NPT Review Conference opens in New York to discuss a world free of nuclear arms
May 8, 2015
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
NEW YORK--The Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), held every five years, was convened on April 27 at United Nations headquarters in New York. During the conference, which will continue until May 22, 190 member nations will discuss issues involving the reduction and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and explore future directions for these aims. As countries deepen their understanding of the inhumanity of nuclear weapons, which has long been emphasized by the atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the focus is on whether member nations can reach agreement on a final document that will include concrete steps to move toward “a world free of nuclear weapons.”
On the first day of the Review Conference, Algerian ambassador Taous Feroukhi was elected chair of the conference. Over the following four days, general debates will be held involving government representatives from each country, including Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, elected from district one in Hiroshima. At a non-governmental organization (NGO) session on May 1, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, the president of Mayors for Peace, and A-bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki will call for the abolition of nuclear weapons. From the second week onwards, committees will discuss the NPT’s three major pillars: nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. In the final phase, a full discussion to incorporate the conference results into a final document will be undertaken.
At the last Review Conference in 2010, the parties unanimously adopted a final document that centered on a 64-part action plan. This year, however, the conference is expected to face great difficulty in reaching a consensus because of the disagreements that exist between the nuclear weapon states and the non-nuclear weapon states. The former insists on a gradual reduction of nuclear weapons, while the latter seeks to outlaw nuclear arms based on the inhumanity of these weapons. Other factors which contribute to this difficulty are the prickly relations between the two nuclear super powers, the United States and Russia, which have deteriorated badly as a result of differences over Ukraine, and the tense international environment that has arisen as a result of various nuclear issues.
The Japanese government, which relies on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for its national security, takes a negative stance toward the outlawing of nuclear weapons, so to what extent Japan, the only A-bombed nation, can take the lead in achieving a nuclear-free world is not clear.
In this milestone year, which marks the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings, aging A-bomb survivors have traveled to New York in conjunction with the NPT Review Conference. They will convey their experiences and sufferings from the atomic bombings to government representatives, U.N. staff, and others at atomic bomb exhibitions held by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hidankyo) at U.N. headquarters and at other venues. Mayors for Peace plans to call for the start of negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention.
Keywords
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT)
The NPT, which took effect in 1970, is a multilateral treaty avowing the principle of nuclear abolition. Currently, 190 nations are member states of the NPT. The de facto nuclear weapon states of Israel, India, and Pakistan are non-signatories of the NPT. North Korea declared its withdrawal from the treaty in 2003. While the treaty limits nuclear weapon states to the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China, imposing on them the obligation to hold negotiations for nuclear disarmament, it grants non-nuclear weapon states the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, prohibits them from producing and acquiring nuclear weapons, and obliges them to accept International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards (inspections).
(Originally published on April 28, 2015)
NEW YORK--The Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), held every five years, was convened on April 27 at United Nations headquarters in New York. During the conference, which will continue until May 22, 190 member nations will discuss issues involving the reduction and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and explore future directions for these aims. As countries deepen their understanding of the inhumanity of nuclear weapons, which has long been emphasized by the atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the focus is on whether member nations can reach agreement on a final document that will include concrete steps to move toward “a world free of nuclear weapons.”
On the first day of the Review Conference, Algerian ambassador Taous Feroukhi was elected chair of the conference. Over the following four days, general debates will be held involving government representatives from each country, including Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, elected from district one in Hiroshima. At a non-governmental organization (NGO) session on May 1, Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, the president of Mayors for Peace, and A-bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki will call for the abolition of nuclear weapons. From the second week onwards, committees will discuss the NPT’s three major pillars: nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. In the final phase, a full discussion to incorporate the conference results into a final document will be undertaken.
At the last Review Conference in 2010, the parties unanimously adopted a final document that centered on a 64-part action plan. This year, however, the conference is expected to face great difficulty in reaching a consensus because of the disagreements that exist between the nuclear weapon states and the non-nuclear weapon states. The former insists on a gradual reduction of nuclear weapons, while the latter seeks to outlaw nuclear arms based on the inhumanity of these weapons. Other factors which contribute to this difficulty are the prickly relations between the two nuclear super powers, the United States and Russia, which have deteriorated badly as a result of differences over Ukraine, and the tense international environment that has arisen as a result of various nuclear issues.
The Japanese government, which relies on the U.S. nuclear umbrella for its national security, takes a negative stance toward the outlawing of nuclear weapons, so to what extent Japan, the only A-bombed nation, can take the lead in achieving a nuclear-free world is not clear.
In this milestone year, which marks the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings, aging A-bomb survivors have traveled to New York in conjunction with the NPT Review Conference. They will convey their experiences and sufferings from the atomic bombings to government representatives, U.N. staff, and others at atomic bomb exhibitions held by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hidankyo) at U.N. headquarters and at other venues. Mayors for Peace plans to call for the start of negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention.
Keywords
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT)
The NPT, which took effect in 1970, is a multilateral treaty avowing the principle of nuclear abolition. Currently, 190 nations are member states of the NPT. The de facto nuclear weapon states of Israel, India, and Pakistan are non-signatories of the NPT. North Korea declared its withdrawal from the treaty in 2003. While the treaty limits nuclear weapon states to the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China, imposing on them the obligation to hold negotiations for nuclear disarmament, it grants non-nuclear weapon states the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, prohibits them from producing and acquiring nuclear weapons, and obliges them to accept International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards (inspections).
(Originally published on April 28, 2015)
