The five NPT-recognised nuclear weapon states (NWS) meet in Beijing for the so-called (though misnamed) ‘P5 process’ this week, prior to the NPT Preparatory Committee in New York that starts at the end of the month. China is the last of the five to host the process, kicked off by the British in September 2009 after a speech at the Conference on Disarmament by the UK Defence Secretary, Des Browne, in February 2008.
Nuclear Arms Control and Disarmament
Iran nuclear talks and the shadow of the Ukraine crisis
On Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, representatives from Iran and the P5+1: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, plus Germany, will meet in Vienna to continue working toward a comprehensive agreement around Iran’s nuclear program. The last such meeting was held in mid-March – not long after the Russian invasion of Crimea, and some worried that the crisis would set back the talks.
Nuclear security: continued breakthrough or stalled progress?
On October 11, 2001, a month following the catastrophic events of 9/11, a CIA report concluded that Al-Qaeda infiltrates planned to detonate a 10-kiloton nuclear bomb at the heart of New York City. Though later deemed as a false alarm, the motivation to conduct a nuclear attack by non-state actors, combined with the widespread availability of fissile material often stored under subpar conditions,
“World leaders fear Ukraine crisis will harm nuclear cooperation”
BASIC Executive Director Paul Ingram provided comment on the new challenges posed by the Ukraine crisis for those who want to push forward on nuclear arms control measures.
Russian Reactors Risk Ukraine Spillover Into Iran Nuclear Talks
BASIC's executive director, Paul Ingram, is quoted in this article by Jonathan Tirone, Ladane Nasseri and Indira A.R. Lakshmanan on 20 March 2014 about Russia's influence on the P5+1 negotiations with Iran in April. Ingram states: “The split could be exacerbated if Iran signs a deal for new reactors during negotiations…A plan that would require enrichment capacity is part of Iran’s narrative. The Russians could be looking to develop and use leverage to build a relationship beyond nuclear into a bigger strategic relationship.”
Resisting our Cold War instincts
When Ukraine became a newly independent state after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, its future security was far from assured. Yet in 1994, an era in which nuclear deterrence remained a central security strategy for others, Ukraine opted for nuclear disarmament – despite its own vulnerability and without securing a place under any nuclear umbrella. In return, it sought alternative guarantees for its borders.
Autonomous & nuclear weapons systems: the humanitarian dimensions
We are witnessing shifts in the global security debate as nations are beginning to emphasize human security in the face of far reaching advancements in military technology. The recent development of autonomous weapons systems or lethal autonomous robots (LAR) that are being manufactured without a “human in the loop” have triggered serious ethical concerns and as a result, civil society and NGOs began talks in Geneva last year on the humanitarian implications.
Nuclear disarmament: the case for engagement, not division
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) articulates a collective ambition: a world free of nuclear weapons. And since its inception, we have made significant progress: 189 countries have signed up to the NPT; nuclear weapons have reduced in number from an estimated 70,000 at the height of the Cold War to somewhere in the region of 17,000 today;