On Tuesday 9th August, from 1:15 – 2:30 pm, BASIC, together with the Government of Sweden, will host an in-person side event in Room CR.C at the UNHQ in New York City on the Stepping Stones Approach.
Championed by the Stockholm Initiative which was launched by Sweden in 2019 together with ministers of 16 Non-Nuclear Weapon states from a diverse range of countries, the Stepping Stones Approach aims to inject fresh practical impetus into nuclear disarmament and build bridges between nuclear-weapon and non‑nuclear-weapon states. To achieve this, the participating ministers agreed to promote an ambitious, yet realistic agenda for nuclear disarmament that would reaffirm the role of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as the cornerstone of the global disarmament and non-proliferation regime.
The Side Event will reveal a range of perspectives on the key observations and priorities for the Stepping Stones Approach in an era marked by rising nuclear distrust and risk. Following this, the speakers will discuss the future role for the Stepping Stones Approach over the next review cycle.
This side event, moderated by Ms Marion Messmer, (Co-Director, BASIC) will involve four speakers:
- Ms Ann-Sofie Nilsson, Ambassador for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, Sweden
- Mr Zhangeldy Syrymbet, Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the United Nations
- Mr Li Song, Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs, Deputy Permanent Representative to UN Office in Geneva
- Mr Paul Ingram, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, Cambridge University
