CNS NPT Briefing:
African Delegates Discuss the Upcoming Review Conference

Twenty delegates from African states attended a briefing devoted to the 2010 NPT Review Conference organized by CNS and the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs on April 15, 2010, in New York. The half-day meeting was convened to discuss both substantive and procedural issues relevant to the upcoming conference and assist the delegations in their preparations for the Rev Con.

Ambassador Abdallah Baali, president of the 2000 Review Conference, and Ambassador Sergio Duarte, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, talked about significant decisions of past Review Conferences, recent events that are likely to influence the proceedings at the conference in May, and the main issues that NPT member states will need to address. President-elect Ambassador Libran Cabactulan shared his vision of the 2010 Review Conference and updated briefing participants on the progress of his consultations and preparations, while the Secretary-elect Thomas Markram provided an overview of procedural issues. The meeting was chaired by Dr. Lawrence Scheinman of the CNS office in Washington, DC.

In light of the entry into force of the Pelindaba Treaty, meeting participants were particularly keen to discuss the relationship between the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone and the NPT, the status of the negative security assurances, and further prospects for cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The briefing was organized with the financial assistance of the Ploughshares Fund.