THIRD SESSION OF PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR 2005 REVIEW CONFERENCE OF PARTIES TO NPT CONCLUDES IN NEW YORK

THIRD SESSION OF PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR 2005 REVIEW CONFERENCE

OF PARTIES TO NPT CONCLUDES IN NEW YORK

(Delayed in transmission.)

NEW YORK, 11 May (UN Department of Disarmament Affairs) -- The Preparatory Committee for the 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) held its third and final session from 26 April to 7 May at United Nations Headquarters.  The session was chaired by Ambassador Sudjadnan Parnohadiningrat of Indonesia.  Taking into account the deliberations and results of the previous sessions, the third session was tasked to make every effort to produce a consensus report containing substantive and procedural recommendations to the Review Conference.

The Committee adopted its report by consensus on 7 May.  In preparation for the Review Conference of 2005, the Committee agreed that the Conference would be held in New York from 2 to 27 May.  The Committee unanimously endorsed the candidacy of Ambassador Sérgio de Queiroz Duarte of Brazil for the presidency of the Conference.  The Committee also agreed to recommend that Main Committee I should be chaired by a representative of the Group of Non-Aligned and Other States (Indonesia); Main Committee II by a representative of the Group of Eastern European States (Hungary); and Main Committee III by a representative of the Western Group (Sweden).  In addition, the Preparatory Committee agreed to recommend that the post of Chairman of the Drafting Committee be assumed by a representative of the Group of Eastern European States, and the post of Chairman of the Credentials Committee by a representative of the Group of Non-Aligned and Other States.

The Committee authorized its bureau and the President-elect to handle technical and other organizational matters, as well as to carry out consultations with States parties in the period before the Conference.  It also agreed to recommend to the Conference draft rules of procedure.  Furthermore, the Committee agreed to recommend to the Conference that, in accordance with the draft rules of procedure, representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) be allowed to attend meetings, other than those designated closed, and to receive documents of the Conference.  Also, in accordance with past practice, it agreed to recommend that NGOs be allowed to make written materials available, at their own expense, to the participants of the Conference, and to address the Conference, consistent with the Final Document of the 2000 Review Conference.  A decision on the provisional agenda for the 2005 Review Conference will be taken by the Conference.

Representatives from 123 States parties participated in the work of the third session of the Preparatory Committee.  The open meetings of the session were also attended by representatives from five international and regional intergovernmental organizations:  the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty Organization, the European Commission, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and the League of Arab States; and by representatives of 69 NGOs.  One meeting of the session was devoted to
13 presentations by NGOs.

Following a general exchange of views on all aspects of the Treaty, during which 55 statements were made, the majority of the Committee meetings were dedicated to substantive discussion on the following issues:  nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament and international security; non-proliferation, nuclear-weapon-free zones and safeguards; and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.  Time was also allocated for consideration of specific issues:  nuclear disarmament; regional issues, including the resolution on the Middle East adopted by the 1995 Review Conference and reaffirmed in the Final Document of the 2000 Review Conference; and the safety and security of peaceful nuclear programmes.  During the substantive discussions, 139 statements were made.

Further information may be found at the following Web page:  http://disarmament.un.org/wmd/npt/index.html

Also contact:  Åsa Theander, Associate Political Affairs Officer, Department for Disarmament Affairs, New York, at (212) 963-2381; e-mail: theander@un.org.

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