2024 NPT Preparatory Committee concludes its work

2 August 2024

When the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was being negotiated in the 1960s, states felt the urgency of the moment. The treaty that states constructed went on to constrain proliferation for decades. But the refusal of its five nuclear-armed members to eliminate their nuclear arsenals has led us to a point where the treaty’s survival is at stake—and the collective survival of humanity along with it. The final days of the PrepCom focused on procedure, with many states suggesting ways to increase transparency and accountability to build trust and achieve disarmament. But the fight over the Chair’s summary, and the mounting dangers outside the conference room, risk dragging the treaty, and the planet, into the shallows. Courage and creativity, instead of competition and confrontation, are needed more than ever.

Find statements, working papers, documents, and more on the Reaching Critical Will website. Also see our reporting and analysis from the conferece in the NPT News in Review.