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Nuclear disarmament deal unlikely at NPT conference

Thursday, 21 May 2015 5:26 AM [ Last Update: Thursday, 21 May 2015 5:26 AM ]

A view of the UN General Assembly Hall as UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson (shown on screens) addresses the opening of the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), United Nations, New York, April 27, 2015.

A month-long conference at the United Nations on nuclear disarmament is about to end with no agreement on an action plan in sight.

The 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), in which more than 150 countries are participating, will end on Friday, with officials saying that nuclear states have so far refused to take concrete steps to reduce their arsenals and provide details about their stockpiles.

Algerian Ambassador to the UN Taous Feroukhi, who is the conference president, told delegates that the gap between nuclear and non-nuclear states is still “wide,” calling for “an extra effort” to reach a consensus.

“Efforts are ongoing and I hope, I hope that we can arrive at something,” said Feroukhi.

Kingston Reif, director for Disarmament and Threat Reduction Policy at the Washington-based Arms Control Association, said he was not optimistic about chances for consensus on a final document.

Reif said that the rift between nuclear and non-nuclear states would signal that non-nuclear states will be looking for other venues to make their demands on disarmament heard.

Beatrice Fihn, the executive director of the Swiss-based International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, also said “even if there is a document, it's not going to be a very good one.”

Fihn said that the NPT conference has proved that “it's difficult to reconcile the strong movement forward from non-nuclear states and nuclear states that basically won't commit to anything.”

Russia has also proposed to hold a conference on creating a nuclear-free Middle East zone in 2015 under the UN supervision. However, the proposal has been opposed by Israel.

The Israeli regime, which is widely believed to be the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East with up to 400 undeclared nuclear warheads, has rejected global calls to join the NPT and does not allow international inspectors to monitor its controversial nuclear program.

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