Reflections on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), consisting of a brief eleven articles covering five pages, is the world’s pre-eminent multilaterally negotiated nuclear arms control treaty. Except for the United Nations Charter, the NPT has the largest number of states parties—India, Israel and Pakistan continue to defy the international nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament norms established through consensus by refusing to accede to the Treaty, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is the sole instance of a state party withdrawing from the NPT (in January 2003).

In light of recent negative developments and an increasing loss of institutional memory in foreign ministries and research institutes on the workings of the NPT review process—including the proceedings and outcomes of key review conferences in 1995, 2000 and 2010—the two authors believe that this compendium of essays could provide useful insights to the new generation of diplomats and researchers on how the Treaty and its review process have evolved through the previous two decades. It is also hoped that they may help promote more productive and harmonious conduct during the preparations for the 2020 review conference.