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 31 F O C U S for its violations. To do otherwise would devalue the treaty as an instrument of national and international se- curity. The United States will continue to engage on this issue bilaterally and in multilateral fora. Multilateral cooperation, specifically at the IAEA, re- mains central to expanding access to the peaceful uses of nuclear power in a manner that minimizes proliferation risks. The United States looks forward to continuing dis- cussions on multilateral fuel assurances in Vienna, with the aim of soon reaching a decision on establishing an IAEA fuel bank. Such action would help guarantee states possessing or seeking civil nuclear power that they have a reliable backup for nuclear fuel supply and do not need to develop costly and technically challenging fuel-cycle facilities. We are collaborating with the International Atomic Energy Agency to turn the Peaceful Uses Initiative that Sec. Clinton announced at the RevCon into tangible proj- ects that will benefit many countries, especially in the de- veloping world. The United States and the IAEA are in the process of identifying appropriate projects for its first year (2011). The United States is also working with in- ternational partners to raise $50 million over five years to match the $50 million that United States has already committed to the Initiative. The United States was gratified by the results of the 2010 RevCon. But it is only the beginning of renewed ef- forts to enhance the authority of the nonproliferation regime, so that it continues to be a bulwark against the spread of nuclear weapons. Formal preparations for the 2015 NPT Review Con- ference will not begin until 2012, when a preparatory committee will begin its work. We cannot take a break, however, from our efforts to consolidate support for the NPT and the international institutions that sustain it. We will continue to work with our partners at the United Na- tions, the IAEA, and the Conference on Disarmament and elsewhere to carry out the RevCon’s plans. ■