A Summary of BASIC’s activities for Advisors, Patrons, Donors, and Partners
Throughout 2012, large scale endeavors at international and regional levels examined ways to advance international security and reduce threats of nuclear proliferation: in South Korea, heads of state meet at the second Nuclear Security Summit in March; the 2015 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review process commenced with a Preparatory Committee meeting in Vienna in April; the NATO Alliance delivered a new Deterrence and Defense Posture Review in May; and throughout the year, regional actors in the Middle East and beyond endeavored to meet in Helsinki to establish a WMD-free zone. While some of these initiatives were unsuccessful in meeting intended goals or could have gone further to make progressive change, it was apparent that policy makers are engaging on tough issues and attempting to break through traditional barriers that have blocked progress on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament for years.
BASIC worked to maintain its tempo throughout 2012, looking for ways to keep moving multilateral nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament efforts forward in the United Kingdom, United States, Middle East, and Europe.
In 2012, BASIC identified ways to further engage, build trust, and promote fairness amongst decision shapers: in the UK, deepening and diversifying the United Kingdom’s deliberations on Trident renewal; in the U.S., developing a platform for strategic, diverse discussion of U.S. nuclear policies; in the Middle East, edging forward the 2012 official conference on a WMD-Free Zone; in Europe, stimulating fresh debate about the NATO Alliance’s reliance on nuclear weapons; and in Moscow, engaging on Russia’s bilateral and multilateral disarmament agenda.
Looking ahead, a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons remains BASIC’s long-term vision. However, we recognize that achieving this requires an open approach: one that takes into account not only a full range of perspectives, but also looks at the issue within the context of achieving sustainable security solutions.
Significant challenges exist for the disarmament and non-proliferation agendas. However, BASIC sees opportunities within every roadblock and remains committed to creating new approaches in achieving this goal. We look forward to another challenging and successful year ahead.
Please read this Annual Activities Report for more details of our project work and activities throughout 2012.
-Trevor McCrisken, BASIC Chair