NUCLEAR NON PROLIFERATION TREATY: APPROACHING THE ENDGAME
After the success of last week’s discussion the last 3 days have been spent on what this meeting will recommend to the major NPT Review Conference next year. We are in uncharted water here. No previous preparatory meeting has ever managed to agree policy recommendations. Over the past two years delegations rather seemed to lose their way once we moved beyond prepared statements and arguments over procedure.
On Friday the chairman tabled a bold proposal which tried to draw together the views contained in a huge number of past statements and proposals. The list of documents alone runs to 17 pages! Over the weekend and during the week delegations have been meeting in small groups behind closed doors trying to decide on the changes they want . We had one formal session where a number of nations gave general comments. Our Statement will be on our Geneva website shortly.
I always find this stage of any negotiation the most trying. It is difficult to get a sense of the feeling in the room since there are few formal meetings. Other delegations are closeted away in a wide variety of different groupings and alliances and not easy to contact. The stop/start nature of the day is wearing. Rumours abound. The constant question in our mind is “How much do others really want success” and “Will the chairman be able to accurately judge where the compromise lies?”
Tonight we received a revised text based on the chairman’s private contacts with a wide number of delegations including our own. He seems to have listened well and it is a serious rewrite. But now we have to study the whole thing afresh to see whether our points are included and what the new text actually means.
Regular updates are on twitter and pictures of the average day on Flickr
Posted at 03:51 14 May 2009 by John Duncan | Comments[0]
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