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April 2012 E-News


The last month has been a busy one for Reaching Critical Will. We’ve launched a brand new website; published two new major resources—one on implementing the 2010 NPT action plan and another on nuclear weapon modernization; monitored UN meetings on small arms as well as the UN Disarmament Commission; and have been actively preparing for the NPT Preparatory Committee in Vienna.

The fun is not over yet—during the first two weeks of May, RCW will continue to be your primary resources for all things NPT. We will be providing daily reporting and analysis through the NPT News in Review; archiving all statements, working papers, and other primary documents; organizing daily briefings between governmental and NGO representatives; and coordinating NGO presentations. Before the PrepCom even begins, we will be hosting an NGO orientation for all civil society members attending the meeting—please see below for details.

This will be the last E-News before the NPT PrepCom. To keep up with Reaching Critical Will’s coverage of the PrepCom, subscribe to the NPT News in Review—you’ll receive daily updates in your inbox.

In peace,
Ray Acheson, RCW Project Director

In this edition:

New RCW website

In March, Reaching Critical Will launched its new and improved website, thanks to a generous contribution from the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In addition to revamping the overall look and feel of the site and making it more user friendly, we have also added a new feature that allows users to search through a database of statements and resolutions from all the disarmament fora we cover by country, date, topic, and fora. We hope this tool will be useful for NGOs, UN Secretariat, diplomats, and researchers. We welcome your feedback. You can view a few photos from the launch event in Geneva on our Facebook page.

Assuring destruction forever: New report from RCW on nuclear weapon modernization

On 10 April, Reaching Critical Will released a new report called Assuring destruction forever: nuclear weapon modernization around the world. This new, groundbreaking study explores in-depth the nuclear weapon modernization programmes in China, France, India, Israel, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and analyzes the costs of nuclear weapons in the context of the economic crisis, austerity measures, and rising challenges in meeting human and environmental needs. 

Full report
Introduction
Executive summary
Press release
Sample op-eds and letters to parliamentarians on modernization

2010 NPT Action Plan Monitoring Report: New report from RCW on the NPT

At the 2010 nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, states parties adopted a 64 point action plan in order to further the implementation of the treaty. In 2011, Reaching Critical Will teamed up with the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP) and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs to examine the degree of implementation of the Action Plan. The project has produced three initial reports and one final one which aim to provide factual and clear information on the status of the implementation of the three pillars of the NPT Action Plan. 

Final report
2010 NPT Action Plan monitoring report
(April 2012)

Previous reports
Report #1: "Peaceful uses of nuclear energy"
 (June 2011)
Report #2: Non-proliferation
 (September 2011)
Report #3: Nuclear disarmament
 (January 2012)

NPT PrepCom updates and info

Note: Please direct all NPT-related questions to either Ray Acheson at Reaching Critical Will or to Junko Hirakawa at the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs. Please do not attempt to contact the UN office at Vienna or any other office or department of the UN.

NGO accreditation and registration

Information about accreditation and registration is available in the aide memoire prepared by UNODA. The accreditation process is now closed. NGOs that have been provisionally accredited to the meeting must pre-register by 20 April 2012 through CSO-Net. See the aide memoire for details.

Civil society orientation

An orientation for all civil society participants will be held on the morning of Sunday, 29 April 2012 from 10:00-12:00. It will be held at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna, Favoritenstrasse 15a, A-1040 Vienna in coordination with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapon (ICAN) Campaigners Confernece.

Side events

The NGO room, Conference Room M2 in the Vienna International Centre, will seat approximately 100 people. Booking the NGO side event room is done a first come, first serve basis. Please email info[at]reachingcriticalwill.org to book the room. The calendar of events is updated regularly. If you require a bigger room, please follow the directions in the aide memoire to book a room through UNODA.

NGO materials

There will be a table at the PrepCom for NGO materials. Please be sure to send the NGO coordinator a copy of your material before placing it on the table. Please bring your materials in boxes or other carrying containers that are small enough to be carried and to go through the airport-type screening facilities at Gate 1 of the Vienna International Centre.

NPT News in Review

The NPT News in Review is a daily publication produced during NPT Preparatory Committee and Review Conferences. It features analysis of the day's events, feature articles from NGOs around the world, interviews with diplomats and NGO representatives, nuclear facts, announcements, cartoons, a calendar of events, and more. You can subscribe to receive in your inbox each day during the PrepCom.

We also encourage you to submit to the 2012 NPT News in Review. The guidelines are as follows:

Feature articles: In addition to the daily analysis of the proceedings of the PrepCom, the NPT News in Review also contains feature articles that cover a range of nuclear disarmament issues. We welcome submissions from NGO experts around the world, regardless of whether or not you will be in Geneva. Articles should be between 500-1000 words. Please submit in .doc format and the body of the email. Articles will be attributed to the author and may be edited for length.

Advertising: You can use the NPT News in Review to publicize an important announcement, event, or project hosted by your organization. NIRs are hand-distributed to all of the delegates at the PrepCom, sent by email to more than 2000 subscribers, and are archived on our website.

  • 1/4 page ad: $40, dimensions: 85 mm (w) x 122 mm (h)
  • 1/2 page ad: $60, dimensions: 175 mm (w) x 122 mm (h)
  • full page ad: $130, dimensions: 175 mm (w) x 244 mm (h)
  • back page ad: $185, dimensions: 196 mm (w) x 242 mm (h)

Discounts are available for multiple ads. Run your ad twice and get $5 off. Run your add three times and get $10 off. Run your ad four times and get $15 off.

Cartoons, photos, artwork, poetry: The NPT News in Review wouldn't be complete without its fill of poignant, satirical, and beautiful artwork. We are accepting all forms of anti-nuclear artwork, to be sent in either a .jpg, .gif, or .pdf file. Photos, paintings, doodles, cartoons, collage, mixed media, and drawings are all welcome.

Please send all submissions to info[at]reachingcriticalwill.org.

ICAN campaigners meeting, 28–29 April

On 28–29 April, before the start of the NPT PrepCom, ICAN is organizing a campaigners meeting to strategize for the upcoming event and exchange ideas and plans. The meeting will take place at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.

Download the registration form (and invitation)
Download the registration form in word

To register send the registration form to: alexandra[at]icanw.org

UN Disarmament Commission 2012 session

The UN Disarmament Commission (UNDC) began its 2012 session on 2 April. During the first week of the meeting, member states struggled to adopt an agenda for the current three year cycle—see reporting from RCW and Global Action to Prevent War for details:

Statements and documentsare also available on the RCW website. The UNDC will end its session on 27 April; civil society representatives are only permitted to attend plenary meetings therefore the bulk of the UNDC’s work is done behind closed doors without participation or monitoring by NGOs.

UN Programme of Action on small arms outcome

The preparatory committee for the Second Review Conference of the UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons In All Its Aspects met at UN Headquarters in New York City from 19–23 March 2012.

Reaching Critical Will, along with Global Action to Prevent War and the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA) monitored the meeting and provided reporting and analysis. You can view all the news through our daily Small Arms Monitor, available online in PDF. You can also read statements and official documents from the meeting.

The Review Conference will be held 27 August–14 September 2012, also in New York. Stay tuned for details.

ATT negotiating conference: information for NGOs

The UN Conference on the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) will meet at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City from 2–27 July 2012. The aide memoire for NGO participation is now available online. Please note that accreditation closes 14 May 2012 and mandatory online pre-registration closes 22 June 2012.

Please see the RCW website for more information about the ATT, including the following Reaching Critical Will materials and publications:

Action Alerts: Military spending

17 April 2012 will mark the second Global Day of Action on Military Spending. The day will coincide with the release of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute’s (SIPRI) new annual figures on world military expenditure. On this day, people on all continents will join together in joint actions to focus public, political, and media attention on the costs of military spending and the need for new priorities. Check out demilitarize.org for details on how to get involved. Also see WILPF’s International Women’s Day Statement to the Conference on Disarmament (8 March 2012), which is on this theme.

Upcoming Events

UN Disarmament Commission
2–20 April | New York City, USA

Global Day of Action on Military Spending
17 April 2012 | Global

UN Security Council meeting on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and security
19 April 2012 | New York, USA

NPT Preparatory Committee
30 April–11 May

Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence
11–17 June 2012 | Global

Featured News

Israel hearts Iran
Amid growing tensions between Israel and Iran, two Israeli graphic designers created a Facebook campaign aimed at challenging warmongering rhetoric. The campaign also spurred the creation of similar graphic outreach by Iranians.

ICAN campaign kit now available
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons has released an online kit for campaigners working for a nuclear weapons convention.

Activists continue protests against Koodankulam nuclear power plant
The People’s Movement Against Nuclear Energy and other groups in Tamil Nadu are continuing their efforts to prevent construction of the nuclear power plant at Koodankulam.

Recommended Reading

Assuring destruction forever: nuclear weapon modernization around the world, Reaching Critical Will/WILPF, March 2012

2010 NPT Action Plan Monitoring Report, Reaching Critical Will/WILPF, April 2012

Speech on the First Anniversary of the Fukushima Disaster,” Senator Scott Ludlam, Australian Greens, 5 April 2012

Dropping fists,” The Economist, 24 March 2012