Arms control & disarmament projects

Assessing the impact of UNSCR 1540

Researchers: Angela Woodward; Andreas Persbo
Coordinator: Michael Crowley
Funder:  Ford Foundation
VERTIC's project aims to enhance international security by improving transparency over, and assessing the quality of, states' national implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1540. The primary goals of the project will be to undertake a global survey and supporting research to:

•    evaluate how effectively states are implementing their legislative obligations        under 1540,
•    examine the willingness and capacity of states and the UN to reduce the      threat of proliferation by means of this resolution; and
•    assess the effectiveness of the 1540 Committee as a monitoring mechanism,      under the general rubric of the UN's role in verification;

Principal elements of the project include:

1. a global survey of states' existing national legislation, measures and structures relating to nuclear, biological and chemical weapons; and
2. a comprehensive report analyzing how states have elected to implement legislation pursuant to UNSCR 1540 and also how effectively the 1540 Committee serves as a monitoring mechanism.

The report will include details of the extent of national implementation; strengths and weaknesses of implementation measures and structures; and identification, where possible, of best practice and models for states to emulate. The survey and report will all be made publicly available through the VERTIC website.

This project is one of two on national implementation measures that VERTIC is undertaking in 2006. See also 'Building capacity to implement nuclear and biological weapons treaties, norms and UN Security Council Resolutions' for information about VERTIC's project on national implementation measures for NBC treaties, norms and UN Security Council Resolution.

VERTIC seminar presentations:
'Approaches to national legislation for nuclear and biological weapons treaties, norms and UN Security Council Resolutions' - A seminar held in association with the UK Mission to the UN;
Tuesday, 11 April 2006, at UN headquarters in New York.

Introduction
Mr Michael Crowley, Executive Director, VERTIC

UN Security Council Resolution 1540
Dr Volker Beck, Expert, UN 1540 Committee

National biological weapons law
Ms Angela Woodward, Deputy Director, VERTIC

National nuclear weapons law:
 • Click here to see the slide show
•  Click here to read the presentation
Mr Andreas Persbo, Arms Control and Disarmament Researcher (Nuclear), VERTIC

National implementation measures for the BWC
Seminar held on the margins of the Meeting of the States Parties to the BWC in Geneva, 9 December 2005.
Angela Woodward, VERTIC's guide to national implementation measures for the BWC (download slides)
Andreas Persbo, Adopting appropriate and effective national measures: technical assistance (download slides)
Adrian Baciu, Technical assistance and training for law enforcement
(download slides)

Publications and online resources:

§          'National measures to implement WMD treaties and norms: the need for international standards and technical assistance', this study, written by Andreas Persbo and Angela Woodward, examines international obligations to implement national measures governing nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, related materials and delivery systems. It was submitted to the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (WMDC) in May 2005.
§          ‘WMD Verification and Compliance: The State of Play’, a study for Foreign Affairs Canada, written by Trevor Findlay with the assistance of Erik Asplund, Andreas Persbo and Angela Woodward, October 2004. The VERTIC report formed part of the submission by Foreign Affairs Canada to the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (WMDC).
§          VERTIC’s submission to the House of Lords re EU strategy on WMD
§          ‘Enhancing BWC Implementation: A Modular Approach’, Trevor Findlay and Angela Woodward, October 2004. This report, commissioned by the WMDC, has also been published by the Commission as Report no. 23.
§          ‘A Standing United Nations WMD Verification Body: Necessary And Feasible’. Joint Interim Report (May 2005) from the Canadian Centre for Treaty Compliance and VERTIC, written by Trevor Findlay. This report, also commissioned by the WMDC, was presented to NGO representatives and other delegates at the 2005 NPT Review Conference. 
§          Time to lay down the law: national legislation to enforce the BWC
Final report launched at the Biological Weapons Convention Meeting of States Parties, held in Geneva from 10-14 November 2003. VERTIC, November 2003.
§          Biological Weapons Convention: Collection of national implementation legislation. An online dataset of BWC implementing legislation collated by VERTIC as part of the project to promote verification of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention. This dataset was updated through December 2003.

See also VERTIC’s projects on the CTBT, IAEA safeguards, BWC and verification issues related to countries of concern. VERTIC’s Verification Yearbook series features many in-depth analyses relating to either BW or NW, while shorter articles appear in Trust & Verify, published bimonthly.

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