General background information
Introduction
General background information includes fact sheets, links to web pages and other material to provide a basic introduction to the history, objectives and key provisions of treaties and also to how some of the treaty bodies operate. The general information materials below are intended primarily for users who are new to the topics, or who have only basic knowledge about them.
Nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) weapons and materials
Biological weapons
Arms Control Association (ACA)
Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) – Inventory of International Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes:
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Fact sheet on the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention
UN Office for Disarmament Affairs: Biological Weapons Convention
This web page includes a brief background of the BWC, as well as links to
- pages for the Fifth and Sixth BWC Review Conferences,
- the text of the Convention in the six official UN languages,
- General Assembly Resolutions and Decisions regarding the BWC, and
- Statements and Pres Releases.
UN Office for Disarmament Affairs—Geneva office:
This web page introduces the BWC and its key provisions, and provides links to:
- BWC background information,
- The text of the BWC in the six official UN languages,
- Text of the Additional Understandings,
- Membership,
- Implementation Support Unit (ISU),
- Information for States Parties,
- Information for NGOs,
- Information for the media,
- Related activities,
- ‘About biological weapons’, and
- BWC Sixth Review Conference Backgrounder.
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Chemical weapons
Arms Control Association (ACA)
Fact Sheet: The CWC at a Glance (April 2007)
Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) – Inventory of International Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes:
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
Fact sheet on the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
National Authorities Information Pack
UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA): Chemical Weapons Convention
This web page includes a brief background of the CWC, as well as links to
- the text of the Convention in the six official UN languages,
- General Assembly Resolutions regarding the CWC
- Relationship Agreement between the United Nations and the OPCW, A/RES/61/224, 14 March 2007, in the six official UN languages, and
- Statements by the Secretary-General to the Conference of States Parties to the CWC.
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Nuclear weapons
1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT)
Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) – Inventory of International Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes:
1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
Arms Control Association (ACA)
Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) – Inventory of International Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes:
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
IAEA Primer
The IAEA at Work
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI)
Tutorial on the NPT
This interactive tutorial includes a glossary, multimedia section, bibliography and quiz. It covers the following topics:
- What the treaty says
- Why it's important
- How it works
- How the treaty came into being
- The key challenges that face the NPT today
- What its proponents and critics say
- Prospects for the future
UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA): Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT)
This web page includes a brief background of the NPT, as well as links to:
- the text of the NPT in the six official UN languages,
- General Assembly Resolutions regarding the NPT,
- the 2010 NPT Review Conference and its Preparatory Committee, and
- information about past NPT Review Conferences.
1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPPN)
Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) – Inventory of International Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes:
1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), Monterey Institute of International Studies (MIIS) – Inventory of International Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes:
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO)
UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA): Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
This web page includes a brief background of the CTBT, as well as links to:
- the text of the CTBT in the six official UN languages,
- information about the Preparatory Commission for the CTBT,
- General Assembly Resolutions and Decisions regarding the CTBT,
- Relationship Agreement between the UN and the CTBTO PrepCom,
- Conferences on entry into force of the CTBT,
- Ministerial statements, and
- latest developments.
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