NPT review conference report

In accordance with Article VIII.3 of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, a Conference of the parties to the Treaty was held in Geneva from 5-30 May in order to review the operation of the Treaty with a view to assuring that the purposes of the Preamble and the provisions of the Treaty were being realized. The Conference was presided over by Mrs. Inga Thorsson of Sweden. Statements were made both by the Secretary-General of the United Nations and the Director General of the IAEA at the opening session. In its Final Declaration, adopted by consensus, the Conference expressed the view that the conclusion of a treaty banning all nuclear weapon tests was one of the most important measures to halt the nuclear arms race. It stressed the need to achieve the discontinuance of all test explosions of nuclear weapons for all time. The Conference also expressed its strong support for IAEA safeguards aimed at preventing the diversion of nuclear energy from peaceful uses to nuclear weapons or other explosive devices. Questions affecting the Agency arose chiefly in the review of Articles III, IV and V of the Treaty. The three sections of the Declaration which deal with the review of those Articles are reprinted in this issue. (author)