Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,
As we approach the 60th Session of the General Assembly, predictions of possible outcomes of the Millennium+5 Summit on UN Reform are everywhere. There are many players in these negotiations, but the rumor mill is particularly focused on the positions of the United States. At the moment, the US remains staunchly opposed to strong references to disarmament and to the entry-into force of the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). As we come up on yet another CTBT Entry-Into Force (EIF) Conference and look back on the shambles of the failed 2005 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, let us commemorate the recent 60th anniversary of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by insisting disarmament be included in this round of change.
In this E-news Advisory:
1. CTBT Entry Into Force Conference Information: Registration, NGO Statement, Side Events, Security Information
2. New M+5 draft Outcome Document now available: analysis of disarmament and non-proliferation section
3. The Conference on Disarmament (CD) opens its third and final session of 2005
As always, this and all other General E-News Advisories from Reaching Critical Will are archived on our website. We welcome any feedback, comments, questions or concerns.
Best wishes,
Jennifer Nordstrom
Project Associate
1. CTBT EIF Conference Information: Registration, NGO Statement, Press Conference, Side Events, Security
At this year's Comprehensive nuclear Test Ban Treaty Entry-Into Force (EIF) Conference, to be held at UN headquarters in New York from September 21-23, Reaching Critical Will will serve as the NGO liaison to the conference. All NGOs interested in attending this conference must read the Department for Disarmament Affair's aide memoire, now available on the RCW website, where you can also find the draft provisional agenda for the conference. For more information about what the conference is and why it is important, please see the last E-News Advisory.
Registration Deadline: August 30
NGOs wishing to attend the conference must register with the Department for Disarmament Affairs (DDA) no later than August 30. NGOs should send their list of delegates to the conference to:
Mr. Nikolai Rogosaroff, Associate Expert
Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch
Department for Disarmament Affairs (DDA)
United Nations Headquarters
Room 3170F
New York, NY 10017 USA
Tel: +1 (917) 367 2158
Fax: +1 (212) 963 8892
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If you do not have a UN grounds pass, you also need to fax or email the accreditation form on page four of the aide memoire to Nikolai Rogosaroff (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; (212) 963-8892) no later than August 30. The accreditation forms are also available on the DDA website at: http://disarmament2.un.org/wmd/ and the CTBTO web site at: www.ctbto.org. The letter should be sent of faxed on letterhead, and should list the names of the NGO delegates to the conference.
NGO Statement
The NGOs will deliver their collective statement to the conference during our one allotted five minute portion of the agenda on the afternoon of Friday, September 23. NGOs wishing to participate in drafting and editing this statement should email the RCW Project Associate (This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Press Conference
NGOs will hold a press conference during the CTBT EIF Conference. This conference presents a unique opportunity to highlight the CTBT--and disarmament generally--because the conference is occurring at the same time as the Millennium+5 (M+5) Summit. Moreover, the US is vocally resisting any reference to the Entry-Into-Force of the CTBT in the M+5 Outcome Document, such as those in the newest draft Outcome Document (more discussion of the most recent M+5 document is below and on our website). Continued vocal support for the entry-into force of the CTBT is crucial as governments negotiate the outcome of the Summit.
Side Events
NGOs will have access to Conference Room A for the duration of the conference. Anyone wishing to organize an NGO side event in Conference Room A during the conference should contact the RCW Project Associate by September 9.
Security Information
The CTBT EIF will be happening at the same time as the Millennium+5 Summit, where over 120 heads of state are expected to attend, so security will be extraordinarily tight. It is absolutely imperative that everyone wishing to attend the conference register with DDA before August 30.You will not be
able to attend the conference if you do not register. You must also have your UN grounds pass on you at all times.
2. M+5 draft Outcome Document
The most recent draft Outcome Document for the Millennium+5 (M+5) Summit, to be held in New York at the start of the 60th Session of the General Assembly, was released on Friday, August 5, 2005, and a new round of negotiations on the document is scheduled to begin August 22, 2005.
The section on disarmament and non-proliferation contained several notable changes since the last draft (July 22), including: References to a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) were deleted from a stand-alone paragraph and combined with language addressing both an FMCT and Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space in the context of agreeing on an agenda in the Conference on Disarmament; The word "indefinite" was deleted from the language on "maintaining an indefinite moratorium on nuclear test explosions pending the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty"; Language on the prevention of the spread of nuclear technology and alternatives to nuclear technology, which previously preceded the now stand-alone declaration on respecting the peaceful use of nuclear technology, was deleted; A bullet point calling on the Nuclear Weapon States to reaffirm their commitment to Negative Security Assurances (NSAs) was added; More specific language on prevention non-state actors' acquisition of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and complying with Security Council Resolution 1540 was added; Language contextualizing a call for universal accession to the comprehensive safeguards agreement as deterring nuclear proliferation was deleted in exchange for language contextualizing the call as a method for strengthening "verification by the IAEA of the peaceful use of nuclear energy"; and a call to adopt the Model Additional Protocol was added in the same paragraph.
Some of these changes, such as those referring to the CTBT, Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and peaceful uses, appear to have come from the joint proposal for the draft Outcome Document of the UN Summit by Seven Nations (Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Norway, Romania, South Africa and the United Kingdom) seeking to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime.
Several NGOs, including WILPF, sent a letter to governments on August 17 advising Member States to maintain the current language on disarmament and offering suggestions for strengthening that language.
Because a new round of negotiations on the Outcome Document is scheduled to begin Monday, August 22, now is the time for you to contact your government and advocate for stronger disarmament language. Contact your Foreign Ministry and UN Ambassador and urge them to maintain strong references to disarmament and to the CTBT. You can send the NGO letter to your government or use it, orour other resources, as your talking points.
3. The CD opens its third and final session of 2005
The Conference on Disarmament opened its third and final session of 2005 last Thursday, August 11. Here is the RCW CD Report, the only ongoing reporting on the world's lone body for negotiating disarmament treaties, from that first session.
To receive the CD Reports, subscribe today, or visit our website for archived CD Reports, governmental statements, Summary of Statements by Topic, and the RCW Guide to the CD.
Jennifer Nordstrom
Project Associate, Reaching Critical Will
