On 27 April, some 191 countries will gather for several weeks of discussions at the United Nations in New York to review commitments towards the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), amid rising concerns over the future of global arms control – and whether nuclear weapons may soon be deployed in space.
The treaty, which came into force in 1970, is regarded as the cornerstone of nuclear non-proliferation and remains the only binding framework obligating nuclear-armed signatory states to pursue disarmament. These commitments are assessed every five years at the review conference at UN headquarters. Friction between Russia and the West over the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine derailed negotiations at the previous conference, which was delayed until 2022 and ended without the adoption of a consensus document. The meeting in 2015 also failed to reach an agreement.
