The Security Index Occasional Paper Series came out with the new report “NPT Review Conference: the limits of possible” by Vladimir Orlov and Sergey Semenov

MOSCOW. JULY 27, 2022. PIR PRESS. The Security Index Occasional Paper Series came out with the new report “NPT Review Conference: the limits of possible” by Vladimir Orlov and Sergey Semenov.

The 2022 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, inherited from covid 2020 and repeatedly postponed due to the raging pandemic, opens in New York on August 1. Four weeks of work of the NPT member States delegations – what will it be: a breakthrough to a more reliable cementing of the Treaty? Beating around the bush and straining to demonstrate its own indispensability? Or a harsh disputes that will call into question both the value and the effectiveness of this document?

Key findings:

• The upcoming Review Conference is the tenth anniversary one. Although in fact it is taking place much later than the anniversary dates – the fiftieth anniversary of the NPT and the quarter-century anniversary of the indefinite extension of the Treaty, this circumstance can and should unite the parties to the Treaty.
• The ultimate goal of the upcoming RevCon is to review the implementation of the Treaty in 2015 to 2021 without unnecessary hype and mutual accusations, in a calm and businesslike manner, to outline several feasible steps for maintaining and strengthening the nuclear nonproliferation regime in all its aspects, avoiding even the minimum risk of weakening the Treaty and the established composition of its participants.
• A consensus adoption of an unambitious final document should be considered a success. The document may be shorter than usual, confirming the viability of the NPT through an effective review of the Treaty.
• Despite all the difficulties, rumors about the death of the NPT are somewhat exaggerated. The Treaty retains its validity and, as the basis of the international security architecture, has no feasible alternative.