Further Strengthening the NPT Review Process: Reflections and Recommendations

On 24-28 July 2023, the Working Group on further strengthening the review process of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will convene in Vienna to examine ways to improve the effectiveness, efficiency, continuity, transparency and accountability of the review process.

In early 2023, the VCDNP and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) launched a project in support of the Working Group and conducted a series of informal meetings with representatives of NPT States parties to discuss both procedural and substantive preparations for the Working Group. In their food-for-thought paper, Thomas Markram, a non-resident distinguished expert with CNS, and the VCDNP’s Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova review which aspects of the review process are in greater need of improvement and where changes are most feasible. Reflecting on some of the past proposals from States parties, their own experiences, and informal discussions held during the project, they provide recommendations for the Working Group to consider for strengthening the NPT review process.

The project is implemented with support from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the Carnegie Corporation of New York.