Nuclear-disarmament group sets new goals to improve verification tactics

An international gathering of nuclear-disarmament experts convened in Oslo, Norway, recently to discuss the best ways to verify claims of nuclear disarmament.

Representatives from 25 nations, both nuclear and non-nuclear nations, came together as part of the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification  to refine verification standards and create new ones in the process of monitoring and verifying the disarmament of nuclear warheads

The meeting was hosted by Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was aimed at identifying the technical challenges for . The meeting was intended to set a framework for how the partnership can move forward with disarmament verification efforts.

Experts from the world’s various international treaty organizations and scientific research centers provided briefings on nuclear disarmament verification topics, including new innovations in procedures and technology.

The meeting established three working groups to tackle different tasks and finalized Terms of Reference for three groups. With the framework established at the meeting, these groups are free to start work on their tasks.

The first working group will focus on dismantling nuclear weapons. The group will set the objectives of the dismantling process and determine the criteria for determining whether  those objectives are satisfied

The second group will look at current on-site inspection programs and determine whether current on-site inspection principles are applicable for future nuclear arms-control pacts. The group also will determine what kinds of qualifications and training are necessary for inspectors to be effective in their jobs. Those inspectors have the difficult task of managing on-site inspections to effectively verify disarmament while dealing with various national security and nonproliferation requirements.

The last working group will identify workable solutions for technical tasks in nuclear-warhead disarmament verification, including how to authenticate a warhead as nuclear, how to establish and maintain a chain of custody, and to determine the necessary data and equipment required to do so.

The three working groups will start work in Geneva in February.