Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative
10th Ministerial Meeting Joint Ministerial Statement
– Towards the 2020 NPT Review Conference –
Nagoya City
November 23, 2019

1.

We, the Foreign Ministers of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) –
Australia, Canada, Chile, Germany, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Nigeria, the
Philippines, Poland, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates – have met today in Nagoya
City to assess possible ways to contribute to a successful outcome of the Review
Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), in 2020
which will mark the 50th Anniversary of the landmark treaty and the 10th anniversary of
the NPDI’s establishment. We also gather here to reiterate our political resolve to support
the NPT, the cornerstone of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.

2.

We recognize the substantial achievements of the NPT in its 50 years since the entry into
force. It has been instrumental in constraining nuclear proliferation. It has provided the
indispensable framework for nuclear disarmament. It has guaranteed the right of States
Parties to access nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

3.

The current international security environment is fraught with uncertainty and tension.
Growing risks related to nuclear weapons make it imperative that all NPT State Parties
implement their obligations under the Treaty as well as subsequent commitments agreed
at the 1995, 2000 and 2010 Review Conferences. Toward the 2020 Review Conference,
the NPDI will continue to advocate strongly for measures to achieve progress on greater
transparency of nuclear arsenals, entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty, and the immediate commencement of negotiations of a treaty banning the
production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. The NPDI will also promote tangible
measures to enhance nuclear disarmament verification; nuclear risk reduction; nuclear
safety, security and safeguards; and access to peaceful uses of nuclear energy; as well as
to strengthen the NPT review process. The 2020 Review Conference is the time for States
Parties to come together and build on our common interests in strengthening the NPT
regime.

4.

The NPDI will submit a set of concrete proposals to contribute toward a successful Review
Conference. In particular, the NPDI will press for comprehensive and regular national
reporting by States Parties to the NPT, especially the nuclear-weapon States. Our efforts
to facilitate a meaningful dialogue based on these reports have already led to enhanced
transparency, and we will continue to carry out this important work. The NPDI will also
propose ways to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the NPT review process to
strengthen the implementation of the Treaty, to better respond to challenges and crises,
and to maximize transparency and accountability. We call on all States Parties to the NPT
to support these important proposals.

5.

We reaffirm our support for the unequivocal undertaking of nuclear-weapon States,
contained in the 2010 Final Document and Action Plans, to accomplish the total
elimination of their nuclear arsenals.

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6.

We reaffirm our commitment to the international community’s goal of complete, verifiable
and irreversible dismantlement of all North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction and
ballistic missiles of all ranges, as well as its related programs and facilities, in accordance
with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions. We call on all members of the
international community to fully implement relevant UNSC resolutions. We recognize the
importance of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) and encourage
dialogue among nuclear-weapon States on the extension of such arrangements to
contribute to strategic stability.

7.

The NPDI will continue to champion disarmament and non-proliferation education. We
reaffirm that it is essential to foster the critical thinking, skills and knowledge that will
enable people to achieve and maintain a world without nuclear weapons. We call on all
States to use NPT processes to share experiences and best practice in this regard. We also
emphasize that deep concerns about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the use
of nuclear weapons continue to remind us of the need to work towards a world free of
nuclear weapons. In this regard, we welcome visits to and interactions with communities
that have been affected by nuclear weapons, including Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

8.

The NPDI will continue to act as a bridge-builder. We will deepen our substantive outreach
to nuclear weapon States and non-nuclear weapon States from all regions and political
groups. We remain committed to fostering the sustained, high-level political leadership
and diplomatic dialogue needed to strengthen the implementation of the NPT. Today, we
declare our renewed political commitment to upholding the progress made over the past
50 years, and to achieving the Treaty’s ultimate objective of a world without nuclear
weapons.

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