An Overview of the NPT Review Conference

The NPT Review Conference, aimed at preventing the proliferation of strategic weapons, is held every five years for representatives of the signatory countries to assess its functionality. During the 1995 conference, the representatives extended their meeting for several days beyond the scheduled time, during which the member countries declared the legal validity of the treaty as unlimited and set the review every five years. At that time, the members emphasized the need to renew their commitment to strengthening the fundamental principles, namely the three main pillars of the treaty: 1 – Nuclear disarmament, 2 – Access to peaceful nuclear energy for members, and 3 – Non-proliferation of destructive nuclear weapons. The first NPT was signed on July 1, 1968, by 61 countries. Today, 186 countries, including Iran, are members of this treaty. The Additional Protocol is a separate agreement established in 1993 by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to strengthen and expand the agency's safeguards regime, which was eventually approved by the agency's Board of Governors four years later. According to this protocol, inspectors from the agency have legal authority for surprise inspections of the facilities of member countries. NPT members must accept the Additional Protocol as an annex to the comprehensive safeguards agreement. The Iranian government accepted the Additional Protocol in 2003, but there are disagreements between the parliament and the government regarding its acceptance. The main obligations of the Additional Protocol require member countries to provide more information about their nuclear activities and any related activities, including information on research and development of nuclear programs, uranium and plutonium production, and any related imports and exports to the agency. They must also inform the agency about the details of new facilities before they are established. Surprise and in-depth inspections, sampling, and the installation of cameras for online monitoring are among the conditions of the Additional Protocol. A joint statement was issued during the London conference held on February 4 and 5 this year, with the participation of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council: the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France, and Russia, known as the P5. In paragraph 12 of this statement, while welcoming Iran's nuclear talks with the major world powers, it emphasizes finding a diplomatic solution and a comprehensive agreement that guarantees the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program. Furthermore, this section regarding Iran emphasizes the need for immediate and complete cooperation from the Iranian government to resolve unresolved issues with the agency, which include the potential military dimensions of previous nuclear activities. It should also be noted that this twelfth paragraph in the statement of the five permanent members of the Security Council is not exclusive to Iran, as it also includes a reference to North Korea, summarizing that the P5 members reaffirm their determination to resolve the nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula through diplomatic means. Thus, it can be interpreted that the P5 members have adopted a unified front and a single policy regarding the New York conference.