sweltering heat of the summertime, several ominous anniversaries
take place during the summer months that remind us of the
continued potential for a nuclear winter.
On July 16th, 1945, the first nuclear explosion in history
took place at the Alamogordo Test Range on the Jornada del
Muerto desert in New Mexico. The Trinity test marked the beginning
of the nuclear age, out of which we have yet to evolve.
Less than a month later, the US tested their new weapon again,
this time on the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
During the week surrounding the 59th anniversary of the atomic
bombings, commemorative actions are planned for all over the
world. See the Calendar of Events from Be Safe at: .
************************************************
Rhianna Tyson
Reaching Critical Will
June 14, 2004
Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,
Over the last two weeks, we have heard announcements of a
variety of nonproliferation initiatives. From the islands
of Georgia to the halls of Krakow, government officials are
announcing new developments in the field of nonproliferation
that will undoubtedly resonate throughout the entire international
security regime. With so much at stake, these recent developments
warrant the careful analysis and scrutiny that any addition
to the international security regime should merit.
In this News Advisory, we wish to bring your attention to
some of these recent developments:
1) G-8 Action Plan on Non-Proliferation
2) PSI's one year anniversary
3) United States and Russia unveil new nonproliferation initiative
Other developments that have fallen under the radar of the
mainstream media include the admittance of China into the
Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) on May 28. This is particularly
important in light of the U.S.'s proposals to halt all transfers
of enrichment technology to countries which do not already
possess them and to require countries to buy their fissile
materials from the NSG "at reasonable cost," as
President Bush proposed in his February 11 speech.
U.S. Secretary of Energy Abraham's testament that, "a
truly effective nonproliferation regime is made up of the
collaboration of efforts by all of us, not just a few,"
runs contrary to these recent initiatives, which take place
in a plurilateral context, rather than a truly multilateral
forum. To give you some background on the proliferation of
plurilateral initiatives, be sure to read the NGO Presentation
to the NPT PrepCom, "Beyond the NPT: Recent Initiatives
to Prevent Proliferation," convened by Reaching Critical
Will and Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, available at:
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/prepcom04/NGOpres.html#beyond.
As always, we welcome any comments, questions, or concerns.
Best wishes,
Rhianna Tyson
Reaching Critical Will
*****************************************
1) G-8 Announces Action Plan on Nonproliferation
The annual summit of leaders from the world's 7 richest industrialized
countries (plus Russia), held this year on a remote elite
island off of the southern U.S. state of Georgia, announced
their new Action Plan on Nonproliferation on Wednesday, June
9. The plan has been submitted to the Conference on Disarmament
in Geneva, where the U.S. Permanent Representative to the
CD Jackie Sanders summarized the Plan in her statement
on June 10.
The Plan calls for expanding the Proliferation Security Initiative
(see item #2) and the "Global Partnership," the
G-8 Plan on Nonproliferation that was announced at its 2002
summit in Kananaskis, Canada. Also referred to as "10+10/10,"
the Kananaskis Initiative aimed to track and account for WMD
materials in the former Soviet Union, using $10 billion pledged
by the U.S. plus $10 billion pledged by Canada, France, Italy,
the UK, Japan and Germany over a ten year time frame. The
2004 G-8 Plan aims to expand the Kananaskis scope as well
as its funds; the G-8 are inviting other countries to contribute
to the Global Partnership fund, which will also help fund
the redirection of former Libyan and Iraqi weapons of mass
destruction (WMD) scientists to civilian research projects,
as senior administration official told the UN Wire.
The Action Plan also calls for strengthening the IAEA and
making the Additional Protocol a condition of supply of nuclear
technology, a proposal that had been widely discussed at both
the recent NPT PrepCom as well as the Nuclear Suppliers Group
meeting in Sweden.
G-8 leaders also agreed upon a one-year moratorium on new
transfers of uranium enrichment and reprocessing technology
to states which do not already possess such capabilities.
The U.S. nonproliferation proposals, outlined in U.S. President
Bush's February 11 address, called for a permanent cessation
of such technology transfers. While the one year moratorium
does not quite measure up to February 11 proposals, the United
States can nonetheless claim the adoption of the G-8 Action
Plan as a victory for U.S. nonproliferation goals. The U.S.
is still "aiming to implement (such) permanent controls
before the 2005 G-8 Summit," as Ambassador Sanders assured
the CD.
2) PSI's one-year anniversary
A year has gone by since the United States announced the Proliferation
Security Initiative in Krakow, Poland. When it was announced
last year, many States and non-governmental security experts
expressed doubt as to the Initiative's legal legitimacy. Now
with a Security Council blessing (thinly veiled in operative
paragraph 10 of Security
Council resolution 1540), and nearly 60 States participating
in the anniversary meeting in Krakow, the PSI seems to be
gaining popularity- yet has the legal regime sufficiently
caught up? What effects will this "activity" have
on the international security regime?
States such as Cuba
and others which are not allied with the United States remain
highly skeptical of the PSI leaders' intentions, while disarmament
experts disdain the way in which PSI- as well as SC resolution
1540- exacerbate the delinkage of nonproliferation from disarmament.
Yet PSI participants argue that "non-proliferation efforts
– like the PSI – will lead to the progress also
in disarmament area," as Polish
Ambassador Stanislaw Przygodzki stated in the CD on June
3.
Yet how effective will the PSI ultimately be? How will the
necessary legal framework be developed or enforced? Non-governmental
analysts have already begun to ask these important questions:
British American Security Information Council:
Foreign Policy in Focus:
Bipartisan Security Group:
3) United States and Russia unveil new nonproliferation
initiative
On May 26th, United States Secretary of Energy Spencer Abraham
announced the launch of the Global Threat Reduction Initiative
(GTRI), a new initiative between the U.S., Russia, and the
International Atomic Energy Agency which aims to repatriate
Russian- and U.S.- originated fissile materials from over
40 countries around the world. Under GTRI, the United States
plans to dedicate more than $450 million, an amount that "should
be more than sufficient," according to Secretary Abraham.
The GTRI is an extension of several existent programs which
aim to eliminate HEU in civilian nuclear programs. These programs
include the Russian Foreign Research Reactor Fuel Return (RFR)
Program, the Reduced Enrichment for Research and Test Reactors
Program, the Foreign Research Reactor Spent Nuclear Fuel Acceptance
Program, the Radiological Threat Reduction Program, and others.
Under GTRI, the U.S. will also be conducting a Global Research
Reactor Security Study, a comprehensive database of research
reactors replete with an assessment of "materials and
sites relative to vulnerability to sabotage, theft, or terrorist
attack."
While the United States is touting the GTRI as an important
new plan in Vienna that seeks to "secure, remove, or
dispose" of global stocks of nuclear and radiological
materials, some analysts are not quite so optimistic. Jon
Wolfsthal of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
writes that the plan "will take almost a decade to implement
and may not prevent additional weapons-usable nuclear materials
from being exported in the meantime."
The U.S. is hoping to convene a GTRI Partners' Conference
later this autumn, at which other countries will be invited
to participate in this initiative.
************************************************
Rhianna Tyson
Reaching Critical Will
May 20, 2004
1. NPT Resources at Reaching
Critical Will
With the help of our NGO colleagues, our friends at the UN
Department for Disarmament Affairs, and most importantly our
amazing interns, Dulce Fernandes, Monika Szymurska and Julika
Erfurt, resources from the 2004 PrepCom are our most comprehensive
to date.
Statements
For those of you who were following the proceedings- either
in New York or through the News in Review- you know that NGOs
were permitted access to the vast majority of debates for
the first time in NPT history. In a move toward greater accountability
and transparency, some States Parties finally recognized that
the Rules of Procedure (specifically rule 44.4) have been
erroneously interpreted since 1997, and a correct reading
of the rules opened the doors to civil society. Due to this
important decision, (see News in Review, No. 6) we were able
to post texts of statements in all of the cluster debates.
Reports
and Working Papers
At the 1995 Review and Extension Conference, States Parties
agreed to submit reports on steps to promote the achievement
of a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone in the Middle East. In 2000,
States agreed to submit reports on the implementation of Article
VI.
Reporting is an important way by which States can create a
culture of accountability and transparency. This year, 40
reports and 25 working papers were submitted.
NGO
Presentations
The NGO presentations are now available in HTML format. Also
on this page is a list of all participating NGOs, as well
as contact information for all convenors and speakers.
If you would like to order a Compendium of NGO Presentations,
send us a request with a check or money order for $5 (shipping
and handling) made out to Jane Addams Peace Association.
Post-PrepCom
Analysis
We have also compiled post-PrepCom analysis from non-governmental
sources, including the Acronym Institute, the Middle Powers
Initiative, the UN Wire, Greenpeace, the British American
Security Council and others.
If your organization has completed its own analysis of the
PrepCom, we encourage you to submit it to RCW and have it
posted on our site. Summary
of Issues Under the NPT
With so much at stake in 2005, sometimes its difficult to
understand all of the issues facing the Review Conference.
Reaching Critical Will breaks down the issues and proposals
that have been put forth by States Parties over this past
review cycle in order to help everybody in the disarmament
community strengthen the international disarmament regime.
News in Review
Archive
Every day of the PrepCom, Reaching Critical Will published
a daily newsletter of NGO views in the News in Review. Each
day's edition included a daily briefing on the PrepCom proceedings,
summaries of side events, interviews with delegates and NGO
representatives, crosswords, cartoons, feature articles and
more. At times, it served as a two-way avenue of communication
between the delegates and the NGOs.
The cover article from the Final Edition, published today,
is included below (see item #5).
Be sure to visit our NPT
page for all of these resources and more.
2. NGO Shadow Report: Accountability
is Democracy, Transparency is Security
With the invaluable contributions from our colleagues around
the world (see Acknowledgements),
the Shadow Report is quickly becoming one of the most comprehensive
inventories of nuclear materials, both civilian and military.
In order for us to maintain the highest level of accuracy
and in order to be as useful a tool as possible, it is essential
that you give us your feedback.
Please fill out the Evaluation
Form on our website and let us know how we can improve
the report for next year.
3. Conference on Disarmament
Second Session Begins
Geneva-based delegates to the PrepCom had only a few days
to recover from the New York conference before heading back
to Switzerland to convene the Second Session of the Conference
on Disarmament.
The CD has agreed, based on a proposal from then-presiding
President of the CD Pablo Macedo (Mexico), to structure informal
plenaries on substantive issues along the following timetable:
May 13: Cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament.
May 18: Prevention of nuclear war, including all related matters.
May 27: Prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS).
June 3: Effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon
states against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons
(NSA).
June 10: New types of weapons of mass destruction and new
systems of such weapons; radiological weapons.
June 17: Comprehensive program of disarmament.
June 24: Transparency in armaments.
As many of you are already aware, Reaching Critical Will continues
struggling through our worst financial crisis to date.
In order to keep this important project going, we ask that
our friends and advisors write a letters of recommendation
for Reaching Critical Will. We ask that you make a few copies
of this letter and put them in separate, sealed envelopes,
and then send the lot of them in a large envelope addressed
directly to us, so that we may send the individual letters
to various foundations as part of our grant proposal.
The first deadline is scheduled for June 15, so we ask that
these letters be sent to us as soon as possible. And feel
free to forward this email on to any other groups whom you
know appreciate the work and services provided by Reaching
Critical Will.
If you have any questions or concerns, or if there is any
other information that you need before you write your letter,
please do not hesitate to ask. If you'd like, we can keep
you updated on our fundraising progress. Of course, donations
are more than welcome as well.
Once again, we cannot thank you enough for your support of
Reaching Critical Will. 5. "A Higher Wager"-
excerpt from Final Edition of the News in Review
The pool was up to about $35. Dozens of NGO representatives,
having already lost their money after placing bets on times
like 6:45, 7:09, 7:45, even 8:05, threw in a few more dollars,
betting this time on perhaps 10:30 or even midnight. Even
a governmental delegate or two, fleeing the increasingly banal
discussion inside of Conference Room IV for a cigarette, got
in on the bet.
The bored and frustrated NGO representatives, hovered over
potato chip laden tables and watching funny anti-nuclear video
clips c/o the UN's wireless Internet service, placed $1 bets
on what time the delegates would finally reach agreement on
something, and open the doors to civil society to officially
take decision on, well, whatever it is they could
take decision on. Throughout two weeks of one of the most
tense, frustrating, and least interactive PrepComs, the number
of possible points of agreement seemed to shorten each day.
Even though one NGO rep (who shall remain nameless) walked
away with the $35 bucks, nobody officially won the bet, since
decisions were never officially taken in a public meeting.
When the delegates started to filter out from the Conference
hall at around 8:30, we stood confused amidst our empty beer
bottles and Greenpeace nuclear puzzlers- this isn't how it
was supposed to end! The PrepCom's own rules of procedure
state that decisions of the Committee should be taken in public
in order to make them official. Yet here they were streaming
out of the room, some looking battered and weary, others looking
deliriously pleased that it was at long last simply over.
Alas, the many points of contention that had gripped the PrepCom
into near paralysis were never reconciled, even in the late
hour. Even before the PrepCom started, most believed that
agreement on substantive recommendations- as mandated to the
PrepCom by the Review Process- would be an unattainable goal;
Chairman Sudjadnan hoped instead to prepare a Chairman's Summary
à la Mólnár, to be affixed as an appendix
to the Final Report. Even this compromise- which took some
pre-PrepCom persuasion for the U.S. to agree- never materialized.
In fact, it seemed from the hall that the only agreement that
did prevail in the PrepCom was that most every State was unhappy
with the Chairman's Summary. Some, such as the United States,
frustratingly laughed it off as nothing more than a NAM document;
others were disappointed that some parts were verbatim repetition
of the 2003 Chairman's Summary. Other predictable contentious
points included references to Iran, vertical proliferation,
NGO participation, security assurances and other oft-discussed
issues from the past two weeks.
With so many disagreements over so much of the Chair's text,
and with no State Party possessing the will or desire to see
it through, the compromised Chairman's Summary was compromised
again; rather than an appendix to the report, the summary
was demoted to that of a Chair's working paper, which lacks
the authority and clout of an official Chair's Summary.
The Committee failed to reach agreement on a number of other
important procedural issues as well, including an agenda,
non-governmental participation, and background documents.
After what seemed to be a short but heated debate inside of
the closed conference room, it was decided that the NGO attendance
that marked this PrepCom would, in the words of the final
report, "not constitute a precedent." (paragraph
12(c) NPT/CONF.2005/PC.III/CRP.4) The United States' staunch
rejection of any reference to the 2000 Final Document- a move
repeatedly warned against by South Africa (see News in Review,
No. 10)- blocked the adoption of that historic document's
inclusion into the Final Report, which, two weeks after the
close of the PrepCom, is still not available.
In closing, Reaching Critical Will would like to offer our
deepest wishes of luck to President-designate Duarte, who
faces one of the greatest diplomatic challenges in the post-Cold
War world. He will undoubtedly be traversing the globe in
the upcoming months to hold consultations with dozens of governments,
with a view to agreement on an agenda as soon as the Conference
opens next May.
We also extend our best wishes of luck and support to our
NGO colleagues around the world, as they hurriedly begin their
preparations for the 2005 Review Conference as well. There
are mayors to sign up to Mayors for Peace, lobbying to be
done in our capitals, letters of support to write to States
like South Africa, Mexico, Brazil, Canada and others who held
the line firm in their support for- and implementation of-
the 13 Steps. There are demonstrations and rallies to organize
in protest of vertical proliferation and the continued reliance
of nuclear weapons in national security strategies.
While this difficult chapter of the NPT closes- albeit in
a fuzzy, confusing way- it opens up a new phase of work for
all of us: diplomats, analysts, lobbyists and organizers.
And if agreement cannot be reached the next time around, the
gamble will be much higher than a dollar.
For when the United States attempts to negate consensus-based
agreements, they hold the entire international security regime
at risk. When governments permit negotiating machinery to
implode in the dearth of political will, they are placing
bets on the very real risks of nuclear proliferation. When
key U.S. allies- such as their NATO partners and Japan- look
the other way as vertical proliferation undermines the entire
disarmament regime, they are betting that another Hiroshima
can be averted anyway. When the smaller Nuclear Weapon States
pay their usual lip service that "they've done everything
that they can" and are now waiting upon the Big Boys
to make further cuts, they are betting that their populations
and the populations of neighboring States can withstand another
few years of nuclear risk, nuclear accident, nuclear waste,
or nuclear war.
And when the governments of the world come to New York again
in 11 months time, what will be the wager on further inaction?
We're placing bets now. Do you want to bet that all of us
can continue to live under the specter of nuclear annihilation
for another two, five, twenty, hundred years? Or do you want
to bet that the people of the world have had enough, and that
something is stirring in civil society? Do you want to bet
that proliferation can be contained by a 35-year-old treaty
that has failed to bring disarmament to the world? Or do you
want to bet on the exigency for disarmament propelling the
majority of governments to negotiate a final abolition of
these genocidal and suicidal weapons?
Go on. Name your wager.
-Rhianna Tyson,
Reaching Critical Will
*Reaching Critical Will's email news subscriptions, including
General E-News Service, CD Advisories, the News in Review
and the First Committee Monitor, are no longer available in
Plain Text format. All General E-News Advisories will now
be sent out in HTML format only.
To pick up your necessary badges, NGOs must enter the building
through the 46th street entrance and pass through public security
in the white tent on the Plaza. Once inside, you must proceed
to the far left (east) corner of the Visitor's Lobby which
is known as the Zeus/Sputnik corner, where you'll see a team
of DDA staffers armed with a bank of computers to begin your
registration process.
This registration process will be open from April 26-30,
from 9 AM- 12:30 PM, and then again from 2- 4:30 PM. From
May 3-5, it will be open only from 9:30- 11:30 AM, and then
again from 2- 4:30 PM. From May 6-7, it is only open from
9 AM- 12 PM.
These times are not negotiable.
The only item you must bring with you is one form of photo
identification.
2) NGO Orientation
There will be an orientation for all NGOs coming to the PrepCom
on Sunday, April 26, from 1-4 PM at the Genesis House, 113
E.13th Street (b/w 3rd and 4th ave). This will be a great
opportunity for newcomers to the NPT to get a sense of what's
in store for the two weeks ahead, receive some fabulous background
materials, and participate in our first collective strategy
session.
It will be a very informal meeting, facilitated by WILPF
UNO Director Susi Snyder, and we hope that all experienced
NGO representatives will come too, in order to share their
expertise and lessons learned. We'll also be giving out some
helpful hints for getting around NYC, lobbying tips, an overview
of events, and a discussion on the major issues facing us
at this year's PrepCom.
To get to the Genesis House, you'll take the 4,5,6, L, N,
R or W train to Union Square, then walk one block south (to
13th street) and two blocks east (to 4th ave). Or you can
take the M15 bus (which runs north on 1st ave and south on
2nd ave) to 14th street.
If you are planning on coming to the orientation, please
call or email Susi as soon as possible to RSVP.
3) NGO Presentations
The NGO presentations will be delivered to the delegates
on Tuesday, April 27th, beginning at 3 PM. Text of these statements
will be handed out to all delegates as well as archived on
the RCW site as soon as they are delivered.
19 organizations collaborated on these thirteen presentations,
which will be discussing a range of important issues, including
vertical and horizontal proliferation, grassroots initiatives,
proliferation in the Middle East, the 13 Steps, and more.
We will be employing perspectives from the medical community,
from North America, Western and Eastern Europe, Northeast
Asia and the Middle East. We will also be hearing presentations
from Mayors for Peace, a network of over 500 mayors dedicated
to the abolition of nuclear weapons.
If you are going to be in New York for the PrepCom, we urge
you to come to this important session and add to the growing
number of NGO representatives who will be showing the world's
governments that we are watching them and we expect results!
4) Events
The NPT Calendar
of Events has been recently re-formatted for easier use
and printing. Please be sure to check it now, as it has gone
through many revisions over the past couple of days. If your
organization is hosting an event, make sure that the listing
is correct. If there are any changes to the calendar, please
let me know as soon as possible.
Special Events to Look Out For: there will be a Town Meeting
called "Nuclear Weapons and Perpetual War: What you need
to know and what you can do about it!" organized by Abolition
2000 on Friday, April 30, from 4:30-9 at All Souls Church
on 80th St. and Lexington avenue.
On Saturday, May 1, there will also be a rally and concert
at Bryant Park, at 42nd St. and 5th avenue. For more information,
contact Jackie Cabasso.
5) Resource Center
Throughout the two weeks of the PrepCom, the WILPF UN Office
will be converted into an NGO Resource Center for all NGOs
participating at the PrepCom. At our office, located on the
6th floor of the UN Church Center (44th st. and 1st avenue),
NGOs will be able to:
- find a plethora of background materials;
- find key people to answer any questions you might have;
- drop off materials;
- quickly check your email using two computers;
- hook up your own laptop to the internet;
- make local telephone calls;
- receive and send faxes;
- make copies (with paper that must be either brought in yourself
or bought from us);
- find an updated calendar of the day's events;
and more.
Governments and UN staffers may also regard our office as
a meeting spot for NGOs: if you need to find one of us, or
if you are looking for additional NGO resources, you can find
it all here.
However, those who have visited us in New York before know
that our office is a remarkably tiny space. Please use our
resources sparingly and with consideration for our other staffers
and the other NGOs who may also need to use our resources.
If you have any questions regarding the use of the WILPF
office as your home base during the PrepCom, never hesitate
to ask.
6) Shadow Report: Accountability is Democracy, Transparency
is Security
The 2004 edition of the NGO
Shadow Report: Accountability is Democracy, Transparency
is Security is now up on the web. With the invaluable help
of many of our colleagues around the world, we have fully
updated all information on all Nuclear Weapon States and the
44 Annex II States including:
- amount, location, and operational plan of nuclear weapons
- activities specifically undertaken in accordance with Article
VI of the NPT
- location and capability of nuclear facilities
- fissile material holdings
- research programs
- international nonproliferation programs
- positions taken in international fora on various issues
of nuclear disarmament
This edition of the Shadow Report also includes a fully updated
chapter on the Nuclear Weapon States’ Compliance with
the 13 Step Plan.
Each delegation at the PrepCom will be receiving one complementary
copy of this report, one of the most comprehensive databases
on military and civilian nuclear holdings available.
Hard copies of the Shadow Report are also available for US$20.
Send a check payable to Jane Addams Peace Association, with
RCW/Shadow Report in the memo line, to:
WILPF
777 UN Plaza
6th floor
New York, NY 10017 USA
For more information on the NGO Shadow Report, contact the
Project Associate.
7) WILPF Side Events
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom is
much more than just Reaching Critical Will. This year, there
will be over 70 WILPFers from around the world coming to represent
the world's oldest women's peace organization. With so many
representatives, we have a lot going on. Some of the activities
that WILPF is working on include:
Monday, April 26, 1:15 PM
Co-organizing a panel with Hidankyo, the atomic bomb survivors
group in Conference Room A. Under-Secretary-General Nobuyasu
Abe will be one of the featured speakers.
Tuesday, April 27, 2:30 PM
Co-organizing the Abolition 2000 Press Conference in the United
Nations Correspondents Association club.
Wednesday, April 28, 10 AM
WILPF-US is organizing a panel on the Military-Corporate Connection.
6:30 PM
You are invited to our 89th Anniversary reception, held on
the 2nd floor of the UNCC.
Friday, April 30
Rhianna, the RCW Project Associate, will be speaking at the
Town Hall meeting on April 30 (details above).
Saturday, May 1
Susi, the WILPF UNO Director, will be speaking at the May
1 rally for nuclear disarmament in Bryant Park.
Tuesday, May 4
Organizing a panel on Women, WMD, and Conflict Prevention,
with USG Abe speaking on that panel as well.
Every Day:
- Publishing the daily News in Review, the only NGO analysis
produced each day during the conference.
- Posting all statements, working papers, non-papers, and
reports on our website in near real time. For all of you who
will not be able to be in New York, be sure to check the RCW
NPT page every day to see what your government does or does
not say.
For more information on any of these events, contact Susi
or Rhianna today.
We'll see you at the PrepCom...
Rhianna Tyson
Project Associate
April 7, 2004
1) The UNDC Postpones 2004
Session
On Monday, April 5, the United
Nations Disarmament Commission convened in New York, as
scheduled. Yet despite months of diplomatic wrangling over
the substantive agenda items, the major players- the US, the
UK, and the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)- remain deadlocked
and the session is now postponed.
In his opening statement as Chair, Georgia's Ambassador Revaz
Adamia urged Members to "seek inspiration" from
past achievements of the Commission, such as Nuclear Weapon
Free Zones and conventional arms control measures. He stressed
the need for revitalized efforts in the face of new challenges
to the international disarmament regime, including "new
concepts of deadly weaponry," threats of terrorism, and
"the readiness or willingness of some Member States to
comply" with existing obligations.
Under-Secretary-General
Nobuyasu Abe, too, delivered a short intervention, in
which he reminded States that "the work of this Commission
has been shaped by the political will of its members"
and called for "increased joint efforts to strengthen
the multilateral system of international peace and security."
Ms. Philomena Murnaghan, Deputy Permanent Representative
of Ireland, was elected Vice-Chair of the Commission.
The First Special Session of the General Assembly on Disarmament
(SSOD I), provided the mandate for the United Nations Disarmament
Commission as the world's only universal forum for deliberating
substantive disarmament issues. Years later, it was decided
that the UNDC would focus only on a few substantive issues
over a three year cycle, in order to facilitate in-depth discussions
on these matters most important to international peace and
security. The Commission is then to make consensus-based recommendations
to the General Assembly.
In 2000, the Commission adopted an agenda that covered 1)
Nuclear disarmament; and 2) Confidence-building measures (CBMs)
in Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW). Completely divided
on the issues, Member States chose to postpone the 2002 session,
in order to provide more time for reaching consensus. By the
close of the third and final year of this cycle, the UNDC
adjourned in 2003 without having reached consensus.
For the 2004 session, the NAM States wished to continue deliberations
on the two previous items. The United States, which drafted
a 2003 GA resolution (58/126) on the issue of First Committee
reform, wished for the Commission to deliberate the non-substantive
issue of UNDC reform. Finally, the United Kingdom, a bit less
adamantly, proposed an agenda that would cover nuclear verification
and best practices in SALW.
Indonesia, speaking on behalf of the NAM, stated that they
"remain hopeful" that continued deliberations will
result in the agreement on agenda items that take into consideration
the concerns of all delegations. Both the UK and the US refrained
from making an official statement to the Commission.
The informal consultations on the agenda continued immediately
after the Chair suspended the session on Monday and will continue
throughout the three few weeks.
2) NGOs and the
Security Council Draft Resolution on Nonproliferation
After months of intensive debate amongst the P5, a new draft
resolution on nonproliferation was made public on March 24.
The draft resolution, as it currently stands, fails to acknowledge
the indivisible relationship between non-proliferation and
disarmament. If this resolution is passed as is, it would
further contribute to the dangerous de-linkage between these
two, incontrovertibly interdependent goals.
NGOs based in New York sent a memorandum, along with recommendations
for draft language on the resolution, to the Security Council
and other states, emphasizing the need for full consultation
with all interested states, and with civil society, including
through an open session and an informal (“Arria formula”)
civil society briefing.
Abolition 2000, a network of over 2000 disarmament NGOs,
is conducting a major grassroots mobilization, urging civil
society to contact the Security Council and their Ministries
of Foreign Affairs to demand an open session of the Security
Council as they debate this unprecedented SC resolution.
Click here to read the statements delivered by John
Burroughs and Susi
Snyder at the UN Correspondents Association Press Club
Press Briefing on March 31, 2004.
For more information, contact either Susi
Snyder, WILPF UN Director, or John
Burroughs, Executive Director of Lawyers' Committee on
Nuclear Policy.
This resource makes it easy for CD watchers to see where
each State stands on the pertinent issue facing the Geneva
body. We have listed every reference by Member States made
to the following topics:
Fissile Material Cut Off Treaty
Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space
Subsidiary Body on Nuclear Disarmament
Negative Security Assurances
A5 Agenda
Verification
Terrorism
This list will be updated at the close of each session. We
hope this will prove to be a useful resource.
While the CD takes a break, be sure to stay updated with
other disarmament fora by subscribing to RCW's other email
news services, including the News in Review, the daily newsletter
published during the NPT. Subscribe today by sending an email
to: nir@reachingcriticalwill.org. To receive the weekly reports
on the CD, send an email to: cd@reachingcriticalwill.org,
or check out the archived updates. For a full description
of all of RCW's email services, see: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/action/listindex.html.
4) "Contextualizing the
NPT," a Report for Non-Nuclear Weapon States Party to
the NPT
In collaboration with the and the , Reaching Critical Will has published
a report, "Contextualizing
the NPT," in preparation for the NPT PrepCom, April
26- May 7. The report, which outlines various challenges facing
the treaty and recommends ways of moving forward on key issues,
is available in PDF and with an accompanying PowerPoint
presentation. Both are available on the web for a limited
time.
5) NGO Morning Strategy Session
Re-Scheduled
Throughout the PrepCom, the network will be holding a daily Strategy Session
for NGOs at 8 AM, in the Grumman Room 10th floor, of the UNCC
at 777 UN Plaza. Following each day's strategy session, we
will be reconvening at 9 AM in Conference Room A for a briefing
by delegates at the PrepCom.
For more information on these strategy sessions, contact
Emma McGregor-Mento,
the Abolition 2000 coordinator.
For a full listing of all of the events planned for this
year's PrepCom, see the Events
Calendar, also available
in a printable format.
************************************************
March 24, 2004
Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,
March is indeed a busy month for disarmament activists and
advisors. While the weather in New York shifts daily, our
efforts remain focused on the various disarmament machinery
at work during this unpredictable month.
This edition of RCW's General E-News service offers a checklist
of NPT preparations, an update on the Geneva-based Conference
on Disarmament, backroom discussions on the (scheduled) United
Nations Disarmament Commission, an update on the NGO Shadow
Report, as well as a UN press release from the IAEA Director
General's recent visit to Washington, DC.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding the upcoming
NPT PrepCom, or any other information provided in this News
Advisory, never hesitate to contact us. All questions during
March 26- April 4 should be directed to Susi
Snyder, the WILPF UN Office Director. After that,
Rhianna will be back in New York to answer any question you
may have.
As always, this and all other news from Reaching Critical
Will is archived on our site.
With best wishes,
Rhianna Tyson
Project Associate
I) NPT PrepCom Checklist
The third Preparatory Committee conference of the nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty is just about a month away. In order
to ensure that your own preparations are coming along, we've
prepared a brief checklist for all activists and disarmament
experts who plan on making their voices heard at this crucial
meeting.
1) The registration deadline is
April 1, a week from Thursday. All materials- including the
names of your delegates and a history of past interaction
with the UN- must be faxed in to Charles Mahaffey of the Department
for Disarmament Affairs. For more information, please refer
to the last News Advisory
and be sure to read thoroughly the DDA's aide memoire. Please remember that the
names you submit to the DDA are not subject to later revision.
The DDA will not be issuing confirmation letters. They will
only be contacting you if something is missing from your application
or if your application has been denied. They will be making
their final decisions by Friday, April 9.
2) There are still time slots available if your organization
wishes to organize a side event during
the PrepCom. Please see the Calendar
of Events for all available slots. If you wish
to book Conference Room A- free of charge- for a side event,
please contact Rhianna today.
We have recently posted a printable
Calendar of Events on our site. This will be
a useful tool for all delegates- governmental as well as nongovernmental-
who will be at the PrepCom.
3) We are still accepting submissions to the News
In Review, the daily NGO newsletter published throughout
the NPT PrepCom. Read the guidelines for submissions and send
us your view today. Publishing an article, a cartoon, an advertisement,
or an announcement in the News in Review is a great way of
getting your views across to the delegates. They are distributed
each day to all governmental delegations and UN staffers,
and they are also archived
on our site.
Furthermore, if you have not subscribed to the News in Review,
do it today. Send a message to Rhianna to be sure that you
receive the NIR in your mailbox each night it is published.
II) Conference on Disarmament
First Session Ends
The first session of the 2004 Conference on Disarmament will
draw to a close this week. The 66-member body has still not
decided on a program of work, although the proposed agenda
from five ambassadors (the A5 agenda) seems to be accumulating
more support with each revision. The United States and a few
other key players have not yet stated their position.
At such a crucial moment in history for disarmament, peace
and security, disarmament activists must continue to monitor
and put necessary pressure on the CD to begin negotiations
on any of the items on the proposed agenda.
Reaching Critical Will has been publishing
weekly CD Updates on this, the world's sole negotiating
body for disarmament. Later this month, we will also be posting
a summary of the 2004 session thus far, in order to help activists
and nuclear policy watchers understand where each country
stands on the pertinent issues of this Geneva body.
The CD section of our website also hosts all
statements delivered in Geneva, as well as all
of the press releases that are issued from UNOG.
For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the Conference,
be sure to read
Reaching Critical Will's Guide to the Conference on Disarmament,
which was updated in the autumn of 2003. There you can find
a complete overview of the history of the CD, its members,
and the issues.
III) United Nations Disarmament
Commission Update
The United
Nations Disarmament Commission, the only universal
body for deliberating issues of disarmament, is scheduled
to resume work on April 5. However, after the UNDC failed
to reach consensus on either of its two substantive agenda
items last year, the forum has still not yet agreed on a program
of work for this year.
The Non-Aligned Movement is advocating for the UNDC to resume
discussions on the two agenda items from the last cycle: nuclear
disarmament and confidence-building measures in small arms
and light weapons (SALW). The United Kingdom wants the UNDC
to discuss verification issues and best practices in the field
of SALW. Finally, the United States is pushing for the UNDC
to discuss the issue of reform.
The deadline for the UNDC's agenda is set for April 1. If
the concerned parties do not reach agreement, the 2004 session
of the UNDC will be postponed until further notice. If the
session does indeed begin as scheduled, RCW will be posting
all available statements on our website and issuing weekly
updates through this General E-News service.
IV) This is What Reporting Looks
Like
At the 2000 Review Conference of the NPT, States Parties agreed
to 13 Practical
Steps to Disarmament. Step 12 of that consensus-based
document called on all States to submit regular reports on
their progress on their disarmament and nonproliferation obligations.
Even though the reluctance of some States to comply with this
promise nearly brought the 2002 PrepCom to an early close,
"the culture of reporting" is growing.
Reaching Critical Will offers the NGO
Shadow Report: Accountability is Democracy, Transparency is
Security, as a model for States Parties to fulfill
their reporting obligation. Last year, the Shadow Report was
updated to include a new chapter on the five NWS' compliance
with the 13 Steps. This year, we are wholly updating the entire
report in time for the 2004 PrepCom.
If you have information on the nuclear holdings of your country
or your neighboring countries, contact
Rhianna today. The 2004 edition is well underway,
and in order to make it as comprehensive a tool as possible,
we need your knowledge and expertise. After all, this is an
NGO Shadow Report. It is up to civil society, once again,
to demonstrate for our governments what kind of transparency
and accountability will make us all secure.
V) Mohamed ElBaradei Meets with
George W. Bush
In February of this year, the United States and the IAEA both
put forth separate proposals on how to fight the horizontal
spread of so-called weapons of mass destruction. These proposals-
and others- are sure to be one of the most prominent topics
of debate at this year's PrepCom, as well as at the 2005 Review
Conference.
Last week, IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei met with
the Bush administration in Washington to discuss their proposals.
The following is a press release from the UN News Service.
UN NUCLEAR CHIEF URGES NEW RULES TO FIGHT SPREAD OF WEAPONS
OF MASS
DESTRUCTION
New York, Mar 19 2004 10:00AM
Declaring that nuclear proliferation is now "a different
ball game" in which
"either we all will win or everybody would lose,"
the head of the United
Nations atomic watchdog agency has called for international
cooperation to
devise new rules to combat the spread of weapons of mass destruction.
"The non-proliferation regime right now is absolutely
under growing stress,"
Mohamed ElBaradei, Director General of the International Atomic
Energy
Agency (IAEA) said at the end of a three-day visit to Washington
yesterday,
during which he conferred with President George W. Bush and
other top United
States officials.
"We are facing now the threat of proliferation of weapons
of mass
destruction which is everybody's fight," Mr. ElBaradei
said in an interview
on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television.
"What we have seen with A.Q. Khan associates, the black
market, what we have
seen with some of the Al-Qaida people interested in nuclear
weapons, makes
it clear that this is a different ball game and we have to
revise the rules,
and that really was the focus of my discussion with President
Bush
yesterday," he added, referring to the Pakistani scientist
blamed for the
spread of nuclear technology to other countries.
"I think the message I'm getting from Washington this
week (is) that we
really need to put our heads together, not just the US and
IAEA, but
everybody in the international system."
Drawing an analogy with the fight against terrorism, he said
defeat would
spell widespread doom. "It's either we will win or everybody
would lose."
Calling on the international community to look at the big
picture, Mr.
ElBaradei declared: "There's a lot of measures we need
to take, control of
the nuclear material, better export control, better authority
for the
Agency, less countries having enrichment and reprocessing."
The information included in this NPT Update is very important,
so please read carefully. If you have any questions, just
contact
us.
As always, all information regarding the NPT PrepCom is available
on our
NPT page.
I) Registration is Open
All NGOs wishing to participate in the Third NPT PrepCom,
April 26- May 7, must register with the United Nations Department
for Disarmament Affairs, Weapons of Mass Destruction branch.
1) A letter written on organizational letterhead requesting
accreditation to the PrepCom. This letter must include the
number and names of delegates. Please note: you may not change
the names of delegates once the letter is sent in!
This letter must also include an overview of past interactions
between your organization and the UN in relation to disarmament
and non-proliferation issues. (Including past PrepComs, co-sponsorship
of events, ECOSOC consultative status etc.) Be sure to also
include all contact information: including email, phone and
fax.
2) A mission statement or summary of work
Fax this information to Mr. Charles Mahaffey, NGO Liaison
and Coordination: (212) 963-8892 no later than April 1.
The DDA will be notifying you through email if you have been
accepted.
For more information on NGO registration and other logistics,
please see our NPT
Page.
2) Office Space for NGOs
Due to severely restricted space in the Secretariat in New
York, NGOs will not be assigned their own office space. However,
WILPF will be allowing NGOs participating in the PrepCom to
use their office space, located at 777 UN Plaza (at the Church
Center on 44th street and 1st avenue). NGOs will have access
to 2-3 Internet-ready computers, as well as DSL plug-ins for
laptops. There is also a photocopier available for use for
small jobs. You must buy the paper from us at 5 cents per
sheet, or bring your own.
The WILPF office will be staffed from 9AM- 6PM. If you need
to use it later than 6 PM, you must contact us for special
arrangements.
Please keep in mind that there are many organizations who
will be requiring the facilities; please use these resources
only as needed, and with consideration for the other WILPF
staff women who will be working there.
3) News in Review
The News in Review, the daily NGO publication for
the PrepCom, is a great way of getting your views across to
the delegates. They are distributed each day to all governmental
delegations and UN staffers, and they are archived
on our site.
We are still accepting submissions for the News in Review.
We are accepting Feature Articles on any disarmament issue
(not to exceed 1000 words), cartoons, artwork, and advertising
space.
The vast array of side events planned by NGOs make up a conference
in and of themselves! Groups from all over the world have
organized workshops, plenaries, and discussion fora which
will be held in the NGO Conference Room A, in the basement
of the Secretariat building. The Department for Disarmament
Affairs has also arranged for a photocopier to be available
for NGO use in the NGO Conference Room.
The
Calendar of Events has been newly formatted to
enhance its readability. Be sure to check it out today.
5) Housing
We have compiled and posted a
list of affordable accommodations in New York
City for NGOs wishing to participate in the PrepCom. Be sure
to make your reservation as soon as possible!
Some New Yorkers have also offered a bed in their private
home for NGOs visiting New York for the PrepCom. If you are
interested in being a guest in somebody's home, contact Rhianna
today.
6) Nuclear Testing: Then and
Now
Yesterday, March 1, marked the 50th anniversary of the first
deliverable hydrogen bomb test "Bravo" at Bikini
Atoll, Marshall Islands. Civil society groups commemorated
the 15-megaton hydrogen bomb explosion with rallies, memorials,
and silent vigils around the world. According to Fanai Castro,
an indigenous rights activist, the Bravo test- with the force
of 1,000 Hiroshima bombs- was probably the deadliest of the
Cold War-era nuclear tests for the peoples of the Marshall
Islands.
The fallout from the blast, later referred to as "ashes
of death," rained down radioactive dust and other fallout
to islands hundreds of miles away. Within hours of the explosion,
hundreds of those islanders, as well as U.S. weather observers
and Japanese fishermen in the area, were suffering from burns,
nausea, diarrhea, itching, peeling skin, sores, lost hair
and nails and other immediate effects from radiation.
While civil society mourns the death and destruction wrought
by the Bravo test, the United States is busy revving up for
another subcritical nuclear weapons test. Under the auspices
of the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Program, the subcritical
test, nicknamed UNICORN-1, is scheduled for sometime this
month at the Nevada Test Site. For more information, contact
the .
For more information on the history of Bikini Atoll, please
see: .
------------------------------------------
Rhianna Tyson
Project Associate
February 13, 2004
***Please distribute widely***
Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,
This is the first in a series of updates from Reaching Critical
Will on the NPT Preparatory Committee meeting in New York
on April 26- May 7, 2004.
Reaching Critical Will has recently updated and re-organized
our NPT page at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/nptindex1.html,
which contains all official documents from past NPT meetings,
background on the treaty and the issues at stake in 2004,
NGO analysis, reports, and presentations to the PrepCom and
more. If you have any questions or concerns regarding the
new organization of the information, never hesitate to contact
us.
In peace,
Rhianna
1. Invitation to NGOs to attend
the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee
Meeting (NPT PrepCom) April 26- May 7, 2004.
All non-governmental organizations that work on nuclear disarmament
and nonproliferation are invited to attend the Third PrepCom
meeting of States Parties to the NPT, to be held in New York
on April 26- May 7. This is the last Preparatory Committee
meeting before the Review Conference in 2005.
Ambassador Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat of Indonesia will be
chairing the conference.
All states, both signatories and non-signatories, are invited
to attend.
If your organization wishes to participate in the upcoming
PrepCom, be sure to subscribe to Reaching Critical Will's
General E-News service to receive all updates and information
throughout the upcoming weeks. Send an email to: subscribe@reachingcriticalwill.org.
2. NGO Registration
NGOs wishing to attend the PrepCom must register for accreditation
to the Department for Disarmament Affairs.
Registration will be open in the coming weeks.
Please note that the registration process this year will be
more stringent than it was in 2003. It is very important that
you stay updated with RCW in order to receive the aide memoire
and other important information on the registration process.
3. What can we hope to achieve
at this PrepCom?
The world is facing a nuclear disaster. States are moving
away from a policy of nonproliferation to one of counterproliferation
at the expense of the multilateral treaty-based system of
law. Great strides of progress that were made at the 2000
Review Conference have been systematically undermined or nullified
in the four years since. Proliferation is on the rise, both
vertically and horizontally. The NPT is at its greatest crisis
in history.
In recent PrepComs, NGOs have provided invaluable insight
and expertise to the conference, and their influence is growing.
It is ever more imperative that committed NGOs attend the
Third PrepCom, where States Parties will be working on a consensus-based
list of recommendations to send to the Review Conference in
2005. They will be discussing the ideas for strengthening
the Treaty that have been put forth in working papers, official
documents, and plenary discussions, and will be seeking ways
of moving forward on these issues.
At this critical meeting, NGOs will be:
•urging the governments to renew their commitment to
the NPT
•offering review and analysis of the Nuclear Weapons'
States progress on the 13 point action plan for disarmament
•fostering a reassessment of the role and level of participation
of NGOs in international fora
•recommending ways of strengthening other disarmament
machinery, including the Conference on Disarmament and the
Disarmament Commission
•engaging diplomats in discussions on the newest ideas
and issues in disarmament at side-events and lunch time panels
•holding press conferences and conducting media outreach
to draw attention to the conference and the issues
•organizing a massive public demonstration demanding
nuclear disarmament
•organizing a public outreach and educational forum,
linking proliferation and permanent war
and more.
NGOs have already begun organizing a vast array of side panels,
discussions, workshops and receptions. The DDA has kindly
reserved Conference Room A for the entirety of the PrepCom
solely for NGO activities. If your organization wishes to
hold an event, be sure to book the room through our calendar.
Check it out at: www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/events.html.
Then send an email to rhianna@reachingcriticalwill.org
with your organization's name, the title of the event,
the time slot you wish to book, and contact information.
4. NGO Statements
NGOs are allotted one, three-hour session to present their
ideas and recommendations to the States Parties. These presentations
are drafted in a collective, consensus-based manner, and will
also be distributed to all governments and archived on the
RCW website. (You can read last year's statements at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/NGOpres2003index.htm.)
The NGO presentations drafting process has already begun,
and drafts will soon be circulated for editing among dozens
of NGOs. If you are an NGO wishing to participate in this
drafting and editing process- and we urge you to do so- join
the discussion by sending an email to: npt-outreach-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.
Once you have subscribed, you will receive further instructions
on participating.
Subscribe today!
5. Housing Options for NGO representatives
Reaching Critical Will wants as many NGOs to come to New York
for this PrepCom as possible. And, as New Yorkers, we understand
how expensive this city can be. That's why we will help you
find the best accommodations to suit your budget and your
needs. As a resource for our out-of-town guests, we have a
lengthy list of affordable accommodations in NYC, as well
as offers from many of our friends and advisors to host a
guest or two in their own home.
If you are a New Yorker with a spare bed, couch, or other
sleep space, please consider hosting a disarmament activist
in your home during the PrepCom, April 26- May 7. Some activists
come only for the first week, others for only the first few
days. Please discuss it with your family or housemates if
you would be able to share your home with one or more of our
out-of-town friends for a few nights.
If you are interested in being a host or a guest, please contact
me at: rhianna@reachingcriticalwill.org,
indicating any special needs that must be met.
The News in Review is a daily publication produced
during the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee
and Review Conferences. It features analysis of the day's
events, feature articles from NGOs around the world, interviews
with diplomats and NGO representatives, nuclear facts, announcements,
cartoons, calendar of events, and more. You can read past
NIRs at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/nirindex.html.
We encourage you to submit to this year's News in Reviews.
The guidelines are as follows:
Feature articles: In addition to the daily analysis
of the proceedings of the PrepCom, the News in Review
also contains feature articles that cover a range of
nuclear disarmament issues. We welcome submissions from NGO
experts around the world, even if you are not able to come
to New York this April. Articles should be between 500-1000
words and may be edited for length. The deadline for feature
submissions is April 12th.
Advertising space: This year, you can use the News
in Review to publicize an important announcement, event,
or project hosted by your organization. NIRs are
distributed to all of the delegates at the PrepCom, through
a free email subscription, and are archived on our website,
www.reachingcriticalwill.org. By placing an ad in the News
in Review, you will be able to get your message across
to hundreds of well-informed members of the disarmament community.
Cartoons, photos, artwork, poetry: Calling all creative
anti-nuclear activists! The News in Review wouldn't
be complete without its fill of poignant, satirical, and beautiful
artwork. We are accepting all forms of anti-nuclear artwork,
to be sent in either a .jpg, .gif, or .pdf file. Start drawing,
coloring, taking photos, painting, or doodling- but get it
in to us soon!
Call your local media! Publicize your views and your
government's policies, and let them know what's happening
in New York.
Once the PrepCom is in session, you can read what your
government did or did not say by checking RCW's NPT page
at the end of the day. We post all statements, working papers,
non-papers, reports, NGO statements, and official documents
on our website in near real-time. Subscribe to the News
in Review, the daily non-governmental NPT publication, and
receive daily updates on what is happening in New York.
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/nirindex.html
It's been over three years since the Security Council passed
resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security, the historic
resolution that "encourages all those involved in the
planning for disarmament" to incorporate a gender perspective
in their deliberations. From what we can tell, the States
Parties to the NPT haven't quite yet achieved this.
This year, the Women's International League for Peace and
Freedom will be hosting a women's caucus during the NPT. The
caucus, as envisaged, would meet several times during the
PrepCom, in order to formulate a gendered analysis of the
proceedings. The caucus would then comprise a list of recommendations
to be sent to the delegates and the Chairman, using the DDA's
Gender Mainstreaming Action Plan, launched last year, as a
basis for strengthening the work of the PrepCom.
In addition to inviting our female friends and colleagues
who already work on disarmament issues, we would like to incorporate
the perspectives, expertise, and views of women working in
the field of women, peace, and security.
If you are interested in participating in this new initiative,
please contact us as soon as possible. We welcome any thoughts,
concerns, ideas, or proposals for moving this initiative forward.
With the NPT fast approaching, Reaching Critical Will has
begun coordinating civil society efforts at the PrepCom, April
26- May 7, 2004 in New York. In the upcoming weeks, friends
and advisors of RCW will be receiving a series of NPT-focused
advisories, including information on registration, the NGO
presentations process, the NGO newsletter, side events registration,
logistical information, and more.
In the meanwhile, we have a few quick announcements:
As always, we welcome any comments, questions, or concerns
you may have about any of the information below, the upcoming
NPT PrepCom, or international disarmament news in general.
We look forward to hearing from you!
In peace,
Rhianna Tyson
RCW Project Associate
1) Reaching Critical Finances
As all of us in the international disarmament community are
aware, funding for NGOs has hit an all-time low. Many governments
today do not believe that disarmament is possible, and others
still believe that it is not desirable. In response to this
dreary political outlook, many of the funders have turned
away from international work, and projects like Reaching Critical
Will, along with many other amazing research and advocacy
groups, find themselves in a serious financial crisis.
All of the information services upon which you have come
to depend from Reaching Critical Will are at stake. We are
now reaching out to our friends and advisors, in this time
of need, to keep these services operating through the end
of this year's critical NPT PrepCom.
If you would like to know more about Reaching Critical Will
before sending a cheque, we will gladly send you a briefing
book that details all of the services that your generous donation
will provide. We are also available at any time to answer
any questions you may have about this important project.
Please make all cheques payable to The Jane Addams Peace
Association (JAPA), with "RCW" in the memo line.
JAPA/RCW
777 UN Plaza
6th floor
New York, NY 10017
One friend of Reaching Critical Will has already volunteered
his services for our project.
This Saturday, January 31st, Jazz for Peace will be performing
two special benefit concerts for Reaching Critical Will. Come
and show your support!
Two shows: 7:30 PM and 9 PM
Jazz on the Park
36 West 106th Street (Duke Ellington Blvd)
between Manhattan Ave and Central Park West.
Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance at www.jazzforpeace.org
or by calling (212) 947-1104.
As the New York Times Jazz Forum maintained, it is "...sure
to be a good show."
2) News in Review subscriptions
The News in Review is the daily NGO letter published by RCW
during the NPT PrepComs and Review Conferences, containing
daily analysis of the conference proceedings, feature articles
from disarmament experts around the world, interviews with
diplomats and NGO representatives, announcements, calendar
of events, nuclear fun facts and more.
But the NIR is not just distributed to those in New York.
In fact, it is meant to give all of you who can't be in New
York all of the information you need to know exactly what
is going on here at the PrepCom. What government said what?
What did your government not say? Are the debates fruitful?
What did the NGOs have to say? Get the inside scoop by subscribing
today! Send an email to rhianna@reachingcriticalwill.org
with the subject "NIR subscribe", indicating
if you would prefer PDF or plain text. The NIRs will not be
going out on this General E-News list- you must subscribe
separately.
And, as an extra bonus to all email subscribers- you'll receive
your daily NIR the night before the delegates do! Subscribe
today!
3) The Weapons of Mass Destruction
Commission commences
The independent commission to investigate weapons of mass
destruction, initiated by the Swedish government, began its
work yesterday. Headed up by former UNMOVIC chief Hans Blix,
many of the world's top disarmament experts, acting in their
own personal capacity, are contributing to the world's understanding
of the WMD threat to our survival.
Read Jim Wurst's article from the UN Wire:
Iraq War Should Not Be Disarmament Model, Experts Say
