Notícias
Intervenção do Brasil (em inglês) sobre Fortalecimento do Processo de Exame, na I Sessão do Comitê Preparatório da XI Conferência de Exame do TNP (Viena, 31/7 a 12/8)
1st Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
Vienna, 31 July – 11 August 2023
Specific Issue - Strengthening the Review Process
Statement by the Delegation of Brazil
Delivered by Mr. Cláudio Medeiros Leopoldino
Head of the Disarmament and Sensitive Technologies Division
Ministry of External Relations
Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
My delegation participated actively in the discussions of the Working Group on strengthening the review process, both nationally and in coordination with our partners from the New Agenda Coalition.
It is regrettable that, despite the many proposals put forward by delegations and consolidated by you in your CRPs, the Working Group was unable to agree on concrete recommendations.
We therefore welcome your initiative to circulate your summary of the discussions of the Working Group under WP.34, which we believe captures the gist of the constructive proposals discussed during that week.
We hope that your summary will be used as a guide in our efforts during this review cycle to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of our work.
Mr. Chairman,
Nowhere the need for such improvements is more pronounced than in the area of transparency and accountability.
As you recall, my delegation and our peers of the New Agenda Coalition clearly ranked issues of accountability and transparency as priorities in terms of enhancing the effectiveness and the efficiency of the review process. Among all the 6 issues listed under last year’s decision, those two topics stand out as the ones that could contribute the most to further the objectives of the NPT under a much-needed structured discussion.
As my delegation stated during the working group, without establishing a baseline and benchmarks and having a common structure of templates for reporting to assess the evolution of the implementation of disarmament commitments and obligations, we are not only priming ourselves for abject failure but also moving away from fulfilling the objectives of the Treaty.
Transparency, for its turn, is closely associated with accountability. Enhancing transparency is central to measuring and ascertaining compliance with the Treaty and with States parties’ obligations and commitments. This view was enshrined in the Final Document of the 2000 Review Conference (Step 12 of the 13 Practical Steps) and reiterated in Action 20 of the 2010 Action Plan.
Comparability in reporting, through standard reporting form as well as its intervals for submission, was also encouraged by Action 21.
Let me stress again that the enhancement of transparency and accountability would not generate onerous new commitments or anything that is unprecedented or not agreed, in principle, in the past. In reality, we believe that meeting these reporting requirements is almost costless in comparison to what is shouldered, on a regular basis, by NNWS to meet their extensive reporting and transparency obligations and commitments under the safeguards regime.
In this regard, my delegation recalls the joint statement delivered earlier this afternoon by New Zealand, on behalf of a number of States Parties, which my delegation cosponsored and fully associates itself. That joint statement contains very constructive proposals, in particular the call to all nuclear-weapon States to present their national reports and submit them to an interactive discussion during the upcoming sessions of the PrepCom and of the Review Conference. We join other delegations in encouraging the chair of the 2nd PrepCom to include a dedicated slot for that purpose on the agenda for that session.
Finally, Mr. Chairman, my delegation recalls that, in its document WP.13, the New Agenda Coalition suggested a detailed list of information that should be part of the standard reporting to address comprehensively transparency and accountability and the concept that links both, measurability. We hope that these proposals, as well as those reflected in your working paper, will be taken into account by nuclear-weapon States in the preparation of their reports.
I thank you, Mr Chairman.