Online event, 8 September ’22, 4pm CET: The Tenth NPT Review Conference: Reflections of President Gustavo Zlauvinen

Multilateral Dialogue KAS Vienna and Atomic Reporters


ONLINE EVENT

Thursday, 8th September 2022: 16:00 – 17:30 CET

Register in advance for this webinar: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_dlFaQ0mHR7mu4aFl82yc_A

After registering, a confirmation email will be sent with webinar login details.


Introduction

The Multilateral Dialogue of the Konrad-Adenauer-Foundation in Vienna, together with Atomic Reporters, invites you to an online discussion on The Tenth Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference: Reflections of President Gustavo Zlauvinen. Despite the best efforts of Ambassador Zlauvinen, the Tenth NPT Review Conference ended without being able to adopt an agreed “Final Document” on the evening of 26th August at United Nations Headquarters in New York. There is bitter disappointment that the failure of this review conference follows the previous review conference held in 2015 that also failed to agree on an outcome. Contentious issues in New York included the ongoing situation in Ukraine regarding the safety and security of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in the midst of armed conflict; the lack of progress on nuclear disarmament; focus on nuclear risk reduction rather than on dismantlement of nuclear weapons; delays in setting up a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East; exemption from IAEA verification of naval nuclear propulsion reactors and fuel; and constraining North Korea’s nuclear activities, among other issues. The NPT entered into force on 5 March 1970; it was extended indefinitely in force on 11 May 1995. The Treaty is the most successful and the most widely adhered to multilateral legally binding instrument governing nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy – the “three pillars” of the Treaty. The NPT Review Conferences have been held every five years since 1970 – the ones in 1995, 2000 and 2010 resulted in agreements by consensus on various measures across the three pillars, especially on nuclear disarmament. The NPT review process is the only forum where the five nuclear-weapon States – China, France, Russia, the UK and the US – engage substantively on nuclear disarmament. Tenth NPT Review Conference President Ambassador Gustavo Zlauvinen will discuss issues relating to the conduct of the conference and his efforts to seek consensus on a final outcome document laying out actions for the implementation of the Treaty and previous commitments leading up to the Eleventh NPT Review Conference in 2026.

Speaker

Gustavo Zlauvinen: Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary (Argentina), President of the Tenth NPT Review Conference (1-26 August 2022). Previously, Deputy Foreign Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Argentina (2019); Under-Secretary for Foreign Policy (2016-2018); and Permanent Representative of the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to the United Nations in New York (2001-2009). During his career in the diplomatic service, Ambassador Zlauvinen has served as Delegate of Argentina to a number of disarmament, nuclear energy and arms control conferences and meetings, including, the IAEA Board of Governors and IAEA General Conference; the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee; the NPT review process; the Conference on the adoption of the Nuclear Safety Convention; and the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of the Outer Space. From 2005 to 2009 he was the Chairman of the Working Group on Preventing and Responding to Weapons of Mass Destruction Attacks of the United Nations Counterterrorism Implementation Task Force (New York). From 1993 to 1996, he was Rapporteur of the Standing Committee on Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage.

Moderator

Tariq Rauf is on the Board of Directors of Atomic Reporters; former Head of Verification & Security Policy Coordination, former Alternate Head of the NPT Delegation, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); he was a member of the Eminent Persons Group for Substantive Progress on Nuclear Disarmament convened by the Foreign Minister of Japan; and attended the 2022 NPT Review Conference – his seventh – as an official delegate.


Photo Credit: Dean Calma / IAEA


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