The Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will hold its third session from 4 to 15 May 2009 at UN Headquarters, New York. This meeting is the last of the usual three sessions held prior to the 2010 Review Conference. The Chairman of the third session is Ambassador Boniface G. Chidyausiku of Zimbabwe.
Decision 1 at the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference on strengthening the review process for the treaty and its improved version, agreed to at the 2000 Review Conference, clearly stipulate that “at its third and, as appropriate, fourth sessions, the Preparatory Committee taking into account the deliberations and results of its previous sessions, should make every effort to produce a consensus report containing recommendations to the Review Conference”. Furthermore, “the procedural arrangements for the Review Conference should be finalized at the last session of the Preparatory Committee”.
The NPT, which entered into force in 1970 and was extended indefinitely in 1995, requires that review conferences be held every five years. The Treaty is regarded as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime. Its objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament and to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.