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Event | 22 August 2024

The ELN at the 2024 NPT PrepCom

2NT NPT Nuclear Disarmament Nuclear Weapons Emerging Disruptive Technologies and risk reduction NPT Project ELN NEVER YGLN

From 22 July – 2 August, diplomats and governments were in Geneva to assess and make recommendations for the full implementation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, at the second Preparatory Committee of the 2026 Review Conference.

The European Leadership Network was well represented. Several network and staff members were in attendance, speaking at multiple events and providing comprehensive briefings and sharing policy recommendations for disarmament diplomats.

Protecting the Non-Proliferation Treaty 

On Monday, the 22nd, we kicked off events with a side event sponsored by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of our member-led project on protecting the Non-Proliferation Treaty, presenting recommendations from our recent policy brief Cloudbusting: Ways to address the growing salience of nuclear weapons in the NPT. ELN Senior Network member Ahmet Üzümcü joined Norway’s Deputy Director for Global Security and Disarmament, Hans Christian Kjolseth, Mexico’s Ambassador to the UN, Geneva, Francisca Mendez Escobar, and Senior Policy Fellow, Rishi Paul for our panel, attracting a broad audience, including Chair to last year’s PrepCom, Ambassador Jarmo Viinanen.

Nuclear and New Technologies

Our second formal event, sponsored by the Auswärtiges Amt (German Federal Foreign Office), took place the following day. For this one, the Head of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Division at the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Daniel Kooij, joined US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Nuclear Affairs and YGLN alumnus, Alexandra Bell, and Rishi Paul to present and discuss a newly developed Guardrails and Self Assessment Framework for EDTs in nuclear weapons decision making to a packed room of diplomats, officials, and nuclear policy specialists, including representatives from all P5 states. Kooij endorsed the the ELN‘s recommendations to develop and enhance a multi-stakeholder dialogue. Bell agreed that the chances of miscalculation or misinterpretation are too high to ignore, pointing to the ongoing Fail Safe review of the US nuclear command and control structures.

Read the Guardrails and Self Assessment Framework

Networking and government engagement

Another highlight was an informal dinner, hosted by the ELN, with government officials active in the NPT, including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, Mexico, Norway, the UK and US. It was a multi-generational, geographically and politically diverse gathering of the ELN’s extended network. While much of the discussion was held off the record,  it was a robust and informative evening.

Throughout the PrepCom, our team networked actively and held bilateral meetings with various policymakers and practitioners. It was encouraging to hear practitioners praise ELN’s research and practical policy proposals.

Engagement with future leaders

Several Younger Generation Leaders Network (YGLN) and New European Voices on Existential Risks (NEVER) network members participated in ELN activities around the PrepCom. They had a busy agenda, meeting with members of the Norwegian delegation, the US Ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament, and DAS Bell to discuss procedural challenges within the NPT, the P5 Process, and the role of like-minded groups in multilateral and regional forums.

They also visited UNIDIR and the Geneva Centre for Security Policy (GCSP), engaging in discussions on regional issues and the importance of dialogue and civil society engagement. Feedback was entirely positive from all sides of the table and we are grateful to all that generously shared their time and expertise!

Looking ahead

With the PrepCom concluded, the ELN’s work continues. We’re excited to dive back into our projects on strengthening the NPT review cycle and understanding and managing the risks of EDTs to nuclear systems. Be sure to keep an eye on our website and programme pages for more information on these projects, and if you would like to get involved, please do reach out to ELN’s Senior Network Development Manager, Sophie, at [email protected]

Finally, thank you to all the members, funders and friends of the ELN for supporting us. We look forward to your continued engagement and really could not do it without you!

Related content

Policy brief

Cloudbusting: Ways to address the growing salience of nuclear weapons in the NPT

The ambition of efforts to reduce the salience of nuclear weapons will depend on the overall trajectory of international politics. But the growing role and significance of nuclear weapons is both the result and a driver of rivalry between the nuclear-weapon states. Ahead of the 2024 NPT Preparatory Committee, this policy brief outlines what measures NPT states parties could take to reduce the salience of nuclear weapons depending on the international security environment.

Commentary

Deterrence of non-nuclear strategic threats: the case against deterring new technologies

The US, Russia, and the UK have explicitly stated their intention to deter non-nuclear strategic threats from new technologies with nuclear weapons. ELN Senior Policy Fellow Julia Berghofer writes that this could have destabilising effects, opening the door to new vulnerabilities and escalation risks. The N5 should discuss these policies as part of their longstanding dialogue on nuclear doctrines, and a public debate is required to explore potential alternative approaches.