The Foreign Service Journal, December 2010

F OCUS ON M ULT I LATERAL D I PLOMACY T HE W AY F ORWARD ON NPT D IPLOMACY 28 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 little over a year be- fore the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference (hereafter referred to as RevCon), President Barack Obama affirmed “America’s commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons,” and pledged that the United States will take con- crete steps to create such a world. He also made clear that multilateral diplomacy is a vital instrument in the pragmatic pursuit of these lofty aims. Central to the president’s agenda and his vision for a world without nuclear weapons is strengthening the Nu- clear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which calls for a conference of its parties to review the treaty and its operations every five years. RevCons are opportunities to strengthen the treaty by identifying measures to advance its aims. Past ses- sions have reached consensus on final documents or deci- sions that reflect strong international support for the treaty and identify steps the parties can take to promote its goals. Careful Preparations Pay Off It had actually been 10 years since the NPT parties last agreed on a substantive set of conclusions and recom- mendations for strengthening the treaty’s implementation. As the United States began its preparations for the 2010 RevCon, Pres. Obama’s Prague speech clearly defined U.S. nonproliferation and disarmament priorities, and we approached the meeting as an opportunity to advance these priorities. During the year before the conference, a State-led in- teragency teammapped out U.S. objectives and a strategy for achieving them. A key element of that strategy was the pursuit of an intensive program of bilateral and multilateral diplomacy to prepare the way for a conference outcome that would renew and reinvigorate the NPT, producing broad agreement on an agenda for the future. During that time, American officials raised U.S. NPT objectives with their counterparts worldwide. The team working to prepare for the RevCon on a daily basis con- sulted with more than 80 NPT parties in capitals, New York City, Geneva and Vienna to share U.S. views and priorities, to learn about their goals for the RevCon, and to consider ways to work together to ensure a successful meeting. We worked closely with the conference leadership, es- F OR THE U NITED S TATES , THE LATEST N UCLEAR N ON -P ROLIFERATION T REATY REVIEW CONFERENCE WAS A MEANS TO REINVIGORATE THE PROCESS . B Y S USAN F. B URK A Susan F. Burk has served as the Special Representative of the President for Nuclear Nonproliferation since June 2009. A career civil servant, Ambassador Burk has held various positions within the Department of State since 1999, including principal deputy assistant secretary of State for nonproliferation controls.