Prospects for NPT review cycle discussed in New York
The discussion of the NPT review cycle is one of the most topical issues in the field of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the adoption of prompt measures for their elimination. The situation was complicated by another fiasco in August 2022 following the Tenth NPT Review Conference, where the States Parties to the Treaty failed to adopt the Final Document. Earlier in 2015, a similar situation developed around the outcome of the Ninth Review Conference.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is an important instrument of the global disarmament and non-proliferation regime. The Treaty, with its near-universal membership, uniquely combines verifiable nuclear non-proliferation commitments, legally binding disarmament commitments, and arrangements to help develop the peaceful uses of nuclear technology.
UN Under-Secretary-General - High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu and the ambassadors of Kazakhstan, Malaysia, the Netherlands, the United States and South Africa shared their assessments of the prospects for the NPT review cycle on behalf of the groups of states, that play key roles in the process of reviewing the implementation of the Treaty.
Opening the session of the Forum, the Permanent Representative of Kazakhstan to the UN Akan Rakhmetullin stressed that the states need to make efforts to find mutually acceptable solutions in view of the difficult situation regarding the review of the Treaty.
The Forum participants noted that the NPT review process is taking place at a critical moment and against the backdrop of growing tensions between nuclear powers, heightened risks of nuclear confrontation and the erosion of the global arms control architecture. For these reasons, finding ways out of the NPT review deadlock provides an opportunity to strengthen the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, and to make tangible and conscientious efforts to reaffirm and fulfill commitments for the benefit of the common goal of a world without nuclear weapons.
The forum organized by the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan once again allowed the participants to discuss in a frank atmosphere what can be done to reduce the risks of nuclear proliferation and at the same time enhance the common vision of the disarmament process, as well as the possibilities to improve the instruments of nuclear non-proliferation without violating the rights of the participating states for the peaceful use of atomic energy and other issues.
Photo: gov.kz