1. Dates for the NGO presentations at the NPT Review Conference
According to the draft programme of work for the Review Conference, the NGO presentations session is scheduled to take place on May 11, from 3-6 PM in Conference Room IV.
Note that this date is tentative and is not final until the draft agenda is adopted on the first day of the Conference, May 2.
If you are an NGO interested in working on the drafts for these presentations, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. contact Rhianna today to find out how to get involved.
For a full listing of all NGO events taking place at the Conference, see the Review Conference Calendar of Events.
2. Nuclear Weapon Free Zone conference in Mexico
A Conference of States Parties to the Nuclear Weapon Free Zones will take place in Mexico City from April 26-28, 2005. All States Parties to the regional nuclear weapon free zones have been invited to participate. Other States Parties to the NPT have been invited to attend as observers.
Representatives of non-governmental organizations in consultative status with the UN ECOSOC and other interested non-governmental organizations are also invited to attend the Conference as observers.
To register for the conference please contact:
Ambassador Edmundo Vargas Carreño
Secretary-General of OPANAL
Schiller 326, Piso 5, Colonia Chapultepec Morales
México, D.F., C.P. 11570
Telephone: (55) 5255-2914 y (55) 5255-4198
Fax number: (55) 5255-3748
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
For more information, including a draft program of work, see: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/nwfz/NWFZ2005.html.
3. New book by 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference President, Jayantha Dhanapala
From 17 April-12 May 1995, States parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) gathered in New York to decide on the extension of their treaty. Born of the desire of the international community to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world, the NPT entered into force on 5 Mach 1970 for an initial period of 25 years, thereafter to be renewed—indefinitely or for additional period(s)—as determined by a majority of parties at a specially convened conference.
Although intense diplomatic activity leading to the Review and Extension Conference (NPTREC) had seemingly forged consensus amongst a majority of participants in favor of indefinite extension, the permanent extension of the NPT was by no means assured, with strong counter-currents taking shape already from the opening remarks of the Conference. In the event, only enlightened compromise and skilful conference management allowed the treaty to be indefinitely extended without a divisive vote that risked damaging its legitimacy, although, as a reminder of the ongoing challenges facing even a permanently extended NPT, the Conference—which also served as a Review Conference—failed to agree on a Final Declaration.
Authored by Mr. Jayantha Dhanapala, President of the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference, with Randy Rydell, Multilateral Diplomacy and the NPT: An Insider’s Account, is an analytical account of the NPTREC, its preparatory process and its aftermath. More than a personal memoir, the book focuses attention on the issues and difficulties attending the NPTREC and the discussions, points of view and understandings that made possible the indefinite extension of the treaty without a vote, while placing these squarely within the
context of the challenges and opportunities of multilateral diplomacy. The NPT, contends Mr. Dhanapala, is a living treaty that has evolved in response to the challenges of history and will continue to do so in the future—though whose permanent extension must never be taken for granted or put to the test.
To obtain copies of the book, contact the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research.
4. Reminder to NGOs to register for the NPT Review Conference
The deadline to register for the NPT Review Conference is sooner than you think! All NGOs must apply for accreditation at the UN Department for Disarmament Affairs by April 15.
To apply, your organization must send:
1) A letter written on organizational letterhead requesting attendance at the Conference. This letter should include the composition of the delegation, and an overview of past interactions between the organization and the United Nations in relation to disarmament and non-proliferation issues in particular. These interactions may include conferences attended, co-sponsorship of events, consultative status with the Economic and Social Council-ECOSOC, affiliation with the Department of Public Information-DPI, etc.
2) A mission statement or summary of work.
This information should be sent by fax to Gary DeRosa at: (212) 963 8892 no later than 15 April. Note that names of representatives of your delegation cannot be changed or added once submitted, due to security reasons.
In April, you will be notified if your application was accepted or rejected. Once you come to New York, you must register at the UN itself. For more information on registration, be sure to read the DDA Aide Memoire here:http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/RevCon05/aide.doc.
Please note also that the DDA is unable to make any arrangements for visas.
If you are a member of WILPF, you can register by filling out the WILPF registration form and faxing or emailing it to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., Secretary-General.
