TENTH REVIEW CONFERENCE
of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
The Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was held from 1 – 26 August 2022. The Treaty is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. The NPT represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty towards the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States. More about the Conference…
This conference comes at a critical juncture in our history, when the threat of nuclear conflict is the highest it has been since the Cuban Missile Crisis. The NPT has played a critical role in maintaining peace since that time. Recent actions such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and threats of use of nuclear weapons by other member countries, places the world at heightened risk.
This conference, aimed at assessing member states’ progress in implementing commitments to the treaty, stresses now more than ever, the need for member states to strengthen their commitment to meet the legally-binding agreements of the Non-Proliferation Treaty in the interest of humanity. However, Member States were unable to reach consensus, largely due to objections from Russia. See National Catholic Reporter, 5 September 2022: https://www.globalsistersreport.org/news/news/blog/monday-starter-sisters-disappointed-outcome-un-nuclear-disarmament-meetings
FURTHER RESOURCES:
To understand more about the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the importance of this Review Conference, see this Briefing Book produced by Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF):
The briefing book provides a guide to understanding the Non-Proliferation Treaty
https://reachingcriticalwill.org/resources/publications-and-research/publications/15592-2022-npt-briefing-bookJoint
Interfaith Statement to the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), August 2022
https://cdn2.assets-servd.host/un-sgi/production/assets/downloads/Interfaith-Statement-to-the-2022-NPT-RevCon-rev.pdf
(We received too late for sign-on)
Living in the Light of Christ’s Peace: A Conversation Toward Nuclear Disarmament A Pastoral Letter by Most Reverend John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe | January 11, 2022
https://archdiosf.org/documents/2022/1/220111_ABW_Pastoral_Letter
View the Interfaith Panel Discussion on the 77th Anniversary of the Atomic Bombing of Nagasaki, Japan, August 9, 2022 (with Archbishop Wester; Rev. Talitha Arnold, Senior Minister of the United Church of Santa Fe; The Rev. Dr. Holly Beaumont of Interfaith Worker Justice; Roshi Joan Halifax of the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe; and Regis Pecos, Former Governor of Cochiti Pueblo.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U88tJwq7yNs
Pope Francis, November 24, 2019 at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial –
“Convinced as I am that a world without nuclear weapons is possible and necessary, I ask political leaders not to forget that these weapons cannot protect us from current threats to national and international security. We need to ponder the catastrophic impact of their deployment, especially from a humanitarian and environmental standpoint, and reject heightening a climate of fear, mistrust, and hostility fomented by nuclear doctrines.”3
https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/pont-messages/2019/documents/papa- francesco_20191124_messaggio-incontropace-hiroshima.html He repeated this on August 6, 2020, the 75th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing.