An FMCT would require that all member states refrain from producing additional bomb-grade fuel for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, but would not obligate them to reduce existing stockpiles. There is no agreed-upon text for such a treaty. The Conference on Disarmament (CD) has been the main venue for negotiations.
BASIC event in Ottawa, Canada, March 2013
BASIC organized a roundtable discussion on the FM(C)T on March 8, 2013, in cooperation with the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at Harvard University, with support from the International Security Research and Outreach Programme (ISROP) of the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, Canada. Discussion was anchored around the role of the forthcoming Group of Governmental Experts in moving the FM(C)T process forward.
BASIC produced a summary of the roundtable discussion and a review of recent analysis and literature on the FM(C)T debates.
Full reports:
- Expert Roundtable on “Unjamming the FM(C)T”
- Fissile Material (Cutoff) Treaty: Background and overview of recent literature
Further reading:
- GAO report evaluates U.S. efforts to secure vulnerable nuclear materials, International Panel on Fissile Materials Blog, 23 September 2015
- Members of the Conference on Disarmament Exchange Views on the Report of the Group of Governmental Experts on a Fissile Material Cutt-off Treaty, United Nations Office Geneva, 23 June 2015
- Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty: Time for the United States to Act Responsibly, Reshmi Kazi, E-International Relations, June 1, 2015
- Group Tasked to Make Recommendations on a Ban of Fissile Material for Nuclear Weapons to Meet from 31 March to 11 April in Geneva
United Nations Office in Geneva, News and Media, March 28, 2014 - Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) at a glance, Arms Control Association, August 2013
- What comes next for U.S. nuclear policy?, Rebecca Cousins, BASIC This Week, June 17, 2013
- A chance to make progress on the FM(C)T?, Rebecca Cousins, BASIC This Week, May 13, 2013
- Verifying a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty: Technical and Organizational Considerations, Shannon N. Kile and Robert E. Kelley, SIPRI Policy Paper no. 33, August 2012
- Brainstorming old ideas [Conference on Disarmament]
Gabriella Irsten and Beatrice Fihn, Reaching Critical Will of WILPF, January 31, 2012 - A Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty Understanding the Critical Issues, UNIDIR United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, 2010