Statement by H.E. Peter Woolcott, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the Conference on Disarmament, on behalf of the Vienna Group of Ten, to the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, as delivered on 6 May 2010.
(as delivered)
Mr President
I have the honor to take the floor on behalf of the members of the Vienna Group of Ten: Austria, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden and my own country Australia.
At the outset let me congratulate your election as President of the 2010 NPT Review Conference. We assure you and the other members of your team of our full support as you guide us in our work over the coming weeks.
The group shares with other States Party, a desire to make a constructive contribution to a successful 2010 NPT Review Conference. The Group considers that the NPT provides vital security and other benefits to all States parties. The Treaty confers a set of interrelated and mutually reinforcing obligations on States parties, notably with respect to disarmament, non-proliferation and co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Strengthening the role of the NPT as the cornerstone of our international disarmament and non-proliferation regime will require progress on all three pillars.
The Vienna Group’s focus is on the traditional “Vienna issues” of non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Our aim has been to contribute to a successful review of NPT Articles III and IV and related issues, as well as to develop forward-looking strategies in these areas.
To this end, the Vienna Group has prepared working papers on seven topics: peaceful uses of nuclear energy, approaches to the nuclear fuel cycle, compliance and verification, export controls, nuclear safety, physical protection and illicit trafficking, and CTBT. These are numbered conference working papers 15-21.
Each paper proposes specific draft review language for the 2010 Review Conference outcomes document.
In addition, the Vienna Group has submitted a separate working paper proposing a number of specific elements which might be considered for inclusion in any forward-looking Action Plan to be adopted by the Conference. This has been circulated as conference working paper 38.
These proposed elements relate mainly to those aspects of the Treaty that are associated with Vienna-based forums and organisations, and thus are not intended to represent an exhaustive list of elements for a possible action plan.
Mr President
The Vienna Group’s proposed language and elements have been drafted with a view to promoting convergence on a number of key issues of relevance to Treaty implementation. The language has been crafted in a moderate way, mindful of other States parties’ positions.
I wish to commend these papers to you, your team and to all the delegations at this conference. It is our hope that the papers will assist in building consensus on this important set of issues.
The members of the Vienna Group, acting in their national capacities, look forward to working with other delegations in a constructive and positive spirit over coming weeks.