March 29, 2013
Monterey, CA – A number of CNS experts and students from the Monterey Institute of International Studies will attend the second session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as observers.
The PrepCom, which will be held from April 22 to May 3, 2013 in Geneva, Switzerland, is the second of three sessions that will be held prior to the 2015 Review Conference. It will be chaired by Ambassador Cornel Feruţă of Romania, who has previously served as Romania’s representative to the International Organizations in Vienna and as President of the 2011 IAEA General Conference.
The 2013 meeting will be the first gathering of the NPT States Parties since the NPT-mandated Conference on a Zone Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDFZ) for the Middle East was postponed in December 2012. It remains to be seen what impact this development may have on the PrepCom.
The CNS delegation will be led by Dr. William Potter, Director of the Center. It will include senior staff and researchers as well as students from the Monterey Institute of International Studies, some of whom have interned or are currently working with key international organizations such as the IAEA, the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs, and the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation.
Purpose
The purpose of the second PrepCom is to prepare for the Review Conference by addressing relevant procedural and substantive issues, and to build consensus among States Parties with a view to making recommendations to the Review Conference in 2015. The second PrepCom also provides an important opportunity for the NPT States Parties to consider progress since the previous Review Conference in 2010, particularly with regard to the Conclusions and Recommendations for Follow-on Actions. It also enables States Parties to begin to identify issues regarding the Treaty that may arise at the upcoming Review Conference.
This year’s PrepCom gathering will also feature a number of side events organized by non-governmental organizations.
CNS Experience
CNS has unparalleled experience with the NPT review process, as many CNS experts have participated in past Review Conferences and Preparatory Committees, published widely on the challenges to the NPT, and are regarded as among the leading international specialists on the subject. The Center will maintain a webpage during the PrepCom that will contain up-to-the minute information via social networking tools, as well as daily reporting on the events of the PrepCom, substantive analysis of the proceedings, and other interactive media.
CNS Director William Potter will participate in a panel on Advances in Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education hosted by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation on April 23, 2013 at the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.
CNS has recently held several Track 1.5 consultations to prepare for the upcoming PrepCom, including workshops in New York and in Annecy, France. These activities are intended to strengthen consensus among key representatives in the current review cycle and to identify issues that will require further discussion. In addition, CNS has conducted numerous other projects related to the NPT and its implementation, including a revised version of the report on implementation of the 2010 NPT Action Plan’s Nuclear Disarmament section and, in partnership with King’s College London’s Centre for Science and Security Studies, a new volume of the NPT Briefing Book.
