Economic Community of Western African States Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons was adopted on June 14, 2006 and entered into force on November 20, 2009.
The Seoul summit advances global efforts on securing nuclear materials in dozens of countries, but the challenge will be to sustain the focus on the universal elimination of weapons-usable material, writes CFR's Micah Zenko.
Authors: David Albright, Mark Fitzpatrick, Daryl Kimball, and Jonathan Pearl
Upcoming negotiations are shadowed by Iran's increasing uranium enrichment capabilities. Four nonproliferation experts provide a path for resolving the intensifying nuclear dispute.
In addition to hosting a successful 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, South Korea is pursuing several nuclear-related national interests not directly associated with the conference, says Fred McGoldrick, partner in international consulting firm Bengelsdorf, McGoldrick, and Associates, LLC.
The Lisbon Protocol to the START I Treaty (Protocol to the Treaty Between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms) was signed on May 23, 1992.
UN Security Council Resolution 699 was adopted on June 17, 1991. The resolution gave the IAEA and the UN Special Commission (UNSCOM) authority to conduct inspections for weapons in Iraq and destroy, remove or render the weapons harmless.
This model additional protocol was released by the IAEA in September 1997 as "a model Additional Protocol designed for States having a Safeguards Agreement with the Agency, in order to strengthen the effectiveness and improve the efficiency of the safeguards system as a contribution to global nuclear nonproliferation objectives".
The 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was held May 3-28, 2011. This final document includes "Review of the operation of the Treaty, as provided for in its article VIII (3), taking into account the decisions and the resolution adopted by the 1995 Review and Extension Conference and the Final Document of the 2000 Review Conference — Conclusions and recommendations for follow-on actions".
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland gave this statement on February 29, 2012 regarding U.S.-North Korea bilateral talks and North Korea's agreement to implement a moratorium on nuclear activities including uranium enrichment.
The Six-Party Talks serve as a forum about North Korea's nuclear weapons program, but the negotiations have been riddled by Pyongyang's belligerence and the differing priorities of the participating nations.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) published their updated report on the "Implementation of the NPT Safeguards Agreement in the Islamic Republic of Iran" on February 24, 2012. The report updates the nuclear situation in Iran since the last report of November 2011. Among its findings: "The Agency continues to have serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear programme".
Richard N. Haass and Michael A. Levi say it is in the American interest to pursue a negotiated outcome to the current impasse with Iran because the main alternatives to diplomacy—war or the existence of an Iran with nuclear weapons—will be costly and risky.
The United States will "increasingly seek partnerships with other like-minded countries [in the region] to ensure global stability, security, and prosperity." In a new volume of collected essays, CFR Senior Fellow Scott Snyder writes that one of the strongest partners for the United States is South Korea.
The 2009 Statement of Principles of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism are, according the U.S. Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, "a set of broad nuclear security goals that encompass a range of deterrence, detection, prevention, and response objectives. The eight principles contained within the SOP aim to develop partnership capacity to combat nuclear terrorism, consistent with national legal authorities and obligations as well as relevant international legal frameworks such as the Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material, and United Nations Security Council Resolutions 1373 and 1540".
Global agreements aim to promote peaceful nuclear power while preventing the spread of materials, equipment, and technologies used to make nuclear weapons. CFR's research, meetings, interviews, backgrounders, and interactive content provide an essential source of analysis on these issues.
CFR Experts Guide
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.