Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,

As many of you already know, the next cycle of the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty review will begin with a Preparatory Committee meeting in Vienna, 30 April – 11 May. In this E-news we have compiled the information that you will need in preparation for this upcoming meeting, as well as an update on the Security Council sanctioning Iran.

Best wishes,
Jennifer Nordstrom, Project Manager

In this E-news:

      1) Invitation to NGOs to attend the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee (NPT PrepCom)
      2) NGO Accreditation and Registration
      3) What is the role of NGOs at the Preparatory Committee?
      4) NGO Statements to the delegates
      5) NGO side events
      6) Housing Options for NGO representatives
      7) News in Review: the daily NGO newsletter
      8) What can I do if I can't get to Vienna?
      9) Links for more information
      10) Security Council Sanctions Iran

1) Invitation to NGOs to attend the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee (NPT PrepCom)
All non-governmental organizations that work on nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation are invited to attend the first Preparatory Committee of the NPT, to be held in Vienna April 30 – May 11, at the Austria Center (Bruno Kreisky Platz 1, 1220 Vienna).

Ambassador Yukiya Amano of Japan will be chairing the conference.

All states, both signatories and non-signatories, are invited to attend.

If your organization wishes to participate in the upcoming PrepCom, be sure to subscribe to Reaching Critical Will's General E-News service to receive all updates and information throughout the upcoming weeks. Send an email requesting a subscription to the General E-News service to the //www.reachingcriticalwill.org/action/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." style="color: rgb(142, 95, 189); text-decoration: none; ">Project Manager. In addition, information will be posted regularly to the NPT section of the Reaching Critical Will website, at this link: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/2007index.html

2) NGO Accreditation and Registration
NGOs wishing to attend the Review Conference must apply for accreditation to the Department for Disarmament Affairs. All NGOs, even those with UN badges, must apply.

Details on accreditation will be forthcoming within the next few weeks, but for now you should be prepared to submit, by March 27:

1) a letter on organizational letterhead requesting attendance at the Conference. Include the composition of the delegation, the names of all representatives, and an overview of past interactions between your organization and the United Nations in relation to disarmament and nonproliferation. 
2) A mission statement or summary of work.

Once these materials have been received by the DDA, you will be notified of your acceptance mid-April. Once accredited, you must register with the DDA when you arrive in Vienna. Although there will be no pre-registration this year, NGOs are strongly encouraged to register as soon as possible upon arriving in Vienna, and if possible, register early on Monday, April 30, when the desks open at 8am. DDA will run registration the first three days of the PrepCom; after that NGOs must register through Safety and Security.

DDA hopes that NGOs will give careful consideration to their delegation lists before submitting their applications. It is very important that you include all the names of your organization's representatives; add-ons will not be permitted later on.

When the aide memoire is available, (further outlining the accreditation process) it will be posted on our site and on the DDA site and will be announced through this E-News subscription list.

The aide memoire and NGO registration form are now available! Download them in word documents by clicking here:http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/prepcom07/aidememoire.doc
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/prepcom07/registrationform.doc

3) What is the role of NGOs at the Preparatory Committee?
In recent years, NGOs have provided invaluable insight and expertise to the conference, and their influence is growing. In order to continue and build on this influence, committed NGOs should attend the Preparatory Committee, to insist States Parties start the new review cycle properly. NGOs are needed to provide credible analysis, views and perspectives on the global nuclear regime, support progressive measures towards disarmament and nonproliferation, and bring media and public attention to these important issues. With this meeting in Vienna, the city housing the International Atomic Energy Agency, an organization dually charged with preventing the spread of nuclear weapons while promoting nuclear energy, NGOs also have the opportunity to highlight the deadly proliferation links between nuclear weapons and nuclear energy.

At this meeting, NGOs will be:

- urging the governments to renew their commitment to the NPT;

offering review and analysis of the nuclear weapon states' progress on the 13 point action plan for disarmament;

- fostering a reassessment of the role and level of participation of NGOs in international fora;

- recommending ways of strengthening other disarmament machinery, including the Conference on Disarmament and the Disarmament Commission;

- engaging diplomats in discussions on the newest ideas and issues in disarmament at side-events and lunch time panels;

- holding press conferences and conducting media outreach to draw attention to the PrepCom and the issues; and more.

4) NGO Statements to the delegates
NGOs are allotted one, three-hour session to present their ideas and recommendations to States Parties. These presentations are drafted in a collective, consensus-based manner, and will also be distributed to all governments and archived on the RCW website. (You can read the statements from the 2005 NPT Review Conference at:http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/RevCon05/NGOpres/NGOpres.html .)

If you are an NGO wishing to participate in this drafting and editing process- and we urge you to do so, whether or not you plan to go to Vienna- join the discussion by sending an email to: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Once you have subscribed, you will receive further instructions on participating.

This process will begin immediately, so subscribe today!

5) NGO side events
NGOs have reserved one conference room for their use throughout the Preparatory Committee. Some groups have already begun organizing events to be held in that room.

If your organization wishes to organize an event, we encourage you to book your time slot as soon as possible. Send an email to//www.reachingcriticalwill.org/action/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." style="color: rgb(142, 95, 189); text-decoration: none; ">Jennifer with the title of your event, the time and date, and contact information. Events will all be posted on the Calendar of Events here:http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/prepcom07/events.html

It is imperative that NGOs utilize the room reserved for us to its utmost potential. If the room is under-utilized, (and it never has been in the past), we may undermine our chances of obtaining a room at future PrepComs or Review Conferences.

6) Housing Options for NGO representatives
Reaching Critical Will wants to make it as easy as possible for NGOs to come to Vienna for this PrepCom. That's why we will help you find the best accommodations to suit your budget and your needs.

If you have a spare bed, couch, or other sleep space in Vienna, please consider hosting a disarmament activist in your home during the PrepCom, April 30- May 11. Some activists come only for the first week, others for only the first few days. Please discuss it with your family or housemates if you would be able to share your home with one or more of our out-of-town friends for a few nights.

If you are interested in being a host or a guest, please contact the //www.reachingcriticalwill.org/action/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.%20 Project Manager indicating any special needs that must be met.

We will also soon be posting Affordable Accommodations in Vienna.

7) News in Review: the daily NGO newsletter
The News in Review is a daily publication produced during the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee and Review Conferences. It features analysis of the day's events, feature articles from NGOs around the world, interviews with diplomats and NGO representatives, nuclear facts, announcements, cartoons, calendar of events, and more. You can read past NIRs at:http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/nirindex.html.

We encourage you to submit to this year's News in Reviews. The guidelines are as follows:

Feature articles: In addition to the daily analysis of the proceedings of the PrepCom, the News in Review also contains feature articles that cover a range of nuclear disarmament issues. We welcome submissions from NGO experts around the world, regardless of whether or not you will be in Vienna. Articles should be between 500-1000 words and may be edited for length. The deadline for feature submissions is April 15th.

Advertising space: You can use the News in Review to publicize an important announcement, event, or project hosted by your organization. NIRs are distributed to all of the delegates at the PrepCom, through a free email subscription, and are archived on our website, www.reachingcriticalwill.org . By placing an ad in the News in Review, you will be able to get your message across to hundreds of well-informed members of the disarmament community.

1/4 page ad: $35
1/2 page ad: $55
full page ad: $125
back page ad: $180

(Run your ad twice and get $10 off. Run your add three times and get $20 off. Run your ad four times and you get $30 off.)

Cartoons, photos, artwork, poetry: Calling all creative anti-nuclear activists! The News in Review wouldn't be complete without its fill of poignant, satirical, and beautiful artwork. We are accepting all forms of anti-nuclear artwork, to be sent in either a .jpg, .gif, or .pdf file. Start drawing, coloring, taking photos, painting, or doodling- but get it in to us soon!

Submit your ad, article or artwork by sending:

• your organization's name;
• contact person;
• email address;
• phone number;
• type of submission (for ads, please specify the size of the ad, dates for it to run, and payment method);
• and the submission to the //www.reachingcriticalwill.org/action/This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." Project Manager. The deadline for all submissions is April 15.

8) What can I do if I can't get to Vienna?
- See where your government stands on the issues by reading their statements from the 2005 Review Conference here:http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/RevCon05/GDstatements/index.html.
- Subscribe to RCW's CD News Advisory list, and receive weekly updates on what your government is saying this week in Geneva.
- Make an appointment with your Foreign Ministry or equivalent. Urge your Foreign Minister to attend the conference, reminding them that they represent YOU. Use our Governmental Contact Database for their information:http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/resources/govcontacts/govindex.html
- Call your local media! Publicize your views and your government's policies, and let them know what's happening in Vienna.
- Once the Review Conference is in session, you can read what your government did or did not say by checking RCW's NPT page every day. We post all statements, working papers, non-papers, reports, NGO statements, and official documents on our website in near real-time. Subscribe to the News in Review, the daily non-governmental NPT publication, and receive daily updates on what is happening in Vienna. http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/nirindex.html
- Call your representatives in New York and Geneva, to let them know that you are paying attention, and that you are demanding nuclear disarmament! http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/resources/govcontacts/govindex.html

9) Links for more information
The Reaching Critical Will website hosts a wealth of information on the NPT- both background information as well as NGO analyses. These can be found here: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/RevCon05/postRevCon.html

10) Security Council Sanctions Iran
On December 23, 2006, just before the new elected members began their term in January, the UN Security Council unanimously passed a resolution (1737) sanctioning Iran for not suspending its enrichment and reprocessing-related activities. The resolution requires states to take measures to prevent any trade that could contribute to Iran's enrichment-related, reprocessing or heavy water-related activities or to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems. It also places travel restrictions on and freezes the assets of individuals and organizations that the Council says are involved in those activities. It requests the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to report on the Iran's compliance within 60 days, and says the Council will “take further appropriate measures under Article 41 of Chapter VII of the Charter” if Iran has not complied.

The major conflict in this resolution was over the restricting the travel and freezing the assets of the individuals and organizations listed in an Annex to the resolution. Russia did not want the Annex nor the paragraphs on travel restrictions and assets because they would make negotiations with Iran more difficult, but eventually agreed to them. Other Russian amendments to include the clause that States actions' resulting from this resolution be “in accordance with their national legal authorities and consistent with international law” were similarly not included.

This is the second resolution on Iran that attempts to creatively create a binding resolution while avoiding authorizing the use of force. As with the last resolution on Iran, the resolution operates under a Chapter VII mandate without finding an Article 39 threat to peace and security. The resolution instead acts under Article 41, which authorizes action but specifically excludes military action (“measures not involving the use of armed force”; see more legal analysis here). Some members of the Council are clearly trying to prevent any attempts to use these Security Council resolutions to justify the invasion of Iran. Security Council members must remain vigilant in proscribing the use of force. As Russia and China appear to be less resistant to the Western agenda than they were a year ago, Indonesia and South Africa, both of whom just joined the Council as elected members, will have to take a more active role in these negotiations.

The resolution also creates a Security Council Committee to: seek information from states and the IAEA on the implementation of the resolution; take action on violations; and monitor and amend the sanctions as needed. This Committee will report to the Security Council every 90 days.