IKV Pax Christi prepared the following substantive recommendations to the 2012 nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty Prepatory Committee Meeting to be held in Vienna 29 April – 11 May 2012.
As this coming NPT Prepcom will initially focus on procedural issues, IKV Pax Christi is advocating for a balanced agenda that incorporates a full review of the treaty’s operation, including an assessment of commitments made in the 1995, 2000 and 2010 Review Conferences. Only by looking at the progressive
development of the treaty regime as a whole, can the international community be assured that political bias will not overtake technical assessments of compliance with ALL treaty obligations. We expect States parties to approach the PrepCom with flexibility and produce a balanced outcome that reflects the
commitments made only two years ago.
Now is an excellent opportunity to examine the big picture- the overarching framework that will bring about a nuclear weapons free world. It is the right time to reaffirm that vision, and assess implementation of the practical steps that will get us there. Everyone knows what the steps are, what we need is the political will to implement them.
The positive 64-point action plan which emerged from the 2010 NPT Review Conference offered a glimmer of hope for progress towards a nuclear weapons free world. Since then some States who rely on nuclear weapons for their security reaffirmed the central role nuclear weapons play for their security strategies, and NATO’s 2010 Strategic Concept failed to seize the opportunity to take further steps towards creating a nuclear weapons free world. Instead, nuclear weapons States are modernizing their arsenals and NATO members hypocritically announced that the alliance would remain nuclear as long as nuclear weapons exist. This reaffirmation of the continued role nuclear weapons play in security strategies is in direct contravention of the agreements made only six months earlier in New York.
Download the report: NPT 2012 Recommendations