THE world鈥檚 attempts to control the spread of nuclear weapons just took a turn for the worse. At a crucial disarmament meeting in New York, 188 countries couldn鈥檛 even agree what to talk about.
After two weeks of talks, the preparatory committee for next year鈥檚 review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) ended on 7 May with delegates unable to agree on an agenda. 鈥淭he last day of the meeting turned into a bad-tempered shambles that ended in near farce,鈥� says Rebecca Johnson from the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy in London.
Most countries blame the US and other nuclear weapons states for trying to sideline a commitment they made in 2000 to eliminate their nuclear arsenals. The US accuses Iran of blocking agreement so as to avoid scrutiny of its nuclear intentions.
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It is now unclear what next year鈥檚 NPT review can achieve. Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea, all suspected of having nuclear weapons, will not take part because they are not parties to the NPT.