About the Centre

VERTIC is an independent, non-profit making, non-governmental organization. Its mission is to promote effective and efficient verification as a means of ensuring confidence in the implementation of international agreements and intra-national agreements with international involvement.

Verification is understood to mean the use of information to make judgements about the compliance or non-compliance of parties to an agreement. VERTIC’s brief encompasses the negotiation of verification and compliance provisions; the implementation, monitoring and verification of agreements; the operation of compliance, enforcement and review mechanisms; and the establishment of confidence-building measures to enhance the operation of agreements. VERTIC aims to achieve its mission by means of researc, training, dissemination of information, and interaction with the relevant political, diplomatic, technical, scientific and non-governmental communities.

VERTIC was established in 1986.

What are VERTIC’s research programmes?
While maintaining a watching brief on all aspects of monitoring, verification and compliance, VERTIC has three broad research programmes.

Arms control and disarmament
This programme deals with the monitoring and verification of international treaties on nuclear nonproliferation, nuclear disarmament, nuclear testing, chemical and biological weapons and conventional weaponry, including the performance of the relevant international verification organizations.

The environment
This area of VERTIC's work covers monitoring and verification issues related to multilateral environmental agreements. VERTIC's current project in this area is on the implementation and verification of the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

Peace agreements
This programme encompasses the verification and monitoring of international and intra-national peace accords, including the military, electoral, human rights and civilian police aspects, in particular by means of peacekeeping operations. The programme also tracks verification developments in respect of the peace processes in Northern Ireland, between India and Pakistan and between Israel and the Palestinians.

How is VERTIC governed?
VERTIC is governed by a Board of Directors:

Gen. Sir Hugh Beach, GBE, OBE, KCB, MC
Dr. Owen Greene
Dr. Duncan Brack
Dr. Nicholas A. Sims
Dr. Susan Willett
Dr. Molly Anderson
Dr. Wyn Bowen

VERTIC is also advised by an International Verification Consultants Network.

How is VERTIC funded?
It is funded primarily by grants from foundations. Current major funders are the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation; the Ford Foundation; the Global Opportunities Fund of the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO); the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, the Ploughshares Fund and the Polden-Puckham Charitable Foundation.
VERTIC also accepts commissions from governments, international organizations and other bodies. Past commissions include projects for Canadian Government, the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI); Landmine Monitor, the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (WMDC).

VERTIC's past funders include the Belgian Government; the Carnegie Corporation of New York; The Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund; the European Commission; the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO); the Governments of Germany, the Netherlands, Norway, and New Zealand; the John Merck Fund; the UK Ministry of Defence; the Network for Social Change; Oak Foundation; the Ploughshares Fund; Peace and Disarmament Education Trust (PADET), the Rockefeller Brothers Fund; the Rockefeller Family Philanthropic Offices; the Rockefeller Foundation; and the W. Alton Jones Foundation.

What are VERTIC’s activities?
VERTIC holds its own seminars, workshops and conferences and participates in those organized by others. Its staff publish widely in the general and specialist press. VERTIC has its own publications programme as well as this website. It is often the first port of call for the media in regard to monitoring and verification issues. VERTIC also has an intern programme.

VERTIC cooperates closely with United Nations (UN) bodies and other international organizations. It is affiliated to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as a non-governmental observer, has consultative (roster) status with the UN's Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and is a member of the UN Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (CONGO).

It also works with other research institutes, universities, governments and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). VERTIC and/or its staff are members of:

• Academic Council on the United Nations System (ACUNS)
• BioWeapons Prevention Project (BWPP)
• Climate Action Network (CAN)
• Chatham House (Royal Institute for International Affairs)
• International Relations and Security Network (ISN)
• International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA)
• Landmine Action
• UK Working Group on Arms

How do I contact VERTIC?
The Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC)
Development House, 56-64 Leonard Street
London EC2A 4LT, United Kingdom

Tel +44 (0)20 7065 0880
Fax +44 (0)20 7065 0890
E-mail info@vertic.org

Reg. Co. No. 3616935
Reg. Charity No. 1073051

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About this website
The homepage and navigation has been designed by Julian Knott, www.julianknott.com.
other pages were designed by Richard Jones, Exile: Design and Editorial Services.

Photos on the home page:
Title images:
• Earth from space.(www.istockphotos.com)
• Misses. (www.istockphotos.com)
• Deforestation, USA. © Daniel Dancer / Still Pictures (www.stillpictures.com)
• Yugoslavia, Kosovo, near Pristina: destruction of weapons of the civil war in a     metal works © Sebastian Bolesch / Still Pictures (www.stillpictures.com)
• Peacekeeping-MINUSTAH. UN Photo/Sophia Paris    (http://www.un.org/av/photo)

Programme images:
• Troop of soldiers in camouflage uniforms, helmets and gas masks © Digital       Vision (www.gettyimages.com)
• Lakeshore power plant. (www.istockphotos.com)
• Peacekeeping-UNOCI. UN Photo/Ky Chung (http://www.un.org/av/photo)