The Debate Continues: Day Two of the NPT PrepCom 2012

The PrepCom took a break on Tuesday, May 1, due to the Austrian public holiday of May Day. A number of side events were nevertheless held. The Critical Issues Forum, co-sponsored by CNS and VCDNP with assistance from the Austrian MFA, soldiered on, featuring presentations from high-school students at Vienna's Diplomatic Academy; however, the PrepCom delegates took a break from general debate. The session resumed on Wednesday, May 2, at 10:00am.

General Debate

The morning session on Wednesday consisted of opening statements from a number of countries, including Japan, Ukraine, Iran, Peru, the Philippines, Indonesia, Canada, Algeria, and Syria, among others. Statements were also made on behalf of the Vienna Group of 10 and the Arab Group, and the representative from Switzerland also took the floor on behalf of 16 countries to discuss the humanitarian dimension of nuclear weapons.

In its statement, Japan announced that it would organize a ministerial conference on nuclear safety with IAEA co-sponsorship that will take place in December. It also stated that it would co-host a Global Forum on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education with the United Nations University, which will take place from August 10-11 in Nagasaki. Canada announced that it would host a tabletop exercise later this month to demonstrate its radiological and nuclear detonation response capabilities.

A number of common and contrasting themes have begun to emerge after the second day of debate. It is notable that so many states have made reference to the humanitarian dimension of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation; as noted, a number of countries made a joint statement specifically on this element, but many speakers made reference to the issue. Many states also made it clear that ratification of the CTBT was a major objective for them. States differed on the role of negative security assurances; while many made reference to the need for some sort of binding international agreement on NSAs, others noted that these would not serve as a substitute for the elimination of nuclear weapons. As usual, many delegations also commented with regret on the negotiating standstill in the Conference on Disarmament; the delegation of Mexico announced that it planned to submit a resolution to the UN's General Assembly to move disarmament negotiations out of the CD.

The afternoon session consisted of statements delivered by a number of NGOs. These statements largely urged the nuclear-weapon states to fulfill their disarmament objectives and encouraged all states to work toward a nuclear-weapon-free world. All statements, including the presentations by civil society groups, are available on the Reaching Critical Will website.

Side events

CNS and Reaching Critical Will gave a joint presentation of their 2010 NPT RevCon Action Plan Monitoring Reports; the CNS report looks at disarmament action items, while the RCW report covers all three pillars. Much of the question-and-answer session provided constructive feedback on how future iterations of the report can be improved, including expansion beyond NPT Member States, inclusion of principles and objectives from the 2010 Final Document in addition to the action items, and further analysis of contentious issues such as modernization and the various different safeguards agreements. Both panelists and attendees ended on a positive note, looking forward to updates and expanded versions of the reports to come out in the future.

The IAEA also hosted a side event, during which the Directors of the Division of Nuclear Installation Safety and Office of Nuclear Security outlined current IAEA initiatives focused on improving nuclear safety and security. James Lyons, Director of the Division of Nuclear Installation Safety, discussed the creation of an IAEA Action Plan on Nuclear Safety. The Action Plan is a 12-point plan addressing areas such as assessment of safety vulnerabilities, strengthening emergency preparedness and response, and improving the effectiveness of the international legal framework regarding nuclear safety. Khammar Mrabit, Director of the IAEA Office of Nuclear Security, discussed the 4 elements of current IAEA nuclear security program: performing a needs assessment, contributing to an enhanced global security framework, strengthening nuclear security services, and risk reduction and security improvement. Both directors outlined the IAEA's approach to integrate nuclear safety and security best practices into a single standard, as well as the IAEA's commitment to both the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to nuclear nonproliferation.

The Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) group also held a side event, in order to inform the delegates and other participants of the conference of the main issues they hope to raise at the PrepCom. The group announced four working papers they will be releasing at this year's PrepCom, which relate to matters on the implementation of disarmament and nonproliferation education, immediate commencement of the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty, the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and the universalization of transparency. Digital copies of the working papers can be found online at http://www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/NPT2015/PrepCom2012/documents.html.

Finally, the Abolition2000 chapters of Europe, the United Kingdom, and Germany sponsored a side event on "Europe and nuclear disarmament." Speakers from NGOs in Germany, France, and the UK looked at the matter of nuclear disarmament in Europe and discussed individual governments' attitudes toward the question of disarmament, as well as NATO's strategic concept. They also addressed the challenges faced by European countries in trying to eliminate nuclear weapons, as well as concrete steps that particular countries might take in order to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world.