Background Release

PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR 2010 NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY

REVIEW CONFERENCE TO MEET AT HEADQUARTERS, 4-15 MAY

 

The Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will hold its third session from 4 to 15 May at United Nations Headquarters in New York.  This is the last of three sessions of the Preparatory Committee that will be held prior to the 2010 Review Conference.

The session, which is open to all parties to the Treaty, observer States, specialized agencies, international and regional intergovernmental organizations, and non-governmental organizations, will address substantive and procedural issues related to the Treaty and the upcoming Review Conference in 2010.

The Chairman for this third session is Ambassador Boniface G. Chidyausiku of Zimbabwe.

The purpose of this session is to prepare for the 2010 Review Conference by taking into account the deliberations and results of the previous two sessions, held in 2007 and 2008, and making every effort to produce a consensus report containing recommendations to the Review Conference.  The procedural arrangements for the Review Conference should also be finalized at the session.  This includes the provisional agenda and draft rules of procedure as well as the nomination of the President of the 2010 Review Conference.

The Treaty, which entered into force in 1970 and was extended indefinitely in 1995, requires that Review Conferences be held every five years.  The Treaty is regarded as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime.  Its objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament, and to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

For media accreditation and further information, including documentation, please visit www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/NPT2010Prepcom/PrepCom2009/index.html.

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For information media • not an official record