The United Nations has been seized of the issue of weapons of mass destruction since its very beginning. There have been many achievements in the fields of non-proliferation and disarmament, but the multilateral system has not been able to deliver on its promises dating back to 1946. This is in part due to the fact that the required efforts to fill the legal gap in the non-proliferation and disarmament framework too often clash with the interests of the Permanent Members of the UN Security (…)
The ICM hosted a public consultation on June 8th on its discussion paper “Weapons of Mass Destruction, Non-Proliferation, and Disarmament.”
Watch the webcast: The threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) may seem antiquated and unlikely to materialize, but the mere existence of WMD remains one of the paramount risks to global peace and stability. While important baseline multilateral tools to counter WMD threats and prevent proliferation exist, few of these tools address nuclear (…)
Weapons of mass destruction (WMD), particularly nuclear weapons, remain one of the greatest threats to mankind, yet the multilateral nonproliferation and disarmament machinery has stalled. This paper explores key challenges and developments in the field of nonproliferation and disarmament of WMD and offers recommendations for revitalizing the multilateral machinery.
Interviews
Leadership and political will are two important elements needed for nuclear disarmament, according to Kathleen Lawand, Head of the Arms Unit at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Noting that nuclear weapons are the only weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) not yet prohibited by international law, Ms. Lawand said it was critical for states to move forward on discussions toward disarmament. She stressed that the process must be inclusive.
“Civil society, the Red Cross (…)
“Nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation is at a crisis point,” according to Zia Mian, Director of the Project on Peace and Security in South Asia at Princeton University.
In a conversation with the Independent Commission on Multilateralism’s Jimena Leiva-Roesch, Dr. Mian said the world needed to simultaneously rethink the dominance of nuclear weapon states and the structure of the multilateral system.
This interview took place on the margins of the ICM’s retreat on weapons of mass (…)
The United Nations must reassert its role in multilateral nuclear disarmament, according to Jayantha Dhanapala, President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and former UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs. “It’s only the United Nations which provides the machinery that can really do something about it. A fresh initiative is vitally needed in order to ensure that we start talking again on this very important question.”
Speaking to the International Peace (…)