This Workshop will study the role and the relevance of the NAM in the political and diplomatic context of the NPT, as well as NAM’s participation in its negotiating process and the subsequent Review Conferences.

189 States are party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the cornerstone of the global nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament regime. 116 of these States are members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) which is therefore numerically and politically an important group in the NPT constituency. By agreed practice, the NPT Review Conference, held every 5 years, is chaired by a NAM state.

Politically, the NPT is widely considered a “bargain” between the Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) and Non Nuclear Weapon States (NNWS), and in this context, the NAM is the key interlocutor of the NWS and the Western states in upholding the nonproliferation, disarmament and peaceful uses pillars of the Treaty. The NAM has played an important role in the negotiation of the NPT, as well as in its subsequent review cycles including in the most recent first Preparatory Committee Meeting of the 9th Review Cycle, held in Vienna in April 2012.

Furthermore, the NPT divides rights and obligations under the Treaty between the NWS and the NNWS - the NAM constitutes the majority of the NNWS under the Treaty. In the context of the NPT, the NAM also represents those NNWS States which are not under the nuclear umbrella of any NWS, unlike other NNWS which are under security arrangements involving NWS, such as NATO.

Two NAM states, India and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons, and are not party to the NPT. In 2003, the DPRK withdrew from the NPT. NAM states Iraq, Iran, Syria and Libya (self-reported) have been referred to the UN Security Council by the IAEA for non-compliance with obligations related to the NPT.

This Workshop is particularly recommended for students who will follow the NPT Simulation Course offered by Dr. William Potter in fall 2012, as well as for students who have a basic grounding in the NPT. It is also recommended for all students who have an interest in multilateral diplomatic negotiations related to nonproliferation and disarmament.