Beyond Division in Nuclear Disarmament: An Interview with Ambassador Alexander Kmentt

Ambassador Alexander Kmentt has led diplomatic work on disarmament, non-proliferation, focusing on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons. A key architect of the humanitarian initiative and the TPNW, he chaired the First Meeting of States Parties in 2022. This interview examines his assessment of international efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons amid the erosion of great power consensus, which weakens the political glue of the NPT. Kmentt acknowledges the NPT’s role in limiting proliferation while critically assessing its limited progress on disarmament. In contrast, he presents the TPNW as grounded in scientific evidence on the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences of nuclear weapons, and nuclear risk complexity. This evidence challenges nuclear deterrence as a viable security paradigm. Responding to skepticism about prohibition without participation of nuclear-armed states, Kment argues legal norm building can empower non-nuclear-weapon states and shape political will. He views the TPNW, a complementary to the NPT, capable of injecting momentum into a stagnant nuclear regime, with attention to affected communities. The interview emphasises the need to translate normative consensus into concrete action through dialogue toward a world without nuclear weapons. It took place on 7 August 2025 in Nagasaki and was edited for this journal.