Moving forward with a Fissile Material Cut-off TreatyIt is widely recognised that the next step towards nuclear disarmament is the negotiation of a treaty to ban the further production of fissile materials for use in nuclear weapons - a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty, or FMCT. Indeed until this step is achieved it is difficult to see how any further progress on nuclear disarmament might take place. Yet talks within the Conference on Disarmament (CD) – the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community – are slow going and confidence in the future of an FMCT, and the CD making serious progress, is low. To help revive FMCT negotiations and inspire fresh enthusiasm in multilateral nuclear disarmament within the CD, ORG launched a year-long project in February 2002. The project aimed to keep FMCT discussions alive by establishing a multilateral brainstorming forum on specific FMCT issues, exploring radical approaches to the problems surrounding the negotiation of an FMCT, and to the wider political blockage in the CD, and inspiring fresh interest in an FMCT and multilateral nuclear disarmament. The project comprised a series of consultations for a core group of diplomats and independent experts. Each consultation aimed to address one specific aspect of an FMCT, such as scope or verification, and to explore radical new approaches to the many obstacles standing in the way of a treaty, as well as the broader problem of the stalemate within the CD. ORG also published The FMCT Handbook, which offers a bank of knowledge and expertise on all aspects of an FMCT for CD negotiators and others to use when the time is ripe for talks to get underway again.
The FMCT Handbook:
A Guide to a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty |
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