NPT Draft Reflects Japan Proposal for Nuclear Education

New York, May 13 (Jiji Press)–The ongoing Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT, is expected to adopt an outcome document that addresses nuclear disarmament education, as proposed by Japan, it was learned Wednesday. A draft of the document, distributed on Wednesday, calls on NPT member countries to “take concrete measures to raise awareness of the public, including through education…on all topics relating to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.” The draft refers to “interactions with and directly sharing the experiences of the peoples and the communities affected by nuclear weapons use and testing.” The NPT review conference is being held at the U.N. headquarters in New York and will last until May 22. Unanimous approval is required to adopt an outcome document. The last two conferences, held in 2015 and 2022, failed to produce such a document. The latest draft also expresses grave concerns over “any attacks or threat of attack against nuclear facilities devoted to peaceful purposes,” omitting a paragraph in the previous draft that noted “the grave concerns expressed at the attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities” and called for “maximum restraint to avoid such attacks.” Following the expiration of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, between the United States and Russia in February, the latest draft calls on the two countries and other nuclear-weapon states “to pursue ways to multilateralize future arms control frameworks at an early date.” END END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]