VERTIC welcomes the passing of the Brazil and Norway draft resolution requesting the UN Secretary General to elicit the views of Member States on the possible establishment of a Group of Scientific and Technical Experts on Nuclear Disarmament Verification (GSTE-NDV) within the United Nations system.
The resolution was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly First Committee for Disarmament and International Security on 1 November 2024. 173 Member States voted in favour, with one member (Russia) voting against and two (Iran and Syria) abstaining. The resolution further calls on the Secretary General to also consider the views of relevant inter- governmental organisations entrusted with the verification of other disarmament and non-proliferation treaties.
States such as Switzerland, Germany and the Nordic Countries made reference to their support for the resolution in their General Statements. As stated by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden, verification is an essential element of a nuclear disarmament process, allowing all States to have confidence in measures to both achieve and maintain a world without nuclear weapons. ‘Such a GSTE NDV would provide unique practical benefits in support of the long-term goal of nuclear disarmament and enable States to work collaboratively on NDV in a multilateral setting.’ VERTIC encourages all Member States to submit their views on the establishment of a GSTE on NDV and is ready to assist such States, on request, in submitting their views to the Secretary-General.
