Review of landmark nuclear treaty breaks up without consensus, raising arms race fears

This article is published in association with United Nations.

After four weeks of negotiations at UN Headquarters in New York, the 11th Review Conference of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ended on Friday without consensus on a final declaration.

It wasn’t until nine on Friday evening that Ambassador Do Hung Viet, the President of the conference, and Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN disarmament chief, finally began speaking at a press conference to give their thoughts on the latest failure of Member States to agree on measures to modernise the NPT, which, whilst seen as the cornerstone of international nuclear disarmament efforts, is over fifty years old. 

Clearly weary and hungry (he had managed to grab a croissant for lunch, several hours earlier) after his ultimately fruitless attempts to get the fourth draft of the outcome document over the line, Ambassador Viet nevertheless gave lengthy answers to the journalists who stayed late to hear from him and Ms. Nakamitsu. 

Ambassador Viet hailed the “sincere and meaningful engagement” of the conference delegates, but admitted his disappointment at their inability to find consensus and seize the opportunity to make the world a safer place.

16 years without consensus

It has now been sixteen years since the commitments made at the 1970 Treaty adoption have been reaffirmed or strengthened at a Review Conference, and the next one won’t take place until 2031.

In the meantime, concerns about a nuclear arms race continue to grow, as arsenals are modernised and the total number of weapons increases. “The current international environment, which is marked by deep tensions and an elevated risk posed by nuclear weapons, demands very urgent action,” warned Ambassador Viet.

“A substantive outcome would have strengthened the Treaty and advanced its objectives,” he said, “but in the absence of such an outcome, I am concerned for the future health of the Treaty.”

Ms. Nakamitsu said that the States parties to the Treaty need to take the three consecutive failures very seriously if they want to preserve the regime.

“Non-proliferation and disarmament are two sides of the same coin,” she said in an appeal to nuclear-weapon States. “It is simply wrong for them to assume that non-proliferation obligations will be upheld without their own commitment to, and implementation of, disarmament obligations.”

UN chief regrets that conference ‘fell short’

UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his disappointment at the inability of the conference to reach consensus, in a statement released on Friday.

While he welcomed the sincere and meaningful engagement by States parties, he regretted that the conference fell short, especially at a time of such pressing challenges that threaten international security.

Mr. Guterres appealed to all States to make full use of all available avenues of dialogue, diplomacy and negotiation to reduce tensions, lower nuclear risks and ultimately eliminate the nuclear threat.

Read full coverage of the closing session of the 11^th Review Conference of the NPT here.