The Postponed 2020 NPT Review Conference: Another Setback or a Window of Opportunity?

Moderator: ·  ANGELA KANE, Vice-President of the IIP, former UN Representative for Disarmament Affairs Discussant: ·  Amb. THOMAS HAJNOCZI, Director for Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation in the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs. Prior to taking up this position he was Permanent Representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva and before as Permanent Representative to the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. He also served as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Norway, Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, Director for Security Policy in the Ministry and in several other posts. Ambassador Hajnoczi is also a Member of the Advisory Board of the IIP. Content: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Review Conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) has been postponed until further notice and will be held ‘as soon as the circumstances permit, but no later than April 2021’, according to the official UN announcement. The Conference takes place every five years, with state parties to the NPT gathering in New York for four weeks to review progress on the implementation of the Treaty and agree on further steps toward nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. The previous conference in 2015 ended as a disappointment to many, as no final document was adopted as a result of the meeting. A successful outcome is thus crucial for the 2020 Review Conference, especially as the Treaty celebrates its 50th anniversary since entering into force. However, tensions among state parties to the treaty have been high since 2015. One can point to the deep disappointment felt by many Arab states about persisting obstacles, or even unwillingness, by some states to progress on the establishment of a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East; the abrogation of the bilateral Russian-American Intermediate Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) Treaty in 2019; the de facto dysfunctional nuclear agreement with Iran (or JCPOA); and the opposition of the nuclear weapons states against the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). How will the postponement of the NPT Review Conference play into these circumstances? Does it delay the necessary talks or might it actually provide an opportunity to use the additional time to seek common ground among the delegations? How does the Austrian government see the situation? Can Vienna become a new venue for the postponed conference?