2 February 2010 - Global nuclear disarmament experts and negotiators threw their full support behind the Philippines' lead role in steering talks on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
Throughout the two-day workshop on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) held in Manila, over 90 participants expressed their support to Ambassador Libran N. Cabactulan, President-elect of the 2010 NPT Review Conference, to be held in May 2010 in New York.
The Workshop aims to contribute to the consultation and deliberation process prior to the Review Conference. It will also assist delegations in their preparations.
"The Workshop ended today with a consensus among global players in the disarmament field that chances for success of the Review Conference are higher now than ever before given the positive climate towards achieving a world free of nuclear weapons," Ambassador Cabactulan said.
The Workshop brought together representatives from key governments, inter-governmental organizations and selected non-governmental organizations.
Among issues discussed include: the implications of the United States-Russia follow-on agreement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) which expired in December 2009, an action plan on nuclear disarmament, impact of renewed commitment to the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as well as anticipated negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, strengthening of safeguards, non-compliance to the NPT, the nuclear program of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), progress on the 1995 Resolution on the Middle East, among others. END
