Thea Coventry: ‘Codifying legal norms might not prevent nuclear war, but it does help to create a world where nuclear weapons are unthinkable’

While war is threatening the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine, representatives of nearly two hundred states are meeting at the United Nations in New York to review the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We asked Thea Coventry, researcher in International Arms Control Law, why this particular 10th NPT Review Conference is so important for the future of nuclear disarmament. Coventry: “If there is no consensus document by the end of this conference, then we have no shared path to disarmament. Given the current geopolitical landscape, that's not a good path to be on.” An interview.

Earlier this month, at the opening of the 10th NPT Review Conference in New York, ‘U.N. nuclear chief’ Rafael Grossi warned that the situation surrounding Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Ukraine was “completely out of control”. He urged Russia and Ukraine to quickly allow experts to visit the plant and stabilise the situation to avoid a nuclear accident.