Kofi Annan, Secretary General of United Nations, spoke to the Conference of Disarmament (CD) at the Wednesday 21 June plenary meeting. All regional groups, China, the Group of 21, the Western Group and the Eastern European Group, and the European Union took the floor and commented the Secretary General's statement.

Sleepwalking towards nuclear proliferation, or gaining momentum for disarmament?
Kofi Annan warned the international community that it seemed to be sleepwalking down a path where a growing numbers of states feel obliged to arm themselves with nuclear weapons-"not by conscious choice, but rather through miscalculation, sterile debate and paralysis of the very multilateral mechanisms created for confidence-building and conflict-resolution." After calling prioritizing either non-proliferation or disarmament over the other self-defeating, Annan said the CD "must devalue the currency of nuclear weapons".

He told the Conference on Disarmament it is the single group with the "collective power to wake the world up," and called on it to rise to the challenge by beginning work without linking issues to each other as they are in the popular Five Ambassadors' proposal. He urged the CD members to put their "differences and well-rehearsed arguments" behind them.

The Secretary General noticed that for the first time in a decade, the CD is working on an agreed schedule, with structured debates on key issue, scientific and other experts contributions, more intense and frequent meetings and that the Presidents of the Conference had made particular efforts to reflect the security concerns of all states.

"I hope that these steps represent the beginnings of a new period of productivity. It is long overdue for this negotiating body to abandon the all-consuming linkages that have dominated your approach in recent years, and get down to substantive work," he said.

Although China followed the Secretary-General's statement with reassurances that they are ready to start working, they reiterated their support for the linkages Annan just suggested abandoning when they called for a "balanced and comprehensive program of work."

The Group of 21 renewed their commitment to foster a consensus, will do their utmost to enable the Conference to start its substantive work, and called on the Conference to demonstrate flexibility in order to do so.

Although there are still important bridges to build, the Western Group said the recent progress gave the CD hope for getting back to work.

The Eastern European Group believed the signal sent by Annan's speech would "strengthen an atmosphere of constructive cooperation" so the CD could get back to work.

The EU saw the common platform created by the 6 Presidents of the Conference as a window of opportunity to move forward. "We can achieve progress with a combination of prioritizing, and at the same time allowing for a just and meaningful consideration of the concerns of all stakeholders."

All the groups thanked the Secretary General for his statement and hoped it would give impetus to the Conference.

The next plenary meeting will be held on Thursday 22 June, when the focused debate on Agenda item 5 will continue. As this will be the last plenary meeting of the Russian Presidency, they are also planning a summary report.

-Jennifer Nordstrom, Reaching Critical Will and 
Beatrice Fihn, Disarmament Intern 
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

Summary
Ray Acheson, Reaching Critical Will and Michael Spies, Arms Control Reporter

Today’s formal plenary meeting marked the beginning of the Syrian Presidency of the Conference on Disarmament, the last Presidency of the 2007 CD session. Ambassador Hamoui gave opening remarks commending the progress the CD has accomplished thus far, while calling on the Conference to continue to move forward. The CD heard a statement from the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Sergio Duarte. South Africa, on behalf of the Group of 21, Italy, and Peru made brief interventions. The Secretary-General of the CD, Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze also addressed the Conference emphasizing the good investment and good progress that has been made this year.

In his opening address to the Conference, CD President Ambassador Hamoui was optimistic about the coming work of the CD under the Syrian Presidency. During the last weeks of the CD session, Ambassador Hamoui stated he will continue consultations and contacts with delegations and assist the Conference in its work to prepare a comprehensive report on the 2007 session and a draft resolution to be adopted by the UN General Assembly in October.

Ambassador Hamoui also emphasized Syria’s commitment to ridding the Middle East region of nuclear weapons and continued efforts to create a Middle East Nuclear Weapons Free Zone. He also extended his sincere condolences on behalf of the Conference to the family and friends of the victims of the recent earthquake in Peru.

The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Sergio Duarte, followed with a brief observation noting the Conference “stands tantalizingly one short step away from resolving its longstanding impasse,” and, “the investment that has gone into reaching this year’s effort to find common ground deserves careful analysis.”

In his opinion, the considerable investment from this year’s Presidents, Coordinators, and every CD Member State reflects the common desire that the CD should “fulfill its mandate as a negotiating body rather than a forum for debate.” It also reveals that CD Members are prepared to work towards results on the four core issues of the Conference and can do so in  “a comprehensive, calibrated timetable or schedule of activities,” which Mr. Duarte compared to a “programme of work.” He called on the Conference to accurately reflect the intensity of its work this year and its determination to demonstrate its potential as a negotiating body in its report to the General Assembly.

Mr. Duarte reminded the Conference “that the rules of procedure guarantee that each Member can protect its concerns at any decision-point along the way”. Mr. Duarte then quoted Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s address to the Conference, stating that “finding a fair accommodation now would deprive no Member of the ability to assert its national position’ in phases that follow.” He then pledged his full support to the Secretary-General of the CD, its Members, and the broader Geneva disarmament community, including civil society.

The Secretary-General of the CD, Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, South Africa, on behalf of the Group of 21, Italy, and Peru all expressed support for Mr. Duarte’s statement.

Italy appealed to the Conference to keep its momentum at this important juncture and not lose focus in the coming recess.

Peru referred to the recent tragedy caused by a massive earthquake south of Lima which resulted in more than five hundred deaths and ‘immeasurable material loss.’ Peru stated that while this type of tragedy is an inevitable natural disaster, this event should make the Conference think of other types of tragedies that it has the power to prevent. Peru reiterated its hopes that the CD will succeed in adopting a program of work in order to avoid deaths, victims, and disasters which can be prevented by a commitment from all Members of the CD.

The next formal plenary meeting will be Thursday, August 30th at 10am. CD President Ambassador Hamoui announced that he hopes to have the CD’s draft report to the General Assembly available by that time.

- Katherine Harrison, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

See the Reaching Critical Will website for:
     - all statements delivered to the CD;
     - all CD Reports, including this one;
     - press releases from UNOG;
     - the Reaching Critical Will Guide to the CD;
     - Other background information on the Conference
and more.

The rescheduled 2020 NPT Review Conference (RevCon) will meet in New York from 4-28 January 2022, as confirmed in this letter from the NPT president-designate to NPT states parties. This webpage contains information for civil society participation, including accreditation and registration, side events, presentations, and more.    

Modalities for civil society participation are outlined in this information note (NPT/CONF.2020/INF/2/Rev.1). 

Please read the information note in full for all details—below is just a summary.

PARTICIPATION AND ACCESS
Due to the prevailing conditions under COVID-19 and the restricted nature of the arrangements for the Review Conference, access to the United Nations Headquarters premises remains limited to delegations and staff. Therefore, participation by non-governmental organisations at the Tenth Review Conference is envisaged to take place virtually/online, taking into account the safety and health guidelines implemented at the United Nations Headquarters. If the health and safety situation changes in a way that makes physical access to the meeting in New York possible, then civil society will be notified as such.

ACCREDITATION AND REGISTRATION
Participation in the 2022 NPT Review Conference requires two steps: accreditation, and registration.

If your organization was accredited to attend the RevCon in 2020:

• If your organization requested and received accreditation in 2020 to attend the Review Conference, its accreditation remains valid. Previously accredited organizations do not need to apply again.

If your organization was NOT accredited to attend the RevCon in 2020:

• All requests for accreditation must be submitted to the Secretariat no later than 19 November 2021 using the online form available at https://forms.office.com/r/j4vz1Sj0sa.
• Non-governmental organizations must also submit to Diane Barnes (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) a written accreditation request on the official letterhead of the organization listing the representatives who will attend, including their full names and titles.
• Additional representatives may be included in a revised accreditation request letter, which should be submitted by 14 December 2021. To facilitate communications concerning accreditation and registration, the letter must include the personal email address and direct telephone number of a point of contact in the organization.
• Non-governmental organizations that have not attended a previous Review Conference or Preparatory Committee meeting of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons should indicate previous interactions between the organization and the United Nations in relation to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation issues. A mission statement or summary of work of the organization should be provided.
• Those non-governmental organizations that have requested accreditation as stated above will be informed by the Secretariat by email by 30 November 2021 of the outcome of their request. For questions relating to accreditation, please contact Diane Barnes (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).

Registration (to be completed after accreditation is approved)

• Incomplete registrations and registrations received after the deadline will not be processed.
• Online registration will be available from 1 to 14 December 2021 to representatives of non-governmental organizations whose accreditation has been provisionally approved.
• Attendees must complete a registration form on the online Indico system at https://indico.un.org/event/1000162/registrations/ and follow the process described. Once a participant is registered in the system, the profile will remain and will only have to be updated if needed. Online registrations must include the accreditation request letter, including the name of the participant. If the requested documents are not attached, the system will reject the application.
• Once their registrations have been approved in Indico, representatives of non-governmental organizations will receive a confirmation email.

Civil society presentations
It is tentatively expected that a meeting for non-governmental organization presentations will be held virtually on a date to be determined by States Parties in the run up to the Conference. As in the past, nongovernmental organizations are requested to coordinate among themselves in deciding which representatives will address the Review Conference during the session allocated for presentations by non-governmental organizations. Please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to learn more about how civil society presentations are being organized. 

Side events
Should current restrictions continue to be in place, no side events will take place at the UN Headquarters during the Tenth NPT Review Conference. All side events should be held off-site or virtually. WILPF will post information about virtual and off-site side events on its website (Calendar of Events for the 2022 Review Conference). Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to have your event information published online. We will require the event name, date, time, organizers/hosts, and any information about how to register (i.e. Zoom link or similar). 

Exhibitions
Limited space is available for exhibits. All exhibits at United Nations facilities require sponsorship by a State Party willing to assume responsibility for their placement and content as well as the submission of associated costs. Please submit sponsorship requests directly to the relevant permanent mission points of contact. Member States may contact Gabiden Laumulin (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) as soon as possible and no later than 26 November 2021.

States have agreed to meet from 4-28 January 2022 in New York for the rescheduled 2020 10th NPT Review Conference. Details on modalities, programme of work, and civil society participation are yet to be determined. Visit our webpage for more details.

The 2022 Review Conference (RevCon) of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is scheduled to meet 4-28 January 2022, as confirmed in this letter from the NPT president-designate to NPT states parties.
 
**Due to COVID-19 pandemic, the Conference was postponed twice from its original dates of 27 April–22 May 2020, and then 2-27 August 2021.

• NPT News in Review - subscribe today
• 2020 NPT briefing book
• Information for civil society participation
• Calendar of events
• Statements
• Working papers and other documents
• National reports

In light of the postponement of the RevCon, and the 50th anniversary of the NPT in 2020, some actors published statements or messages in 2020:

• Joint statement from civil society to NPT states parties - see the updated version with additional signatories, also available in Spanish
• Joint Communique to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the NPT