The third nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Preparatory Committee (NPT PrepCom) meeting before the 2026 Review Conference took place April 28 to May 9 in New York.
As delegates exchanged statements in the main plenary and tried (unsuccessfully) to reach agreement on options to enhance the review process and actions to advance NPT goals and objectives, over fifty side events were convened by civil society groups, states-parties, and international organizations, covering a wide range of issues. The Arms Control Association’s staff at the PrepCom attended several of these events during the first week. This blogpost is a summary of highlights from some of the more notable events.
The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists hosted an event April 28 on “Avoiding Doomsday for the NPT: Addressing Challenges to the 2026 RevCon.” The panelists were Thomas Countryman, chairman of the ACA Board, Corey Hinderstein, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, and Mallory Stewart, former assistant Secretary of state for arms control, deterrence, stability.
A recurring theme in the discussion, which was moderated by Bulletin CEO and President Alex Bell, was the necessity for nuclear weapons states to have open discussions without attempting to seek consensus, rather than focusing on creating superficial consensus statements. Countryman spoke on his ideas for revitalizing the P5 process (see ACT, March 2025) while Stewart asserted the importance of the United States and Russia coming to the table given the looming expiration of New START in February 2026. With regards to proliferation concerns in Iran, Hinderstein spoke to the importance of comprehensive monitoring and verification to address gaps in our understanding of Iran’s nuclear program.
ACA also attended an event hosted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (CEIP) on April 30, titled “From AUKUS to Brazil: SSNs, the NPT, and Responsible Stewardship.” The discussion was moderated by Jamie Kwong, a fellow in the CEIP Nuclear Policy Program, and Toby Dalton, senior fellow and co-director of the program. Panelists Layla Dawood, professor of International Relations at the State University of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, and Ben Zala, senior lecturer in Politics and International Relations at Monash University, addressed questions on the precedent set by Australia’s and Brazil’s nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) programs.
Dawood framed the current Brazilian SSN program in the context of the Brazilian navy’s long-standing interest in nuclear submarine technology, which dates to before the country’s signature of the NPT in 1998. She noted the reference to SSNs in the bilateral agreements establishing the Brazilian-Argentine Agency for Accounting and Control of Nuclear Materials in 1991. Brazil frames its SSN program as key in deterring extra-regional influence.
On the other hand, the strategic motivation behind Australia’s SSN plans, to be realized through the trilateral Australia-UK-U.S. (AUKUS) program, is often characterized as a response to a “deteriorating regional strategic environment,” Zala said. While the program is framed as a deterrence initiative and has wide public support, Zala pointed out that the program’s role in nuclear stability in Asia is largely missing from public discussion. When it comes to proliferation concerns and safeguards, both Australia and Brazil's programs have stressed strongly the IAEA’s role in verification and ongoing negotiations.
Several events highlighted the ongoing humanitarian threats posed by the existence of nuclear weapons. The Emerging Voices Network of the British American Security Information Council (BASIC) and the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) hosted an event May 1 on the “Humanitarian Impacts and the NPT: Reflections Toward the 2026 Review Conference.” Molly McGinty, program director at the IPPNW, and Dave Cullen, program manager of the Emerging Voices Network and policy fellow at BASIC, moderated the discussion. The panelists were Hans Christian Kjølseth, deputy director for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Veronique Christory, senior arms adviser at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Ira Helfand, a board member of IPPNW, and Larissa Truchan of the BASIC Emerging Voices Network.
Kjølset and Helfand both reiterated the urgent need for the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons to be addressed within the NPT. Kjølset reiterated the importance of the UN First Committee resolution establishing a UN scientific panel to study effects of nuclear war, cosponsored by Norway. Truchan detailed the various populations impacted by radiation exposure, which in her home country, the United States, include downwinders, atomic veterans, uranium miners and mill workers, and residents near uranium processing sites. Lastly, Christory reiterated the ICRC’s longstanding call for nuclear weapons abolition since 1945.
On March 31, the International Group of Eminent Persons for a World Without Nuclear Weapons (IGEP) presented its report on “Stepping Back from the Nuclear Precipice: Urgent Actions in Pursuit of a World Without Nuclear Weapons”, prepared for the 2026 NPT Review Conference. The IGEP was launched in 2022 by Japan and was composed of 15 experts, from both nuclear-weapon and non-nuclear-weapon states. The group was tasked to discuss, find points of consensus, and create recommendations on how to pursue the elimination of nuclear weapons. At a side event hosted by Japan on April 28, members of the group detailed their report and facilitated discussion with civil society and diplomats.
The panelists included IGEP members Nobumasa Akiyama, professor at Hitotsubashi University, and George Perkovich, Japan Chair for a World without Nuclear Weapons and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Akiyama detailed the five core principles the group agreed on as the basis for their recommendations. He emphasized that while seemingly “conservative” these “conclusions can serve as a minimum common denominator.” Perkovich spoke on the concrete steps the IGEP recommends, following these principles, including the necessity for a global nuclear testing moratorium and for the nuclear weapons states to engage in open dialogue.
Ambassador Maritza Chan-Valverde, Permanent Representative of Costa Rica to the United Nations, and Gaukhar Mukhatzhanova, Japan Chair for a World without Nuclear Weapons and director of the International Organisations and Non-Proliferation Programme at the VCDNP, were also panelists at the event. Chan-Valverde spoke extensively on the IGEP’s ninth recommendation for a constructive NPT Review Conference, which calls for the conference to address emerging technology. She noted that “no current fora at the UN, or elsewhere, addresses AI and nuclear intersection as a dedicated subject.” Mukhatzhanova pointed out areas of focus in the final report that were significantly expanded on since the IGEP’s 2023 meetings: the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, the role of international humanitarian law, and the dialogue on disarmament and deterrence.
Finally, several events focused on uplifting the youth perspective on nuclear disarmament, including the “Mayors for Peace: Youth Forum,” organized by Mayors for Peace, and “New Strategy for Nuclear Disarmament and the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons,” organized by the Nagasaki Youth Delegation. Both events highlighted the perspectives of high-school-aged youth from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many of whom are Peace Messengers and third-generation Hibakusha. They reiterated the importance of learning from the horrific legacy of nuclear-weapons use and recognizing that these impacts are not confined to the past. The youth representatives also highlighted the need for alternative forms of human-centered security, including ones that prioritize health, development, and sustainability over military spending. – LIPI SHETTY, HERBERT SCOVILLE JR. PEACE FELLOW