Algerian Radio
Algeria has been elected Vice-President of the 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), held from April 27 to May 22, 2026, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. This election reaffirms Algeria's standing as a recognized and active player in the multilateral nuclear disarmament process.
The election to the vice-presidency, a conference Algeria has previously chaired on two occasions serves as a testament to its significant role in promoting and strengthening the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.
During the general debate, Algeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Amar Bendjama, shed light on a "painful page" of global nuclear history. He recalled that Algerian territory was the site of seventeen nuclear tests conducted by France in the 1960s, noting that the radioactive fallout from the first test reached over three thousand kilometers in all directions.
"The effects of these tests remain an unhealed wound for the affected Algerian populations, manifesting in diseases, congenital deformities, and barren lands," Ambassador Bendjama stated. He added that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) itself has recorded high levels of persistent radiation in those regions.
Faced with this reality, Ambassador Bendjama raised three questions that remain unanswered to this day: "Why has France not yet provided Algeria with the precise maps of the nuclear test sites to allow for the identification of buried waste? What obstacles still prevent the disclosure of historical archives, radiological data, and medical files necessary for environmental decontamination and public health protection? And can such obstacles ever override the fundamental principles and rights of the affected populations?"
The Permanent Representative further questioned France’s "double standards," noting that while it continues to "ignore the concrete and constructive proposals offered by Algeria for the rehabilitation of contaminated sites and evades all responsibility," it has successfully "dismantled its technical facilities and conducted decontamination efforts in French Polynesia." "How can such double standards be justified?" he asked.
Ambassador Amar Bendjama reminded the assembly that by joining the NPT, Algeria chose the path of multilateralism and renounced the nuclear option, strictly adhering to its treaty obligations. He noted that this international mechanism is based on a mutual and balanced commitment: "Non-nuclear-weapon states have renounced the nuclear option, while nuclear-weapon states have committed to dismantling their arsenals."
Calling for transparency, Mr. Bendjama stressed that "one party has fulfilled its duty, while the other, concerning disarmament, has yet to do so." He concluded by warning that "the failure of two consecutive review conferences has placed the credibility of the system itself at a crossroads," urging the international community to unite efforts to restore the non-proliferation regime's credibility and work toward a world free of nuclear weapons.
