10 April 2015 – “The Philippines is committed to upholding the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as the cornerstone of the global nuclear management regime. We support the balanced implementation of NPT's three pillars namely, nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and peaceful use of nuclear energy."

This was reaffirmed recently by Ambassador and Permanent Representative Lourdes O. Yparraguirre at a workshop jointly organized by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) and the Permanent Mission of Sweden to International Organizations in Vienna on "Promoting a Successful Outcome of the 2015 NPT Review Conference."

Ambassador Yparraguirre noted that in line with the Philippines' commitment on the three pillars of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the country presided over the 2010 NPT Review Conference where States Parties agreed to a Final Document, which included a review of the operation of the Treaty, as well as agreed conclusions and recommendations for follow-on actions, or the so-called 64-Point Action Plan.

In a similar vein, she said that the Philippines expected the 2015 Review Conference to review the Treaty's implementation across all three pillars, and prescribe future actions in areas where implementation remains lacking.

Specifically, she stated that the Conference must enhance efforts in transparency and reporting by NPT States Parties on their implementation of the Treaty obligations. It must reinforce dialogue on the ratification of the Protocols to Treaties on nuclear-weapons-free zones. It must also address the failure in 2012 to convene the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Free of Nuclear Weapons and All Other Weapons of Mass Destruction. It must further reflect the growing attention placed on the importance of the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons.

She added that the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), of which the Philippines is a member, has been strongly pushing for the start of negotiations of a nuclear weapons convention (NWC), including a phased program of concrete steps and measures and a timeframe for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.

Noting the forthcoming Review Conference as a significant opportunity to reinforce confidence in the NPT, Ambassador Yparraguirre expressed hope that despite the "stalled" or "standstill" status of a number of disarmament talks (including the Conference on Disarmament, Six-Party Talks, the 2012 Middle East Conference, the proposed Fissile-Material Cut-Off Treaty), the "Vienna spirit" would prevail over the 2015 NPT Review Conference.

Other panelists in the session on the Final Document of the Review Conference were Ambassador Cristian Istrate of Romania, Ambassador David Stuart of Australia, and Ambassador Tebogo Joseph Seokolo of South Africa.

Ambassador Istrate will be chairing Main Committee II of the Conference, which considers safeguards, nuclear-weapons-free zones, the ratification of Protocols, and related issues. Ambassador Stuart, for his part, will preside over Main Committee III, which considers the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo of the Provisional Technical Secretariat of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) delivered keynote remarks at the Workshop and requested support from States on the Treaty's entry into force.

Charge d'Affaires, a.i. Laura Kennedy of the United States Mission and Ambassador Györgyi Martin Zanathy representing the Delegation of the European Union presented their respective positions and priorities in the forthcoming conference, particularly their views on the nuclear non-proliferation pillar.

Ambassador Mitsuru Kitano of Japan and IAEA Board of Governors Chair Marta Žiaková of Slovakia focused their presentations on the pillar of peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Ambassador Rafael Grossi of Argentina, who chaired the Diplomatic Conference to Consider a Proposal by Switzerland to Amend the Convention on Nuclear Safety in February, highlighted the importance of nuclear safety issues in the 64-point Action Plan, particularly after the Fukushima Daiichi incident in 2011. END