On 17 March 2015, the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP) hosted a panel discussion titled, "Towards the 2015 NPT Review Conference," featuring Ambassador Taous Feroukhi of Algeria, president-designate of the 2015 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review Conference (RevCon); Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano, permanent representative of Japan to the international organizations in Vienna; Ambassador David Stuart, permanent representative of Australia to the United Nations and Chair of the 2015 RevCon Main Committee (MC) III; and Ambassador Wael Al-Assad, permanent observer of the League of Arab States to the United Nations in Vienna. The panel was chaired by Dr. William Potter, director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies at Monterey. All four speakers reflected on the challenges facing the upcoming NPT Review Conference.
The speakers addressed several regional and political differences among NPT state parties that will make consensus at the RevCon challenging. Ambassador Feroukhi discussed the tension between nuclear weapon states (NWS) and non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS) over the pace of nuclear disarmament, stating that NNWS "do not accept that the indefinite extension of the NPT reflects consent for the indefinite extension of nuclear weapons." On a similar note, Ambassador Kitano expressed his conviction that the "humanitarian initiative"—which focuses on the dire humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapon use—has been a source of tension between NWS and NNWS during the current review cycle but should, instead, be a uniting factor, not a dividing one. Ambassador Feroukhi also characterized the "East-West tension," which has reemerged in the wake of the Ukraine crisis, as particularly damaging to the non-proliferation regime as it has sparked the reevaluation of nuclear deterrence and reignited support on both sides for strategic weapon systems.
Most prominent among the regional challenges was the failure to convene a conference on a Middle East Zone Free of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDFZ). Ambassador Al-Assad, who has participated in the past three NPT RevCons, proposed that state parties to the NPT go beyond asking the Arab states what they want and extend the discussion to what all state parties can do to stimulate progress. He also emphasized that the major challenges to creating a Middle East WMDFZ are political and can be overcome with enough political will.
In his opening remarks, Dr. Potter pointed out that, although North Korea presents a major threat to the non-proliferation regime, it receives little attention at RevCons beyond being part of the debate on Article X, which stipulates the conditions for withdrawal from the treaty. Ambassador Feroukhi reiterated this concern and Ambassador Kitano suggested that, in response to North Korea's continued proliferation, "a strong warning is necessary."
The discussion of peaceful uses of nuclear energy was particularly rich, as Ambassador Stuart's impending chairmanship of MC III gives him particular insight into discourse on this topic at the upcoming conference. Ambassador Kitano provided a brief overview of the working paper Japan has already submitted on the "Enhancement of peaceful uses of nuclear science and technology." Both ambassadors reiterated that this "pillar" of the NPT deserves more attention than it is typically given. Ambassador Stuart stressed that the benefits of nuclear energy extend beyond power plants and lauded peaceful nuclear applications in areas such as agriculture, as well as the International Atomic Energy Agency's role in drastically reducing the diagnosis of Ebola and its response to the March 2011 Fukushima reactor meltdown. Ambassador Kitano emphasized the role education and public information can play in increasing the accessibility, safety, and security of nuclear energy.
Speakers also addressed other, less frequently discussed challenges facing the NPT, such as the structure of the NPT review process, the way in which conference "success" is determined, and the potential benefits of—and threats posed by—emerging technology, including drones and cyber attacks.
