The Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) opened on April 27 in New York. In today’s statement during the general debate, Ambassador Leonardo Bencini, Italy’s Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament, highlighted the important task facing the delegations: “We gather here today fully aware of what is at stake. This is not only about the Treaty itself, but more broadly about the international order. Italy is a staunch supporter of the multilateral system: there is no alternative to it, and no alternative to the NPT.”
Despite the complexity of the current international context, the Ambassador recalled the significant achievements of the Treaty over its more than fifty years of existence in reducing nuclear arsenals and promoting the peaceful use of nuclear energy. He also called for strengthening dialogue, mutual trust, and commitment to the Treaty’s objectives, including complete nuclear disarmament, to be pursued in a gradual, verifiable, and irreversible manner.
The statement also provided an opportunity to reiterate some of Italy’s longstanding priorities, including the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the start of negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons, and the strengthening of transparency and risk-reduction measures.
