NPT Second Preparatory Committee EU Statement on Cluster III specific issues

European Union

EU Statement on Cluster III specific issue - Improving the effectiveness of the strengthened review process

Second Preparatory Committee for the 11th Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

Geneva, 22 July - 2 August 2024

Mr. Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Bosnia and Herzegovina[1]as well as the EFTA country Norway, member of the European Economic Area align themselves with this statement.

It was one of the few consensual decisions made at the 2022 NPT Review Conference that led to the meeting in July 2023 of a Working Group on further strengthening the review process. Although the Working Group could not agree on an outcome, the EU was encouraged by the constructive engagement of an overwhelming majority of States Parties, as well as by the interactive nature of the discussions.

Mr. Chair,

Last year's working group and Preparatory Committee session, as well as this year's discussions under cluster I, have made clear that there is a willingness by a majority of States Parties to move towards improving transparency and accountability when it comes to the implementation of the Treaty and its related commitments.

In this regard, the EU submitted ahead of this Preparatory Committee session a working paper titled "Enhancing transparency and accountability in the implementation of NPT obligations and commitments". In it, the EU advocates for the following two sets of measures, which we believe are shared in broad terms by a number of States Parties:

1. First, to encourage a qualitative improvement of reporting to enhance transparency and accountability, in particular through further developing previous proposals, including standardised templates, aiming at providing more substantive information in national implementation reports, especially those of nuclear-weapon States, without prejudice to national security; and
2. Secondly, to propose integrating into the review cycle a systematic and structured peer-to-peer review of the implementation of NPT obligations and commitments across its three pillars, in particular with regard to article VI obligations, including the national implementation reports of nuclear-weapon States.

Such review sessions, foreseen for specific moments of the cycle, should take place in an interactive format and involve the participation of civil society. They should be systematic, and not solely dependent on the willingness of nuclear-weapon States to engage with the NPT community.

We invite all States Parties to study the proposals in the working paper. The EU thanks France for having provided a forum for discussion of these and other proposals, by organising at the margins of this Preparatory Committee session the side event on "Enhancing Transparency and Accountability", in which the EU Special Envoy for Non-Proliferation and Disarmament and EU Member States took part.

Mr. Chair,

The EU would also like to recall some of its proposals regarding other aspects of how to strengthen the review process that were put forward in its working paper titled "A stronger review process for a stronger NPT" and other contributions to last year's Working Group:

• With regard to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of the review process, the EU suggests better enforcement of time limits, encouraging inputs in writing, reassessing the role of Subsidiary Bodies in order to enhance their complementarity with the respective Main Committees, and reassessing the existing division between "review" and "future-oriented" discussions, to avoid overlaps.
• In order to improve the inclusivity of the review process, the EU proposes to maintain the regional approach already employed at the last review cycle, to improve the participation of stakeholders such as experts, industry, academia and civil society representatives at dedicated sessions, and to promote the equal participation of women and men in the whole NPT review cycle, among other measures.
• Finally, with a view to further guarantee the coordination and continuity of the review process, the EU advocates for an early designation of Chairs of Preparatory Committee sessions and the Review Conference, creating a "Chair's Bureau" composed of Chairs of the Review Conference and the Preparatory Committee sessions, and considering the creation of a small Treaty implementation support unit to support the Chair, after due consideration of its budgetary implications, among other measures.

Mr. Chair,

Some of the abovementioned measures may require a decision by the Review Conference, but others could be adopted and enforced on the Chair's sole authority. In this regard, we congratulate you, Mr. Chair, for having promoted the adoption of a rolling agenda for this session, which has allowed us to move from one item to the next swiftly, saving considerable time. Where there is a will, there is a way.

Mr. Chair,

The EU strongly supports carrying on this discussion to the next Preparatory Committee session, in order to further distil a possible agreement on measures to strengthen the review process.

Thank you, Chair.

[1]North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

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