By Cherrill Spencer and Ellen Thomas, DISARM/End Wars Committee co-chairs
Every five years, major treaties undergo review by the United Nations. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was reviewed from April 27 to May 22, 2026. Five members of WILPF US joined the larger WILPF delegation at the conference, distributed WILPF statements to diplomats from 12 countries, and participated in over 50 side events and extensive plenary sessions. Though the conference did not produce an outcome document, we can still take action for nuclear non-proliferation.
Understanding the Purpose of the NPT Review Conference
The NPT was enacted in 1970 and granted indefinite extension in 1995. It is considered the cornerstone of global efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation, advance nuclear disarmament, and promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
The goal of this 11th U.N. conference was to assess whether the objectives and provisions of the Treaty were being fulfilled, culminating in an outcome document titled “Implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons for its Twelfth Review Cycle.” In the months leading up to the conference, the president of the conference, Ambassador Do Hung Viet (Vietnam), consulted widely with representatives of the 191 NPT states parties to gather their input on the document’s content. After considering all perspectives, he presented a draft outcome document to the delegates during the second week of the conference.
Compromises and Concessions: Weakening the NPT’s Results
He allowed the delegates to edit the draft until the afternoon of May 22, hoping the fourth version would be acceptable to all, as consensus is required for adoption. WILPF’s disarmament expert, Ray Acheson, provided nine editorial analyses of the evolving drafts on the Reaching Critical Will website. With each revision, the text became less insistent, and the fourth draft was significantly weakened in its stance on nuclear disarmament. References to urgency were removed, as was the statement clarifying that the NPT’s indefinite extension does not imply indefinite possession of nuclear weapons. The document merely recalls, rather than reaffirms, the unequivocal commitment by nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals (Article VI).
No Consensus: Why the Outcome Document Was Not Adopted
During consultations with certain states parties (whose identities he did not disclose during the May 22 press conference), President Viet realized that consensus could not be reached on the fourth draft (NPT/Conf/26/CRP2/Rev4). As a result, he chose not to submit it to the conference (see paragraph 15 in Rev4 for an example of a sticking point). Consequently, there is no implementation document for states parties to guide their work over the next five years. President Viet noted that while delegations share the goal of a world without nuclear weapons, they remain divided on how to achieve it. “Disappointment” was a common sentiment, voiced by approximately 30 countries during the final plenary session after the announcement that there would be no implementation document.
WILPF Won’t Back Down: Take Action for Nuclear Disarmament
The treaty’s obligations remain in effect, and our urgent task as civil society is to continue pressing the nine nuclear-armed countries to engage in dialogue and diplomacy to reduce the tensions that blocked the adoption of an outcome document and to fulfill their NPT obligations. The DISARM/End Wars Issue Committee will persist in these efforts. You can review our ongoing work in previous WILPF US newsletter articles:
WILPF US Mobilizes Against the Iran War and Nuclear Proliferation
WILPF Says “No!” to NATO and “No War with Iran!”
Public Comments on Plutonium Pit Production Open Until July 16
In our May 2026 newsletter article, we explained how to submit public comments opposing the production of new plutonium pits—the triggers for the powerful thermonuclear weapons in the US nuclear arsenal. You can also watch and be inspired by a recording of such an event here.
Join the DISARM/End Wars Issue Committee
We welcome new members to the DISARM/End Wars Issue Committee! We meet by Zoom on the second and last Sundays of each month at 4:30 p.m. PT/6:30 p.m. CT/7:30 p.m. ET. To receive the Zoom link and request to join the DISARM listserv, write to disarmchair@wilpfus.org.
