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NPT
News in Review, Vol. 21,
No. 3 |
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NPT
News in Review
Vol.
21, No. 3
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Defeating
the Disorder of
Nuclear Deterrence
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 During the initial meetings of the Review
Conference’s Main
Committee I, which
focuses on nuclear
disarmament, Cameroon’s delegate highlighted a collective but often
unarticulated
frustration with
the repetitive,
ceaseless, and
seemingly futile
nature of the NPT
review process.
“In this chamber,
we are accustomed
to reciting the
same prayers,” he
said. “We call
upon the
nuclear-armed
states to uphold
Article VI. We
deplore the
modernization of
arsenals. We
demand
transparency. And
then, the cycle
concludes, nothing
changes, and we
return five years
later with the
same
incantations.” At
the core of this
eternal cycle of
failure, argued
Cameroon, lies
nuclear deterrence
theory. The
nuclear-armed
states and their
nuclear-supportive
allies believe
that nuclear
weapons offer them
“the supreme
guarantee of their
security.” This is
why these states,
“which claim to
share our
objective of a
world free of
nuclear weapons,
behave as though
such a world could
never come to
pass.”
But such a world
can come to pass,
if we build it.
Most states, along
with affected
communities,
activists,
academics,
international
organisations, and
others attending
this NPT Review
Conference are
offering a clear
path forward:
cooperation and
collaboration,
instead of
competition and
confrontation. And
they want to send
a clear political
message that, as
Brazil said, "the
indefinite
possession of
nuclear weapons by
a few cannot
remain the
organizing
principle of
international
security."
Read the full editorial online >>
Download the full NPT News in Review
in PDF
>>
This edition
of the NPT News in Review provides coverage of
the first
three meetings
of Main
Committee I.
The work of
Main
Committees II
and II will be
covered in our
next edition.
The Subsidiary
Bodies of each
Committee are
closed to
civil society
and therefore
cannot be
reported
on. Be sure
to subscribe to our reports to stay up to date
with all the
action!
Throughout the
NPT Review
Conference,
RCW is posting
statements,
documents,
working
papers,
national
reports,
information
about side
events, and
more. See our
website for materials!
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