News in Brief Michael Spies | Reaching Critical Will of WILPF
News in Brief section from the NPT News
in Review, the daily NGO newsletter from the third session
of the
Preparatory Committee for the 2010 nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty Review Conference Thursday, 7 May 2009
The Agenda
• The PrepCom adopted the provisional agenda for the
2010 RevCon, which is based on the agenda of the 2000 RevCon.
The agenda has been updated to mandate a review of the final
document of the 2000 RevCon, in addition to review of the
Treaty and 1995 decisions and resolution.
• Some delegations hoped the agenda would mandate the
RevCon to also take into account recent developments. The
chair dropped this language from the draft agenda once it
became clear it would not gain consensus, over the persistent
objection of one delegation.
Endorsement of Officers and Bureau
• The PrepCom endorsed the ambassador of the Philippines
as President of the 2010 RevCon.
• The PrepCom decided to follow the formula used in
2005 for selecting chairs for the main committees: MC.I will
be selected by the non-aligned group; MC.II will be selected
by the eastern European group; and MC.III will be selected
by the western group.
Other Procedural Issues
• The PrepCom decided to postpone the 2010 RevCon by
one week to 3–28 May 2010, due to refurbishment of the
UN headquarters in New York.
• The PrepCom adopted its rules of procedure for the
2010 RevCon, based on the rules of the 2005 RevCon.
Highlights from the Cluster 1 Debate
The Nuclear Weapon States on Disarmament
• The United States recognized its own special responsibility
as a nuclear weapon state to pursue nuclear disarmament and
described the follow-on to START as the first part of a step-by-step
bilateral process with Russia to work toward nuclear disarmament.
• The United Kingdom called for the RevCon to adopt
a forward-looking roadmap on disarmament. The UK listed six
key conditions, originally presented by Foreign Secretary
Miliband in February, necessary to move the world toward disarmament.
These included: entry into force of the CTBT; further US/Russian
reductions; stopping proliferation in countries subject to
UN Security Council resolutions; negotiation of an FMCT; dealing
with nuclear fuel cycle issues; and resolving technical, political,
military, and institutional problems needed to achieve disarmament.
• France recalled the proposals made by President Sarkozy
in March 2008 and invited states to help carry them forward.
• China called for the RevCon to pursue a number of
steps including: reaffirming the unequivocal undertaking to
pursue disarmament; further US/Russian strategic arms reductions;
and a number of intermediate steps including, non-first use
and security assurance commitments, ceasing development of
new nuclear weapons, de-targeting, withdrawing nuclear weapons
to national territories, ending nuclear sharing and nuclear
umbrella arrangements, and banning space weaponization and
national ballistic missile defence programmes.
• According to Russia, steps necessary to create a stable
strategic environment suitable for disarmament include: not
building up conventional forces to compensate for nuclear
capabilities; ceasing development of space weapons; and ceasing
development of national ballistic missile defenses.
Other States on Disarmament
• The EU called for states to help promote the eight
“concrete and realistic disarmament initiatives”,
which it had previously relaying the General Assembly at the
initiative of France in December 2008.
• The NAM called for the drafting of further practical
disarmament steps by a subsidiary body to main committee I
of the RevCon and for the implementation of the 13 steps.
Indonesia and Norway called on the RevCon to review implementation
of the 13 steps.
• The EU, the NAM, and Russia reiterated their support
for the principles of transparency, irreversibility, and verifiability
to be applied to all arms reductions agreements.
• The New Agenda Coalition, in a new working paper,
described elements of general principles related to moving
disarmament forward.
• Australia called on the RevCon to provide a clear
blueprint on achieving nuclear disarmament and to reaffirm
nuclear disarmament as the ultimate goal.
• Switzerland described a number of areas where disarmament
could be advanced, including, inter alia, qualitative and
quantitative US/Russia strategic arms reductions; additional
steps in parallel to the 1995 and 2000 obligations; and avoiding
actions that undermine disarmament steps.
• Norway called on the RevCon to adopt disarmament measures
that included steps to be taken beyond 2015.
Operational Readiness of Nuclear Weapons
• Chile, on behalf of sponsors of the UNGA resolution
on the operational readiness of nuclear weapons, said that
they will continue to promote resolutions in the UNGA calling
for nuclear weapon states to remove their weapons from high
alert status.
• Chile and New Zealand argued against justifications
for maintain nuclear weapons on alert that cite strategic
stability. In this context, Chile argued that now is the time
to put aside Cold War attitudes, citing a statement made by
US President Obama as a candidate.
• Chile, New Zealand, and Switzerland called on the
United States and Russia to include dealtering steps in all
future arms reductions agreements.
Security Assurances
• The EU continued to express support only for further
discussions of assurances.
• The United Kingdom reaffirmed the assurances granted
in UN Security Council resolution 984 (1995) and reaffirmed
its view that the best way to conclude new assurances is through
protocols to NWFZ treaties. Malaysia, however, described existing
security assurances as inadequate.
Missiles
• The EU reiterated its proposal for negotiation of
a treaty banning short- and intermediate-range, ground-to-ground
missiles and for the universalization of the Hague Code of
Conduct.
• Russia reiterated its call for the globalization of
the INF Treaty.
Nuclear Weapon State Reporting
• The United States, United Kingdom, and France provided
reports on their nuclear disarmament efforts in their cluster
1 statements, in keeping with past practices.
• Australia called on the nuclear weapon states to report
to the RevCon on their implementation of the 13 steps, though
it acknowledged that some have been overtaken by events.
• New Zealand support strengthening the reporting mechanism
as a realistic goal for the present review cycle.
Highlights from the General Debate
Balanced Implementation of the Treaty
• The UAE described steps for 2010 that it said could
be the basis for consensus, including: the nuclear weapon
states agreeing to a timebound process for implementing the
13 steps; prohibiting the development of new nuclear weapons;
more effective measures to demand non-party states join the
Treaty; encouraging further establishment of regional and
subregional NWFZ; and reaffirming the right to nuclear weapons.
Non-Proliferation
• The Arab League reiterated its position on nuclear
proliferation in the Middle East, expressing opposition to
the possession of nuclear weapons by any country. The League
said the issue should be addressed through a regional approach
rather than a selective and discriminatory state-by-state
approach.
1995 resolution on the Middle East
• The Arab League said that implementation of the 1995
Middle East resolution was a non-negotiable, overriding priority
and a cornerstone of security in the regional. The League
mentioned it would be submitting proposals related to implementing
the resolution in a working paper.
