Federal President Cassis travels to the review conference in New York

Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

Bern, 07/29/2022 – From August 1 to 26, 2022, the 191 signatory states will meet in New York to review the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Federal President Ignazio Cassis will take part in the conference on August 2, 2022. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is the basis for nuclear disarmament worldwide. The disarmament of the nuclear arsenal is currently difficult and has come to a standstill. At the conference in New York, Switzerland is committed to concrete results so that nuclear disarmament can be tackled with determination.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is the central pillar of the international security architecture. Every five years, the 191 contracting states review the implementation of and compliance with the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The starting point for the conference was made more difficult by Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine. At the same time, the conference has the potential to react to these events and adopt measures.

Switzerland wants to make a concrete contribution to international security and is committed to a world without nuclear weapons. All states must work together to achieve this goal. Switzerland wants to play a bridging role, promote constructive dialogue, develop clear rules and contribute to innovative instruments for disarmament.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: Basis for nuclear disarmament

The background to the conclusion of the NPT in 1968 was the arms race between the superpowers after World War II. The concrete trigger was the nuclear near-escalation during the Cuban Missile Crisis in October 1962. To this day, the treaty is the basis for worldwide nuclear disarmament. It is built on three pillars that correspond to the priorities of Swiss foreign policy:

1. The NPT prohibits the five official nuclear powers USA, Russia, China, Great Britain and France from passing on nuclear weapons. He forbids the other contracting states from their development, production and acquisition.

2. The existing nuclear arsenals are to be disarmed.

3. All States Parties have the right to peaceful uses of atomic energy.

At the conference in New York, the Swiss delegation will campaign for tangible results in all three areas of the treaty. Switzerland attaches a central role to nuclear disarmament and preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons, since peace and security are priorities in its foreign policy strategy for 2020-2023.

Back on the path of disarmament

The disarmament of the nuclear arsenal is currently difficult and has come to a standstill. One aim of Federal President Cassis’ trip is to call on the nuclear powers to take more decisive steps towards disarmament. Because the nuclear risks remain until the last nuclear missile is disarmed. This is a long way. Switzerland is committed to reviving the implementation of existing agreements and negotiating new ones.

There are still 13,000 nuclear weapons in the arsenals of the official nuclear powers USA, Russia, France, China and Great Britain. All of these states have signed the NPT. At the conference in New York, Switzerland advocates a rethink: away from nuclear armament and the display of nuclear arsenals – back to the path of arms control and disarmament.

Reducing nuclear risks

One of Switzerland’s foreign policy priorities is reducing the risks posed by nuclear weapons. For this reason, Switzerland will present a concrete package of measures at the conference, which is coordinated with the so-called “Stockholm Initiative”. The initiative was launched in 2019 by 16 countries, including Switzerland. She calls for decisive partial steps for nuclear disarmament in order to strengthen the NPT as a central instrument for disarmament and non-proliferation.

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