The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Review Conference

 The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Review Conference

08/01/2022 08:36 AM EDT

Office of the Spokesperson

Secretary Blinken will travel to New York for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Review Conference, where he will reaffirm the U.S. commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). He will underscore that the United States remains dedicated to preserving and strengthening the nuclear nonproliferation regime for future generations.  For more than 50 years, the NPT has made our world safer and more prosperous, and the treaty is never more important than in times of crisis. The United States stands ready to work with all our partners to ensure a safer world for everyone.

Non-Proliferation 

• Since its entry into force in 1970, the NPT has proven itself as the cornerstone of the nuclear nonproliferation regime and essential to international security. Articles I, II, and III of the Treaty play key roles in preventing the further spread of nuclear weapons. These include prohibiting nuclear-weapon States Parties from helping non-nuclear weapons States Parties acquire nuclear weapons (and in turn non-nuclear-weapon States Parties from receiving such assistance), establishing a link between safeguards and export controls, and by setting requirements for accepting International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards to verify that nuclear material is not diverted to nuclear weapons purposes.

• The United States remains dedicated to preserving and strengthening the nuclear nonproliferation regime for future generations. We play a leading role in ensuring the international community both responds to cases of NPT and safeguards noncompliance and provides the IAEA with the resources and political support necessary to carry out its important work. We continue to promote the combination of a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and Additional Protocol – with a modified Small Quantities Protocol, when applicable – as the de facto standard for achieving NPT safeguards goals and assuring NPT obligations are met. More information on the United States’ approach to nonproliferation and the NPT can be found in this fact sheet .

Disarmament

• The NPT is the cornerstone of the nuclear nonproliferation regime and the basis for international cooperation to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and work toward their elimination. The United States remains committed to leading the way on arms control and addressing complex global security challenges. As President Biden said, the United States is “committed to reducing the existential threat posed by nuclear weapons” and “reinvigorating the global nuclear order to reduce the risk of use and proliferation of nuclear weapons.” Since the NPT entered into force, the United States has made significant progress towards disarmament, reducing the U.S. nuclear weapons stockpile, and limiting the role of nuclear weapons.

• In line with its obligation under Article VI of the NPT, the United States has a long history of reducing strategic risk and enabling progress on nuclear disarmament, a history the Biden-Harris administration is deeply committed to upholding and reinvigorating. We believe multilateralism and international cooperation are essential to advancing the universal goals of the NPT and we are committed to taking practical steps together. More information on the United States’ approach to disarmament and the NPT can be found in this fact sheet .

Peaceful Uses

• Since the NPT came into force more than 50 years ago, cooperation on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, science, and technology (“peaceful uses”) has grown tremendously. Increasingly, Parties to the NPT are successfully making the benefits of peaceful uses accessible to all in a safe and secure manner. Today, thanks to the confidence provided by the NPT, nuclear applications are greatly improving the lives of people all around the world and helping address some of today’s most pressing challenges, including climate change, human health, and sustainable development. The benefits are clear and all NPT Parties must work to ensure continued access to them in a safe and secure manner, and without increasing the risk of nuclear proliferation.

• The United States is deeply committed to advancing peaceful uses. Since 2015, the United States has provided more than $395 million to help the IAEA promote peaceful nuclear applications. In collaboration with the United Kingdom and with support from other NPT States Parties, the United States has also launched a new effort to expand access to the benefits of peaceful uses cooperation. Working with the IAEA, the Sustained Dialogue will promote greater access, understanding, and acceptance of peaceful nuclear technologies, elaborate on how peaceful uses can help meet UN Sustainable Development Goals, and drive new areas of international cooperation in advancing peaceful uses consistent with our NPT obligations. For more information on the United States’ approach to peaceful uses and the NPT see this fact sheet .