The Foreign Service Journal, December 2010

D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 29 pecially Philippines Ambassador to the United Nations Libran Cabactu- lan, who served as the president of the RevCon. We also participated in numerous workshops, symposia, con- ferences and other events aimed at preparing for the session, and met with foreign officials and representa- tives of intergovernmental and non- governmental organizations. Our goal was to identify areas enjoying broad agreement that could be translated into a consen- sus at the RevCon. Our embassies and missions played a vital role, sup- porting Washington in this extensive outreach program. These posts ensured that host governments had accurate information about U.S. policies and goals, while keeping the State Department apprised of relevant developments around the world. U.S. missions to multilateral nonpro- liferation and disarmament fora, particularly the United Nations, the Conference on Disarmament and the Inter- national Atomic Energy Agency, played important roles. We also briefed congressional staff on our efforts and es- tablished excellent contacts with nongovernmental or- ganizations and civil society representatives, key stakeholders in our NPT effort. Reinforcing the Three Pillars of the NPT The tempo of U.S. diplomacy increased with the RevCon’s opening on May 3, and remained intense as the approximately 190 NPT parties met in New York for the next month. The U.S. posture was reinforced by demon- strable and concrete progress on the president’s Prague agenda, including release of the new Nuclear Posture Re- view, which clearly reflected a reduced role for nuclear weapons; the signing of the New START Treaty with Russia; and the successful conclusion of the Nuclear Se- curity Summit. In her opening statement to the RevCon, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton provided further evidence of the U.S. commitment to the three pillars of the NPT: nonproliferation, peaceful uses of nuclear energy and dis- armament. She announced the U.S. intention to make public the size of its nuclear weapons stockpile and the history of nuclear reductions, which was done later that day. The Secretary also noted the administration’s in- tention to submit to the U.S. Senate the protocols for the African and South Pacific nuclear- weapon-free zone treaties. Finally, Sec. Clinton announced a new “Peaceful Uses Initiative” to enhance the safe application of nu- clear energy, and techniques to bet- ter address the myriad humanitar- ian problems posed by energy shortages, unsafe water, hunger and disease. She demonstrated the ex- tent of our commitment to this ini- tiative and to fulfilling the NPT’s promise of peaceful nuclear cooperation by committing $50 million to this ef- fort, and challenged other countries to match the U.S. commitment, for a total of $100 million over five years. In addition, the United States and the other four perma- nent members of the United Nations Security Council made clear their shared commitment to strengthening the NPT in all its aspects by issuing a joint statement dur- ing the RevCon’s first week. A shared determination on the part of most parties to demonstrate support for the NPT and to seek common ground, as well as strong leadership provided by the con- ference officers, led to a successful 2010 RevCon. Par- ties reached consensus on a substantive final document, including a forward-looking action plan that included measures in each of the treaty’s three pillars. Intense ne- gotiations, often conducted on the margins, were re- markably successful in reconciling the important and often conflicting priorities of the parties. At the RevCon’s conclusion, despite the unfortunate singling out of Israel in the final document, Pres. Obama welcomed the plan’s “balanced and practical steps that will advance nonproliferation, nuclear disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, which are critical pillars of the nonproliferation regime.” He also noted that the plan reaffirms many aspects of the agenda that he had laid out in Prague in 2009. While the naming of Israel (and the omission of any reference to Iran’s noncompliance) was lamentable, the United States joined the consensus of the parties because the final document, as a whole, advanced the president’s nonproliferation and disarmament agenda. Building on a Strong Action Plan The action plan calls for the resolution of all cases of noncompliance with treaty obligations and for strength- F O C U S Our goal was to identify areas enjoying broad agreement that could be translated into a consensus at the RevCon.