The Winter 2023 edition of T&V opens with a lead article on diplomatic momentum and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. The rest of the edition covers issues ranging from the conviction of a man in the UK for building a drone to carry chemical weapons to recent developments in and applications of additive manufacturing.

Diplomatic momentum and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty

The lead article, written by Senior Researcher Hugh Chalmers, explores whether diplomatic momentum is in favour of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. The author examines the impact of Russia’s withdrawal of ratification of the treaty and prospects of United States ratification of the treaty. The piece further discusses transparency and confidence-building measures and utilisation of the treaty’s consultation and clarification mechanism.

Verification Watch

Verification Watch opens with an article by Research Assistant Hailey Wingo providing commentary on a milestone moment following the elimination of the US chemical weapons stockpile. Senior Researcher Noel Stott then provides an overview of the latest session of the UN Disarmament and International Security Committee (First Committee), as well as the consensus report of 23 June 2023 by the Group of Governmental Experts established by General Assembly Resolution 74/50 (A/RES/74/50). Finally, Co-Programme Director Grant Christopher closes this section by examining recent activity at the Experimental Light Water Reactor at North Korea’s Yongbyon nuclear complex.

Implementation Watch

In Implementation Watch, Legal Officer Thomas Brown analyses a case in the United Kingdom wherein a man was convicted for building a drone to carry chemical weapons. Thomas comments on important lessons that can be learned from this case, including the pertinence of anti-terrorism legislation for the prosecution of chemical weapons related offences, the importance of including comprehensive prohibitions in relevant legal instruments, and the need to pay increasing attention to control measures for dual-use research.

Compliance Watch

In Compliance Watch, Researcher Roel Walravens contributes an article on Indonesia’s seizure of an Iranian tanker for carrying out a ship-to-ship oil transfer in Indonesia’s Exclusive Economic Zone, examining the pertinence of this action to maritime sanctions enforcement. VERTIC’s Deputy Executive Director and Programme Director Angela Woodward, together with Tanvi Kulkarni, Frank O’Donnell and Shatabhisha Shetty of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN), close the section with an article showcasing VERTIC and APLN’s recently completed joint project on Maritime Incidents and Escalation in Asia-Pacific. Their article provides an executive summary of, and an overview of the policy recommendations in, the project’s recently published final report titled ‘Crisis Avoidance: Preventing Dangerous Maritime Incidents and Unintended Escalation in the Asia-Pacific’.

Science and Technology Scan

In Science and Technology Scan, Co-Programme Director Grant Christopher examines the status of additive manufacturing and whether it continues to be a relevant concern for WMD and military applications.

Centre News

Plus, Centre News, outlining the latest updates from across the programmes.