May 28, 2020
The Tenth NPT Review Conference, originally scheduled for April-May 2020, was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As the challenges to the NPT regime abound, in his new paper Tariq Rauf examines the implications of the Review Conference postponement and potential opportunities for states to work toward a successful Review Conference. Angela Kane, former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, and Thomas Markram, Deputy High Representative and Director of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, provide commentary on Rauf’s paper and discuss some of his proposals.
Analysis
Postponement of the 2020 NPT Review Conference: Possible Implications
by Tariq Rauf
Replies
- Comments
by Angela Kane - Counterpoint
by Tom Markram
The paper and the commentary were prepared as part of the activities of the Working Group on Alternative Approaches to Nuclear Disarmament, jointly convened by the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP) and CNS, with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York. The Group aims to produce creative yet practical proposals on bridging existing divides on nuclear disarmament, to feed directly into the NPT review process. The Group places particular emphasis on identifying ways to enhance the role of European states in nuclear disarmament. Working Group members include former and current government and international organization officials, along with nongovernmental and academic experts with extensive experience in the NPT and other nuclear-weapons issues.
Since its first meeting December 2018, the Working Group has convened a number of times to discuss current developments and trends in the NPT regime and exchange views on possible solutions and new approaches. Group members have authored several papers on subjects ranging from the role of the European Union in the NPT review process to the next steps in the humanitarian discourse on nuclear weapons, “wild cards” for the 2019 Preparatory Committee meeting, and options for improving the review process. CNS will be publishing select papers of the Working Group members in the run up to the Tenth NPT Review Conference.
