The Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP) established a Task Force in late 2020 to examine and provide recommendations for approaches that could lead to increased access to nuclear science and technologies for peaceful uses and contribute to achieving sustainable development goals, while maintaining non-proliferation and nuclear security objectives. The Task Force examined these issues in the context of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) review process and within the context of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) mandate.
The VCDNP Task Force assembled a diverse group of high-level technical and policy experts that met periodically and invited to their meetings senior officials, technical and policy experts from the IAEA, Member States, as well as industry and academia.
On 22 September the VCDNP, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the IAEA, hosted a side event at the IAEA 65th General Conference where Task Force members reported on the preliminary findings with recommendation to the IAEA, its Member States, industry and the States Parties of the NPT.
The panel was moderated by Ms. Elena K. Sokova, the Executive Director of the VCDNP, and included:
The Task Force made a number of high-level recommendations for approaches by the IAEA, its Member States and the industry that could lead to increased access to peaceful uses and contribute to the sustainable development goals while maintaining non-proliferation and nuclear security objectives. The recommendations are grouped according to the following themes:
A separate set of recommendations for NPT States Parties to consider during the upcoming Review Conference include, among other recommendations, a proposal for a high-level event organised jointly by the UN Secretary-General and the IAEA Director General on peaceful uses to raise the profile of peaceful uses among UN agencies, development organisations, Member States, and the public.