United States Mission to International Organizations in Vienna
For Immediate Release
Vienna
May 11, 2012
The United States was pleased to participate in the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) meeting of Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) held in Vienna, April 30 – May 11. The U.S. interagency delegation was led by Ambassador Susan Burk, the President’s Special Representative for Nuclear Nonproliferation, and included Thomas Countryman, Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Nonproliferation; Ambassador Laura Kennedy, the U.S. Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva; and Robert Wood, Acting U.S. Permanent Representative to International Organizations in Vienna.
The PrepCom provided the opportunity for a valuable, substantive exchange of views on all aspects of the NPT, including disarmament, nonproliferation, and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. National and group presentations illuminated the actions that many nations have taken to follow up on the 2010 NPT Review Conference, to implement the 2010 NPT Action Plan, and to establish priorities for the 2015 Review Conference. Acting Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security Rose Gottemoeller co-chaired a joint panel on U.S.-Russian implementation of the New START Treaty, and Ambassador Burk moderated a discussion of technical cooperation and assistance available to NPT Parties in implementing IAEA safeguards agreements.
All NPT parties have a responsibility to contribute to the achievement of the NPT’s fundamental goals and to the vitality and durability of the global nonproliferation regime. At the PrepCom the United States reaffirmed its commitment to implement the 2010 NPT Action Plan as well as its obligations under Article VI of the NPT. In this connection, the United States announced it would host a third conference of the five NPT Nuclear Weapon States (P5) in Washington June 27-29, 2012, where discussions on key disarmament and nonproliferation topics will progress. The United States reaffirmed its support for a Middle East free of all weapons of mass destruction, and for a successful conference that includes and has the full support of all countries in the region. The United States will continue to address the serious challenge of cases of noncompliance with Treaty obligations, and will continue to support expanding access to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in areas as human health, water resources, agriculture, and food security. The United States is the largest single contributor to IAEA peaceful uses programs, and has pledged an additional $50 million to the IAEA Peaceful Uses Initiative, which seeks to expand support for peaceful uses programs by $100 million before the 2015 NPT Review Conference.