At the 2026 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, UNIDIR will convene a dynamic series of side events addressing today’s most pressing nuclear policy challenges. Co-organized with Mayors for Peace, this event examines how the Review Conference can make progress by reaffirming and deepening the basic understandings that support constructive engagement and shape the process’s long-term direction across all three of its pillars—non-proliferation, peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and disarmament.
While the success of NPT Review Conferences has often been judged by the adoption of a consensus Final Document, the form and focus of successful outcome documents have varied considerably. This side event will explore how these foundational understandings have fared across past review cycles, where their limits have emerged, and what they suggest for the future direction of the NPT in the years ahead.
Agenda
Opening remarks
- Kazumi Matsui, Mayor of Hiroshima and President of Mayors for Peace
- Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
- Kimitake Nakamura, Director-General and Assistant Minister of Disarmament, Non-Proliferation and Science Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan
Presentations
- Peaceful uses of nuclear energy by Shun Oshita, Senior Lecturer of Hiroshima Peace Institute, Hiroshima City University
- Nuclear non-proliferation by Chen Zak Kane, Head of Project, Middle East WMD-Free Zone, UNIDIR
- Nuclear disarmament by Randy Rydell, Honorary Advisor, Mayors for Peace
Moderated discussion
Audience Q&A
When and where
Wednesday, 29 April 2026 | 10:15 – 11:45 EDT | Conference Room A, UN Headquarters, New York
In partnership with
