President of NPT conference proposes draft of agreements
May 26, 2010
by Yumi Kanazaki, Staff Writer, dispatched from New York
On May 25, Libran Cabactulan, president of the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, proposed a draft of agreements to the NPT parties. On May 24, Main Committee 1 (nuclear disarmament), Main Committee 2 (nuclear non-proliferation), and Main Committee 3 (the peaceful use of nuclear energy) submitted their reports. The draft adheres to the three reports submitted by the three Main Committees, and is a large step backward from the initial drafts submitted by each committee on May 14.
The section on "Disarmament of Nuclear Weapons" is comprised of an action plan with 24 items and other provisions. The target year 2014 for an international conference to create a road map for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons has remained absent from the conference documents since it was removed as a result of deliberations in Committee 1. Restoring this target year in the draft through further discussion appears difficult.
With regard to "negative security assurances," in which the nuclear powers would pledge not to attack non-nuclear states, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) calls for such assurances to be unconditional and legally-binding, while the nuclear weapon states strongly oppose this idea.
Advancing the "Resolution on the Middle East," an agreement made at the 1995 NPT Review Conference, is likely to be the most difficult challenge. Whether the United States and other nations will accept such proposals as a meeting in 2012 between all Middle Eastern countries and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the denuclearization of the region and a call for Israel to join the NPT is key to advancing the measure.
In the discussions held by each one of the three Main Committees, there was no narrowing of the gap between the nuclear weapon states and the NAM nations. The chairs of each committee were forced to submit their reports without unanimous agreement. The negotiations, including backroom deals, aimed at the adoption of the final document on May 28, the closing day, have now entered their final stage.
(Originally published on May 26, 2010)
Related articles
Battle over drafting of agreements continues in final week of NPT confab (May 25, 2010)
Submission of revised drafts is postponed at NPT Review Conference (May 24, 2010)
Removal of target years for nuclear abolition stirs criticism at NPT confab (May 24, 2010)
On May 25, Libran Cabactulan, president of the Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, proposed a draft of agreements to the NPT parties. On May 24, Main Committee 1 (nuclear disarmament), Main Committee 2 (nuclear non-proliferation), and Main Committee 3 (the peaceful use of nuclear energy) submitted their reports. The draft adheres to the three reports submitted by the three Main Committees, and is a large step backward from the initial drafts submitted by each committee on May 14.
The section on "Disarmament of Nuclear Weapons" is comprised of an action plan with 24 items and other provisions. The target year 2014 for an international conference to create a road map for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons has remained absent from the conference documents since it was removed as a result of deliberations in Committee 1. Restoring this target year in the draft through further discussion appears difficult.
With regard to "negative security assurances," in which the nuclear powers would pledge not to attack non-nuclear states, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) calls for such assurances to be unconditional and legally-binding, while the nuclear weapon states strongly oppose this idea.
Advancing the "Resolution on the Middle East," an agreement made at the 1995 NPT Review Conference, is likely to be the most difficult challenge. Whether the United States and other nations will accept such proposals as a meeting in 2012 between all Middle Eastern countries and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to discuss the denuclearization of the region and a call for Israel to join the NPT is key to advancing the measure.
In the discussions held by each one of the three Main Committees, there was no narrowing of the gap between the nuclear weapon states and the NAM nations. The chairs of each committee were forced to submit their reports without unanimous agreement. The negotiations, including backroom deals, aimed at the adoption of the final document on May 28, the closing day, have now entered their final stage.
(Originally published on May 26, 2010)
Related articles
Battle over drafting of agreements continues in final week of NPT confab (May 25, 2010)
Submission of revised drafts is postponed at NPT Review Conference (May 24, 2010)
Removal of target years for nuclear abolition stirs criticism at NPT confab (May 24, 2010)
