The 2010 Review Conference for the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation ...
(NPT) was held at
United Nations Headquarters
The United Nations is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States, and the complex has served as the official headquarters of the United Nations since its completion in 1951. It is in the Turtle Bay, Manhattan, Turtle Bay neig ...
in New York City from 3 to 28 May 2010.
[Background](_blank)
2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 3–29 May 2010. The President of the Review Conference is Ambassador
Libran N. Cabactulan of the Philippines.
[2010 Review Conference](_blank)
of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 3–29 May 2010.[Day 1 at the NPT: Transparency, bluster, and practical commitments](_blank)
Rebecca Johnson, Acronym Institute. UN
Secretary-General
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
used the opening of the conference to note that "sixty five years later, the world still lives under the nuclear shadow".
The Review Conference considered a number of issues, including: universality of the Treaty;
nuclear disarmament
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the Atomic nucleus, nucleus of the atom:
*Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
*Nuclear ...
, including specific practical measures;
nuclear non-proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as "List of states with nuclear weapons, Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on ...
, including the promoting and strengthening of safeguards; measures to advance the peaceful use of nuclear energy, safety and security; regional disarmament and non-proliferation; implementation of the 1995 resolution on the Middle East; measures to address withdrawal from the Treaty; measures to further strengthen the review process; and ways to promote engagement with civil society in strengthening NPT norms and in promoting disarmament education.
Background
The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), which entered into force in 1970, recognizes five countries as
nuclear-weapon states
Eight sovereign states have publicly announced successful detonation of nuclear weapons. United Nations Security Council#Permanent members, Five are considered to be nuclear-weapon states (NWS) under the terms of the Treaty on the Non-Prolifera ...
(the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China), who commit to pursue disarmament, and the right of other signatories to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, conditional upon their non-acquisition of nuclear weapons. Its ratification is nearly universal because it is adhered by 189 states, including five nuclear-weapon states, with the exception of Israel, India, and Pakistan. North Korea left the NPT and tested its first nuclear weapon in 2006.
[Fifteen Nuclear Agendas to Watch](_blank)
by CFR
Conferences to review the operation of the Treaty have been held at five-year intervals since the Treaty went into effect in 1970. Each conference has sought to find agreement on a final declaration that would assess the implementation of the Treaty's provisions and make recommendations on measures to further strengthen it.
The treaty's last Review Conference in 2005, ended without a consensus document primarily because of disputes related to the
nuclear program of Iran
The nuclear program of Iran is an ongoing scientific effort by Iran to research nuclear technology that can be used to make nuclear weapons. Iran has several research sites, two uranium mines, a research reactor, and uranium processing facilit ...
and Egypt's focus on
Israel's nuclear program and implementation of the 1995 NPT resolution calling for a Middle East zone free of all weapons of mass destruction.
However, with the impact of the review in 2005, Montenegro has successfully joined the treaty in 2006.
[The 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)](_blank)
/ref>
The NPT Review Process
NPT Review Conferences have been held every five years, beginning in 1975, and most recently in 2015.
* The 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference. There were 2 objectives; (1) to review the Treaty's operation and (2) to decide on its extension. Although the review did not reach a consensus review of the Treaty's implementation, states parties adopted without a vote a package of three decisions and a resolution. The decisions consisted of (1) elements for a strengthened review process for the Treaty, (2) principles and objectives for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, and (3) the indefinite extension of the Treaty. The resolution dealt with the Middle East.
* The 2000 Review Conference. States parties successfully concluded their agreement on a Final Document that assessed past performance of the treaty and on a number of key issues relating to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, nuclear safety and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
* The 2005 and 2015 Review Conferences. States parties failed to reach agreement on any final document.
Context
Three major events occurred prior to the 2010 NPT Review Conference:
* The New START
New START (Russian abbrev.: СНВ-III, ''SNV-III'' from ''сокращение стратегических наступательных вооружений'' "reduction of strategic offensive arms") is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between ...
treaty was signed on 8 April 2010 in Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
by U.S. President Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev ( rus, links=no, Дмитрий Анатольевич Медведев, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj ɐnɐˈtolʲjɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪdˈvʲedʲɪf; born 14 September 1965) is a Russian politician who has been serving as the dep ...
.
* The 2010 Nuclear Security Summit
The 2010 Nuclear Security Summit was a Summit (meeting), summit held in Washington, D.C., on April 12 and 13, 2010. The Summit focused on how to better safeguard weapons-grade plutonium and uranium to prevent nuclear terrorism.
Overview
The New S ...
was held on 12–13 April 2010 in Washington, D.C.
* Iran held a conference on disarmament and non-proliferation on 17–18 April 2010 in Tehran.
Participants
President Ahmadinejad of Iran was the only head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a gro ...
participating in the Review Conference. In addition to Secretary Clinton, Foreign Minister
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...
s of Austria, Indonesia, and several other countries, as well as Baroness Ashton
Catherine Margaret Ashton, Baroness Ashton of Upholland, (born 20 March 1956), is a British Labour politician who served as the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and First Vice President of the Europe ...
, High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy
The High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP) is the chief co-ordinator and representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) within the European Union (EU). The position is currently held ...
of the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
.
Discussions
On 3 May, the conference began with speeches by UN Secretary-General
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...
Ban Ki-moon
Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Minister ...
[Address to the 2010 Review Conference of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons](_blank)
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, 3 May 2010. and IAEA
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
Director General Yukiya Amano
was a Japanese diplomat and the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) (July 2009 – 2019). Amano previously served as an international civil servant for the United Nations and its subdivisions.
Early life
Amano was ...
,[Statement to 2010 Review Conference of Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)](_blank)
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano, 3 May 2010. both of whom called for promoting the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and technical cooperation, and for greater cooperation on issues of nonproliferation and disarmament
Disarmament is the act of reducing, limiting, or abolishing weapons. Disarmament generally refers to a country's military or specific type of weaponry. Disarmament is often taken to mean total elimination of weapons of mass destruction, such as n ...
.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened his speech by discussing the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima
The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...
, and noted that "sixty five years later, the world still lives under the nuclear shadow". Ban-Ki Moon called for additional steps to be taken by nuclear weapon states towards nuclear disarmament, including steps for the universality of the NPT, a "framework of legal instruments that complement the NPT", and "progress towards a nuclear-weapon-free-zone in the Middle East and on other regional concerns".
Amano noted that "it is expected that between 10 and 25 new countries will bring their first nuclear power plants online by 2030" since it is for each sovereign State to decide whether or not to use nuclear power, and said that "more efforts are needed to achieve sufficient, assured and predictable funding of technical cooperation". Amano also said that "IAEA safeguards are a fundamental pillar of the nuclear non-proliferation regime" and that the Agency was working to "resolve important safeguards implementation issues in three states". Amano said the IAEA General Conference had adopted resolutions in recent years on the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East and Israeli nuclear capabilities, and that he would take these issues up as well.
Statements by countries
Indonesia's Foreign Minister, R. M. Marty N. Natalegawa spoke on behalf of Non-Aligned Movement
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is a forum of 120 countries that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. After the United Nations, it is the largest grouping of states worldwide.
The movement originated in the aftermath o ...
(NAM). "While there are some positive signs in the field of nuclear disarmament, much more needs to be done to achieve complete nuclear disarmament," he said. NAM recognized the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
New START (Russian abbrev.: СНВ-III, ''SNV-III'' from ''сокращение стратегических наступательных вооружений'' "reduction of strategic offensive arms") is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between ...
, but said it remained "below the international community's expectations which anticipate more concrete uniform and systematic nuclear disarmament". NAM further noted that modernization of nuclear weapons arsenals constituted "non-compliance by the Nuclear Weapons States with their obligations under Article VI of the Treaty". NAM also called for the freezing of cooperation with states which were working outside of the treaty, and for the establishment of a nuclear-weapon free zone in the Middle East.
President Ahmadinejad of Iran, criticized and charged Washington with leading a skewed international system that seeks to deny peaceful nuclear power to developing nations while allowing allies such as Israel to stockpile atomic arms[U.S. Declares Size of Nuclear Arsenal ](_blank)
and put forward a proposal for nuclear disarmament. Ahmadinejad called for guarantees against the use of nuclear weapons, a halt to research of nuclear weapons, a halt to cooperation with states operating outside of the treaty, the establishment of a nuclear free zone in the Middle East, the dismantling of nuclear weapons in Europe, and a legally binding framework for nuclear disarmament.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton delivered a statement that called for NPT Parties to "focus on promoting practical solutions, not pursuing unrealistic agendas, adding that "Now is the time to build consensus, not to block it." She accused Iran of "whatever it can to divert attention away from its own record and to attempt to evade accountability," and said Iran "has defied the UN Security Council and the IAEA, and placed the future of the nonproliferation regime in jeopardy." Clinton also touted the U.S. record on nuclear disarmament, citing the Nuclear Posture Review The Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) is a process “to determine what the role of nuclear weapons in U.S. security strategy should be.”
History
1994 NPR
The first NPR was ordered by United States Department of Defense, Department of Defense (DoD) ...
, the New START
New START (Russian abbrev.: СНВ-III, ''SNV-III'' from ''сокращение стратегических наступательных вооружений'' "reduction of strategic offensive arms") is a nuclear arms reduction treaty between ...
Treaty and reductions in the U.S. nuclear weapon stockpile. She announced that the Obama Administration would seek Senate approval of the Protocols to the nuclear-weapon-free zone
A nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) is defined by the United Nations as an agreement that a group of states has freely established by treaty or convention that bans the development, manufacturing, control, possession, testing, stationing or transpo ...
s in Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and the South Pacific, and announced a U.S. pledge of $50 million to launch an IAEA Peaceful Uses Initiative.
State Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Japan Tetsure Fukuyama said "the citizens of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki are watching with very keen eyes what will come out of this Conference. It was as few as two atomic bombs that claimed the lives of more than 200 thousand civilians, and left many to suffer from the after-effects of radiation even today 60 years later." Fukuyama also said "that all Parties to the Treaty must work to bridge the differences in their respective positions and find common ground for collaboration in the spirit of multilateralism, in order to pave the way for a "world without nuclear weapons" while also maintaining "atoms for peace."
Events
* On 3 May 2010, the U.S. Defense Department released aggregate stockpile numbers for 1962–2009 which brought up to date a 1994 release by the U.S. Department of Energy. The release led the Federation of American Scientists
The Federation of American Scientists (FAS) is an American nonprofit global policy think tank with the stated intent of using science and scientific analysis to attempt to make the world more secure. FAS was founded in 1946 by scientists who wo ...
to estimate the United States as having 9,613 total assembled nuclear warheads.
* On 4 May 2010 Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, announced Iran's agreement in principle to Brazilian mediation to revive a U.N.-brokered nuclear fuel swap deal with world powers. On 17 May, the Foreign Ministers of Brazil, Turkey issued a statement agreeing to exchange its enriched uranium for fuel for the Tehran Research Reactor
Iran's nuclear program is made up of a number of nuclear facilities, including nuclear reactors and various nuclear fuel cycle facilities.
Anarak
Anarak, near Yazd, has a nuclear waste storage site.
Arak
The Arak area has several industrial c ...
(see Nuclear program of Iran#Tehran Nuclear Declaration, 2010). Soon afterwards, the UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program (see United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929
United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929, adopted on 9 June 2010, after recalling resolutions 1696 (2006), 1737 (2006), 1747 (2007), 1803 (2008), 1835 (2008) and 1887 (2009) concerning the topics of Iran and non-proliferation, the Counc ...
).
Outcome
The Conference closed on 28 May and until the last minute was hard to know if it would have a positive outcome, as the risk of blocking persisted. Consensus was achieved during the afternoon that day, when the plenary was finally gathered and Ambassador Cabactulan got the approval for his proposal of Final Document.
The final document supported the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is a multilateral treaty to ban nuclear weapons test explosions and any other nuclear explosions, for both civilian and military purposes, in all environments. It was adopted by the United Nations ...
, as well as the prompt negotiation of a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty
The Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) is a proposed international treaty to prohibit the further production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices. The treaty has not been negotiated and its terms remain to be define ...
, recognized the legitimate interest of non-nuclear weapon states to request nuclear weapon states to reduce operational status of their nuclear weapons. It also called to achieve total disarmament and then to maintain a world without nuclear weapons.
The final document called for a 2012 conference of all Middle Eastern states to move forward on a 1995 proposal for a nuclear-free Mideast and for the United Nations secretary general, along with the United States, Russia and Britain, to appoint a facilitator and consult with the countries of the Middle East convening the conference. The United States announced after the Review Conference that the United States, Russia, and the United Kingdom, along with the UN Secretary General, will co-sponsor the meeting and determine a country to host it and an individual to help organize it. The document also called for India, Pakistan and Israel, all holding nuclear weapons but not nonproliferation treaty members, to join the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It also emphasized the need for countries to respect treaty guidelines for keeping their nuclear programs open to international inspection and suffering the consequences if they do not. With respect to international inspection the document called for the universal adoption of the IAEA
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...
Additional Protocol
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as "List of states with nuclear weapons, Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on ...
.
The document contained a recommitment of nations to the basic bargain of the NPT i.e. that "Countries with nuclear weapons will move towards disarmament, countries without nuclear weapons will not acquire them, and all countries can access peaceful nuclear energy." It also contained specific action plans on nonproliferation, disarmament, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. There are specific and measurable actions in the final document that states are asked to take in support of these three pillars of the NPT, which could serve as a scorecard for measuring progress and ensuring there would be accountability at future meetings.
The nonproliferation section covered a range of issues such as: ensuring compliance, strengthening safeguards, encouraging the adoption of the Additional Protocol, supporting the IAEA, strengthening export controls, emphasizing the need for the physical protection of nuclear materials, stopping illicit trafficking, and preventing nuclear terrorism, etc. The nonproliferation action plan also enabled a scorecard exercise to see how well states perform on the stated actions.
In the disarmament section, for the first time, a world free of nuclear weapons was articulated as the goal of nuclear disarmament. Acknowledged nuclear weapon states also committed themselves to continuing to work together to accelerate concrete progress on disarmament. Efforts to include a timeline for a negotiated nuclear weapons convention failed, but the disarmament action plan included a timeline whereby the nuclear weapon states should report on their disarmament activities at the 2014 NPT Preparatory Committee meeting. They were also encouraged to develop a standard reporting form as a confidence building measure.
The outcome document also reiterates that all states have to abide by international humanitarian law at all times, while expressing concern at the "catastrophic humanitarian consequences" any nuclear weapon detonation would entail. This language gave rise, in subsequent conferences of the NPT, to the Humanitarian Initiative The Humanitarian Initiative is a group of states that evolved within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and nuclear weapons diplomacy more widely. 159 states subscribed to the last iteration of the initiative's Joint Statem ...
, which is further pushing the envelope on the delegitimization of nuclear weapons in light of their humanitarian consequences. Norway and Mexico are also fulfilling this mandate for a renewed focus on the humanitarian consequences through their hosting of conferences focusing specifically on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, in early 2013 and early 2014, respectively.Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Oslo conference and the Mexican follow-up, 11 March 2013
/ref>
See also
* Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation ...
* Barack Obama speech in Prague, 2009
This is a list of international presidential trips made by Barack Obama, the 44th president of the United States. Barack Obama made 52 international trips to 58 countries (in addition to visiting the West Bank) during his presidency, which beg ...
* Nuclear disarmament
Nuclear may refer to:
Physics
Relating to the Atomic nucleus, nucleus of the atom:
*Nuclear engineering
*Nuclear physics
*Nuclear power
*Nuclear reactor
*Nuclear weapon
*Nuclear medicine
*Radiation therapy
*Nuclear warfare
Mathematics
*Nuclear ...
* Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as " Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Wea ...
* Anti-nuclear movement
The anti-nuclear movement is a social movement that opposes various nuclear technologies. Some direct action groups, environmental movements, and professional organisations have identified themselves with the movement at the local, nationa ...
References
External links
Official website
* EU Institute for Security Studies
''Nuclear Weapons After the 2010 NPT Review Conference''
EUISS, April 2010
{{DEFAULTSORT:NPT Review Conference,2010
2010 conferences
2010 in the United States
Nuclear proliferation
Nuclear weapons policy
2010 in international relations
United Nations conferences
21st-century diplomatic conferences
Diplomatic conferences in the United States
NPT Review
May 2010 events in the United States