Regular publications

Past editions of the Verification Yearbook are now on sale. Collect the 2000, 2001 and 2002 Verification Yearbooks for the price of one: £30/$45 for the set. Click here to see contents. To order contact Jane Awford.

Verification Matters
Published on an ad hoc basis
Click here for list of issues
This new series, launched in 2001, replaces the former VERTIC research reports. They are substantive ad hoc research reports on a variety of verification topics, written by VERTIC researchers or external authors.

VERTIC Briefs
Published on an ad hoc basis
Click here for list of issues
VERTIC Briefs are short papers, published on an ad hoc basis, on subjects of immediate interest. They are often produced for, and distributed at, major international conferences.

Verification Yearbook

VERTIC Annual Reports 2001 and 2002
VERTIC has just published its final Annual Reports for 2001 and 2002. If you would like a copy, please contact Jane Awford, Information Officer & Networker.

Special publications

Introducing VERTIC's project on national implementing measures

Fact sheet 1
Why and what to implement? Ensuring effective national laws on nuclear, biological and chemical weapons
Fact sheet 2
National implementation measures for the 1963 Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT)
Fact sheet 3
National implementation measures for the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)
Fact sheet 4
National implementation measures for the 1980 Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM)
Fact sheet 5
National implementation measures for the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
Fact sheet 6
National implementation measures for United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 (2004)

Forthcoming fact sheets will cover national implementation measures for the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention and the 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

The fact sheets may be downloaded by clicking on the above links. For print versions or for more information about the fact sheets or VERTIC's project, please contact Jane Awford, VERTIC's Information Officer and Networker, by email: jane.awford@vertic.org or by telephone: +44 (0) 20 7065 0880.

Verifying European Union Arms Embargoes
VERTIC's study on monitoring EU and UN arms embargoes, written by VERTIC consultant Vanessa Shields, was commissioned by the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). It contributes to a larger UNIDIR project for the European Commission on 'European Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons and Explosive Remnants of War'.

Enhancing BWC Implementation: A Modular Approach
VERTIC's second paper for the WMD Commission (WMDC) sets out a range of possible mechanisms that could be established or enhanced to fulfil BW verification and implementation tasks. Written by Trevor Findlay and Angela Woodward, the study was published by the Commission as Report no. 23 in October 2004.

WMD Verification & Compliance: The State of Play
This study covered the principal WMD agreements and the status of their monitoring, verification and compliance arrangements. It was commissioned by the Canadian Department for Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) and formed part of Canada's contribution to the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (WMDC), also known as the Blix Commission. The WMDC published it as Report no. 19 in October 2004.

Time to lay down the law: national laws to enforce the BWC
This is the final report of VERTIC's project surveying the status of national implementation legislation in all 151 states parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). VERTIC's survey focused primarily (although not exclusively) on national legislation to enforce the treaty's core prohibitions, specifically those in Article 1 relating to the requirement never to develop, produce, stockpile or otherwise acquire or retain biological weapons.

This report, written by Angela Woodward, was released at the BWC Convention Meeting of States Parties to be held in Geneva from 10-14 November 2003. The first part describes the survey method, presents the results with regard to the status of national legislation adopted, and provides comparative analysis of the various ways in which this legislation has dealt with the treaty provisions. An indicative, but unattributed, list of reasons given by states parties for their failure to adopted national legislation is also included. The second part contains recommendations for strengthening national implementation legislation by establishing avenues for states parties to share their understanding and experiences and to provide each other with assistance.

A guide to verification for environmental agreements
This pamphlet introduces the concepts of monitoring, verification and compliance as applied to environmental agreements. The roles of governments, treaty bodies, other international organisations, the scientific community, non-governmental organisations and the corporate sector are highlighted, with examples of each type of participation given. Two brief cases studies illustrate how reporting, assessing compliance and enforcement work under the 1973 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the 1997 Kyoto Protocol of the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Handbook on Verification and Compliance
Published by VERTIC and UNIDIR, June 2003
For more info, e-mail Jane Awford at VERTIC or Steve Tulliu at UNIDIR
VERTIC and UNIDIR, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, have produced a handbook to assist negotiators in devising verification and compliance systems for arms control and disarmament agreements. The Handbook provides a wealth of models and previous experience to draw on in developing appropriate and effective monitoring, verification and compliance systems. It includes agreements, terms and in-depth analyses and will interest the expert and the layperson alike.

The book is designed to be useful both globally and regionally. Written with the Middle East in mind, where arms control will be an essential component in the regional peace process, it is published in back-to-back English and Arabic format.Click here for the English version and here for the Arabic version

A guide to fact-finding missions under the Ottawa Convention
Published by VERTIC in January 2003
For more info, e-mail Jane Awford
The 1997 Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and On Their Destruction envisages mechanisms for resolving concerns relating to compliance with the treaty. These mechanisms, detailed in Article 8, include dispatching a fact-finding mission to gather information.

This guide is intended to assist states parties in preparing for such a fact-finding mission. It provides information on when and how fact-finding missions may be initiated and organised and suggests activities that states parties may wish to carry out before, during and after a fact-finding mission. It should be of use to international and national officials responsible for implementation of the Ottawa Convention, as well as others in the landmine ban community.

Getting verification right: proposals for enhancing implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention
Published by VERTIC in September 2002
For more info, e-mail Jane Awford
The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which bans the acquisition of chemical weapons, reaffirms the ban on their use and seeks the destruction of existing stocks, entered into force in 1997. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which was set up to help implement the treaty, has major achievements to its credit. But it has recently run into difficulties in fulfilling its mandate. For their part states parties have not always fulfilled their legal obligations to support and comply with the treaty.

In April–May 2003 the states parties to the treaty will hold their first Review Conference to examine implementation of the CWC to date. This report is intended to stimulate thinking among states parties and in the OPCW’s Secretariat prior to and during that review process. It examines key areas of the OPCW’s performance, as well as that of states parties in supporting the convention, and makes recommendations for change and reform. The report is based on research for VERTIC by consultant Joan Link.

A guide to verification for arms control and disarmament
Published by VERTIC and UNA-UK in July 2002
For more info, e-mail Jane Awford
A pamphlet explaining the basics of arms control and disarmament verification produced in 2002 in cooperation with the United Nations Association of the United Kingdom.

Guide to reporting under Article 7 of the Ottawa Convention
Published by VERTIC in September 2001
For more info, e-mail Jane Awford
The 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and On Their Destruction (Ottawa Convention) requires states parties to report on their activities in implementing the Convention under nine categories specified in Article 7. This guide is designed to assist states parties in meeting this legal obligation, as well as any voluntary reporting they may wish to make. It aims to promote clear and full reporting, thereby reinforcing the transparency of state party compliance.

This guide illustrates best practice for completing the Article 7 report forms, including recommendations on the type, format and amount of information that should be provided. It should be of use to officials completing the forms and to those assembling the necessary information.

Final Report, Independent Commission on the Verifiability of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
Published by VERTIC in November 2000
For more info, e-mail Jane Awford
The Independent Commission on the Verifiability of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) was established in August 2000. The CTBT, opened for signature in 1996, bans all nuclear test explosions in all environments. The Commission’s mandate was to assess the CTBT’s verifiability, both currently, in terms of the existing capabilities available to the international community, and in future, once the complete array of capabilities envisaged in the Treaty is fully functioning. In addition to considering the Treaty’s International Monitoring System, the Commission was tasked with assessing the contribution to verifiability of on-site inspections, confidence-building measures, so-called national technical means, and the scientific communities. Finally, it was asked to evaluate the possibilities for evading the verification system and potential responses to such scenarios.

The Commission comprised 14 internationally eminent scientists and experts, representing a wide range of expertise and backgrounds, acting in their personal capacities. It convened in London on 26–27 October 2000 to complete the Final Report and to hear presentations by the Commissioners. Their papers, together with external submissions, are published separately as an Annex to the Final Report. Further information is available at www.ctbtcommission.org.

Discontinued publications

VERTIC Research Reports

VERTIC Briefing Papers