VERTIC congratulates the United Republic of Tanzania on becoming the 183rd State Party to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. The United Republic of Tanzania deposited its instrument of ratification with the United Kingdom, one of the Convention’s three depositaries on 14 August 2019.
On 7 – 8 August 2019, VERTIC co-hosted with the Nonproliferation for Global Security Foundation (NPSGlobal), a meeting to explore the role of Argentina and Brazil, and particularly, the potential role of Argentinian and Brazilian scientists and technical experts in the development and strengthening of nuclear disarmament verification measures.
On 29 and 30 July 2019, the VM Programme hosted a workshop on building capacity for nuclear disarmament verification in Pretoria, South Africa.
On 2 and 3 July 2019, the NIM Programme’s Legal Officer Leanna Burnard presented and conducted a workshop on the international legal framework for chemicals and chemical wastes in Vientiane, Laos.
VERTIC is a rapidly expanding charity focused on the verification, monitoring and implementation of international law. In the coming three years, we expect our turnover to regularly exceed £1m and our staff to grow to around twenty individuals. We, therefore, want to supplement our Senior Management Group with a Director of Finance.
Co-hosted with UNODA, the VERTIC seminar on 3 May examined the role of verification in multilateral arms control and the development of verification standards and techniques as a way to re-energise nuclear disarmament discussions.
On 18-19 March Senior Researcher Alberto Muti and Researcher Elena Gai visited Senegal where they presented a workshop on ‘Coordinating Stakeholders in Safeguards Reporting’.
Over 170 representatives from Central Asia, the Caucasus, Eastern and Western Europe, the United States, various international organisations and NGOs (WHO, OIE, IFBA, EBSA, UNICRI, UNOG, ISTC, VERTIC), participated in a biosafety and biosecurity conference in Tashkent, Uzbekistan last week.
On March 11-12, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace held its 2019 Carnegie International Nuclear Conference. Researcher Elena Gai participated and attended meetings focused on VERTIC’s research topics.
NIM Programme Director Sonia Drobysz and Legal Officer Cédric Apercé participated in a Legislative Drafting Workshop for the Implementation of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in Lebanon on 22-24 January 2019.