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NPT discussions to start after addresses by state representatives

by Yumi Kanazaki, Staff Writer, dispatched from New York

The NPT Review Conference being held at United Nations Headquarters in New York ended a series of addresses delivered by state representatives on May 6. The full-fledged discussions will begin on May 7.

Since the review conference opened on May 3, representatives of more than 1,000 nations and organizations took the podium. Issues involving the Middle East came to the fore as a focal point of the conference with the United States and Iran butting heads over the issue of Iran's nuclear program, Arab countries criticizing the de facto possession of nuclear weapons by Israel, and related concerns. Meanwhile, positive prospects were also seen, including Indonesia's announcement of its intention to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). Though Japan touched on the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol in its speech, it failed to propose that the protocol be included as an item on the conference agenda.

From May 7, discussions will get underway in the three Main Committees covering the three main pillars of the NPT. Main Committee 1, on nuclear disarmament, will open talks on May 7. Main Committees 2 and 3, on nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy, respectively, will begin debate on May 10.

In addition to the discussion on nuclear disarmament, the "NGO Presentations," a series of speeches by NGO representatives, is included in the formal schedule of the NPT Review Conference. Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and other representatives will step to the podium to call for accelerated action toward nuclear abolition.

(Originally published on May 8, 2010)

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