Nuclear Weapons Can Be Eliminated: One month to NPT Review Conference
Apr. 5, 2010
by Yumi Kanazaki and Kohei Okata, Staff Writers
The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference will be held at United Nations headquarters in New York from May 3-28. A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) and other citizens are preparing to visit the United States in large numbers to encourage progress toward the elimination of nuclear weapons. What agreements can be achieved at the NPT Review Conference, which is convened every five years? The Chugoku Shimbun looks at the subjects of focus at the conference, which begins in one month.
Subjects of focus
At the NPT Review Conference, for which about 190 member nations of the NPT will gather, the participants will discuss the three pillars of the treaty -- nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy -- and aim to adopt a final document. In contrast to the previous NPT Review Conference in 2005, which failed to reach any agreement, there are now several positive factors at play, including the advent of U.S. President Barack Obama, who has vowed to strive for "a world without nuclear weapons," and the new nuclear disarmament treaty between the United States and Russia.
However, there are no prospects for the implementation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), while the start of the negotiations for a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty at the Geneva Conference on Disarmament has suffered a setback. These difficulties inhibit the international momentum for nuclear disarmament.
The NPT Review Conference in 2000, in its final document, used the phrase "an unequivocal undertaking" toward the elimination of nuclear weapons. The primary focal point regarding nuclear disarmament will be whether the participants can reaffirm this "unequivocal undertaking" in addition to concrete measures to realize the undertaking.
The participants will likely have animated discussions about nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy as well. If there is a move to prevent the use of nuclear energy for military purposes by international management of nuclear fuel or tighter inspection, emerging nations seeking to build nuclear reactors may oppose the idea, arguing, "Are you attempting to deprive us of our right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy?" Developments at the Global Summit on Nuclear Security to be held on April 12 and 13 are likely to have an impact on this issue as well.
Other subjects of focus will be the Middle East, a volatile area with Iran's suspected nuclear development activities, as well as regional issues in Northeast Asia, including North Korea, which has declared its withdrawal from the NPT, and the conference's handling of non-signatories of the NPT, such as India, Pakistan and Israel.
From the A-bombed nation
Roughly 2,000 people from Japan, including 100 from Hiroshima, are planning to visit the United States. A sizable contingent of hibakusha will be among them. They will take part in international conferences led by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) prior to the NPT Review Conference and join a demonstration march crossing Manhattan on May 2, as well as follow the discussions of the NPT Review Conference. The march will reportedly have nearly 40,000 participants, like the previous one.
The Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations has organized a 54-member delegation, its largest-ever delegation, led by Sunao Tsuboi, co-chairperson of the confederation. In collaboration with 106 members of the Japanese Consumers' Cooperative Union, they will hold an A-bomb exhibition at UN headquarters and share their A-bomb accounts in schools and other venues. The Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs will send about 1,500 people, including 46 from Hiroshima. The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, the Japan Congress Against A- and H-bombs, and the National Council for Peace and Against Nuclear Weapons will dispatch 70 people in total.
On May 7, during the allotted time for NGOs at the NPT Review Conference, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba will deliver a speech calling for the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol, which seeks nuclear abolition by 2020, to be adopted at the conference.
The NPT Review Conference and related main events
(Events will be held at UN headquarters, unless otherwise noted.)
April 29: Nuclear-weapon-free Zone Civil Society Forum
April 30: Conference of parties of nuclear-weapon free zone; International conference organized by NGOs (in the city of New York)
May 1: International conference organized by NGOs (in the city of New York)
May 2: Demonstration march and outdoor meeting in the city of New York
May 3: Start of the NPT Review Conference; A-bomb exhibition by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations until June 30
May 7: Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and representatives of hibakusha will deliver speeches at the NPT Review Conference
(Originally published on April 3, 2010)
Related articles
Hiroshima and the World: Citizen Action, the Foundation for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (March 29, 2010)
Thoughts on the upcoming NPT Review Conference: Daisaku Ikeda (March 16, 2010)
Thoughts on the upcoming NPT Review Conference: David Krieger (March 16, 2010)
NPT Review Conference to be held this May in New York (Jan. 11, 2010)
The Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference will be held at United Nations headquarters in New York from May 3-28. A-bomb survivors (hibakusha) and other citizens are preparing to visit the United States in large numbers to encourage progress toward the elimination of nuclear weapons. What agreements can be achieved at the NPT Review Conference, which is convened every five years? The Chugoku Shimbun looks at the subjects of focus at the conference, which begins in one month.
Subjects of focus
At the NPT Review Conference, for which about 190 member nations of the NPT will gather, the participants will discuss the three pillars of the treaty -- nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy -- and aim to adopt a final document. In contrast to the previous NPT Review Conference in 2005, which failed to reach any agreement, there are now several positive factors at play, including the advent of U.S. President Barack Obama, who has vowed to strive for "a world without nuclear weapons," and the new nuclear disarmament treaty between the United States and Russia.
However, there are no prospects for the implementation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), while the start of the negotiations for a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty at the Geneva Conference on Disarmament has suffered a setback. These difficulties inhibit the international momentum for nuclear disarmament.
The NPT Review Conference in 2000, in its final document, used the phrase "an unequivocal undertaking" toward the elimination of nuclear weapons. The primary focal point regarding nuclear disarmament will be whether the participants can reaffirm this "unequivocal undertaking" in addition to concrete measures to realize the undertaking.
The participants will likely have animated discussions about nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy as well. If there is a move to prevent the use of nuclear energy for military purposes by international management of nuclear fuel or tighter inspection, emerging nations seeking to build nuclear reactors may oppose the idea, arguing, "Are you attempting to deprive us of our right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy?" Developments at the Global Summit on Nuclear Security to be held on April 12 and 13 are likely to have an impact on this issue as well.
Other subjects of focus will be the Middle East, a volatile area with Iran's suspected nuclear development activities, as well as regional issues in Northeast Asia, including North Korea, which has declared its withdrawal from the NPT, and the conference's handling of non-signatories of the NPT, such as India, Pakistan and Israel.
From the A-bombed nation
Roughly 2,000 people from Japan, including 100 from Hiroshima, are planning to visit the United States. A sizable contingent of hibakusha will be among them. They will take part in international conferences led by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) prior to the NPT Review Conference and join a demonstration march crossing Manhattan on May 2, as well as follow the discussions of the NPT Review Conference. The march will reportedly have nearly 40,000 participants, like the previous one.
The Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations has organized a 54-member delegation, its largest-ever delegation, led by Sunao Tsuboi, co-chairperson of the confederation. In collaboration with 106 members of the Japanese Consumers' Cooperative Union, they will hold an A-bomb exhibition at UN headquarters and share their A-bomb accounts in schools and other venues. The Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs will send about 1,500 people, including 46 from Hiroshima. The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, the Japan Congress Against A- and H-bombs, and the National Council for Peace and Against Nuclear Weapons will dispatch 70 people in total.
On May 7, during the allotted time for NGOs at the NPT Review Conference, Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba will deliver a speech calling for the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol, which seeks nuclear abolition by 2020, to be adopted at the conference.
The NPT Review Conference and related main events
(Events will be held at UN headquarters, unless otherwise noted.)
April 29: Nuclear-weapon-free Zone Civil Society Forum
April 30: Conference of parties of nuclear-weapon free zone; International conference organized by NGOs (in the city of New York)
May 1: International conference organized by NGOs (in the city of New York)
May 2: Demonstration march and outdoor meeting in the city of New York
May 3: Start of the NPT Review Conference; A-bomb exhibition by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations until June 30
May 7: Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and representatives of hibakusha will deliver speeches at the NPT Review Conference
(Originally published on April 3, 2010)
Related articles
Hiroshima and the World: Citizen Action, the Foundation for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (March 29, 2010)
Thoughts on the upcoming NPT Review Conference: Daisaku Ikeda (March 16, 2010)
Thoughts on the upcoming NPT Review Conference: David Krieger (March 16, 2010)
NPT Review Conference to be held this May in New York (Jan. 11, 2010)
