Response to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference 2010

.The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. The NPT represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States.

Opened for signature in 1968, the Treaty entered into force in 1970. Since its entry into force, the NPT has been the cornerstone of global nuclear non-proliferation regime. Adherence to the Treaty by 189 States, including the five nuclear-weapon States, renders the Treaty the most widely adhered to multilateral disarmament agreement.

The Treaty, particularly article VIII, paragraph 3, envisages a review of the operation of the Treaty every five years, a provision which was reaffirmed by the States parties at the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference and the 2000 NPT Review Conference.

The 2010 NPT Review Conference took place in May.  Check the links below to see what unfolded and different opinions about what this means for the road to nuclear abolition:

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War: "The NPT Conference - Success is in the Eye of the Beholder"