Non-Proliferation

The United States’ contributions to international nuclear security and verification organizations would not be reduced under the White House’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal, despite significant proposed cuts to the overall State Department budget. A State Department official said by email this week that the United States’ voluntary contribution to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) […]

The United States’ contributions to international nuclear security and verification organizations would not be reduced under the White House’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal, despite significant proposed cuts to the overall State Department budget. A State Department official said by email this week that the United States’ voluntary contribution to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) […]

The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism convened its biannual plenary meeting last week in Tokyo, Japan, where partner nations committed to continue the work of three nuclear detection, forensics, and response working groups. The U.S. State Department shed more light on the meeting’s proceedings Friday in an announcement. The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear […]

A top National Security Council administration official on Friday reaffirmed the Donald Trump administration’s commitment to nonproliferation, defending the president’s nuclear policy approach at the Arms Control Association annual meeting. Christopher Ford, special assistant to the president and senior director for weapons of mass destruction and counterproliferation for the National Security Council, said Friday that […]

The Trump administration has proposed funding decreases in fiscal 2018 to the State Department’s arms control and nonproliferation work, as well as reductions for the Department of Homeland Security’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office (DNDO). The White House released last week a budget proposal requesting $37.6 billion for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International […]

The biannual plenary meeting of the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism is being convened this week in Tokyo, Japan, where partner nations will review progress and share recommendations on the group’s short-term activities. The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT), co-chaired by the United States and Russia, is a partnership of over 80 […]

The White House’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal released last week would reduce funding for the Department of Homeland Security’s Domestic Nuclear Detection Office, despite increasing the department’s budget overall. The president proposed $44.1 billion in funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): a $2.8 billion increase over the currently enacted fiscal 2017 omnibus appropriations spending […]

The Trump administration has proposed a 30 percent decrease in fiscal 2018 for the State Department’s budget, alongside more modest decreases to the specific line items concerning the department’s arms control and nonproliferation work. The White House released last week a budget proposal requesting $37.6 billion for the State Department and U.S. Agency for International […]

The United Nations General Assembly on Monday released the first draft of a legally binding global prohibition on nuclear weapons, which details bans on the use, production, transfer, and testing of such arms. In October, 123 U.N. member states voted to begin negotiations on the treaty; 38 voted against the process, including nuclear powers France, […]

The United Nations General Assembly on Monday released the first draft of a legally binding global prohibition on nuclear weapons, which details bans on the use, production, transfer, and testing of such arms. In October, 123 U.N. member states voted to begin negotiations on the treaty; 38 voted against the process, including nuclear powers France, […]

The Pentagon said Wednesday that Elbridge Colby has been appointed deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development. Colby has been working as a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security, a bipartisan think tank focusing on U.S. national security policy. Colby’s role in the Senior Executive Service will involve advising […]

The U.S. intelligence community has identified Russia as a threat to the U.S. nuclear weapons program due to its violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, intelligence leaders said Thursday on Capitol Hill. Russia was a recurring topic during a Senate intelligence committee hearing on worldwide threats and in the written statement of Daniel […]

A new international Nuclear Crisis Group was launched Friday in Vienna, Austria, with the aim of preventing an escalation of tensions between nuclear weapon states, the Global Zero movement for worldwide nuclear disarmament announced. The group, which was formed during the first Preparatory Commission to the 2020 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference currently underway, held its […]

The sponsors of nuclear no-first-use legislation accepted Wednesday on Capitol Hill roughly 500,000 signatures collected by nongovernmental and anti-nuclear advocacy groups in support of the bill. Just days after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) introduced in their respective chambers of Congress the Restricting First Use of Nuclear […]

The United States must increase its share of the global market for nuclear energy technologies if it wants to ensure that customer nations are securing sensitive materials and systems against potential acquisition by terrorists, the head of the nuclear industry’s lobbying arm and a prominent nonproliferation advocate said Tuesday. Maria Korsnick, president and CEO of […]

The first Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference is currently meeting in Vienna, Austria. The first session of the committee, led by Ambassador Henk Cor Van der Kwast of the Netherlands, will meet until May 12; two more sessions will be convened after that, before the 2020 conference, to address […]

President Donald Trump is expected today to sign into law an omnibus appropriations bill for fiscal 2017 that largely maintains funding for construction of the Mixed Oxide Fuel Fabrication Facility in South Carolina while leaving room to study former President Barack Obama’s proposed alternative method of plutonium disposition. This means questions about the future of […]

The sponsors of nuclear no-first-use legislation accepted Wednesday on Capitol Hill roughly 500,000 signatures collected by nongovernmental and anti-nuclear advocacy groups in support of the bill. Just days after President Donald Trump’s inauguration, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) introduced in their respective chambers of Congress the Restricting First Use of Nuclear […]

Russia is willing to reconsider its 2016 decision to suspend participation in its agreement with the United States to dispose of a combined 68 metric tons of weapons-usable plutonium – but only if the U.S. moves forward with its current method to eliminate the material, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry. Under the 2000 Plutonium […]

The first Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference is currently meeting in Vienna, Austria.   The first session of the committee, led by Ambassador Henk Cor Van der Kwast of the Netherlands, will meet until May 12; two more sessions will be convened after that, before the 2020 conference, to […]

Editor’s note: This is the final in a series of quarterly news summaries and analyses about President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office and the U.S. nuclear deterrent during the new administration’s crucial first days. The Donald Trump administration continues to shape its nuclear arms policy even as it very slowly advances its efforts […]

After nearly 20 years, the U.S. Senate must undertake a new review of the potential nonproliferation benefits provided by the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, CTBT Organization (CTBTO) Preparatory Commission Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov wrote in a new commentary in The Diplomat. The 1996 accord is intended to promote nonproliferation […]

The State Department has shed more light on the circumstances surrounding Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, highlighting in a new report its outreach to Moscow on the matter. The INF Treaty prohibits the fielding of ground-based cruise and ballistic missiles with flight ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. U.S. officials have been […]

The State Department has shed more light on the circumstances surrounding Russia’s violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, highlighting in a new report its outreach to Moscow on the matter. The INF Treaty prohibits the fielding of ground-based cruise and ballistic missiles with flight ranges between 500 and 5,500 kilometers. U.S. officials have been […]

After nearly 20 years, the U.S. Senate must undertake a new review of the potential nonproliferation benefits provided by the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, CTBT Organization Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov wrote in a commentary published last week in The Diplomat. Senators rejected ratification of the treaty in 1999, […]

The U.S. State Department on Monday marked the 30th anniversary of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), calling it “an outstanding example of multilateral nonproliferation cooperation.” The Group of Seven nations – the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan – on April 16, 1987, announced the establishment of the MTCR, intended to restrict […]

A Democratic congressman from Illinois said Thursday he is serving notice to his colleagues against cutting the U.S. contribution to the United Nations agency that is taking an increasing leadership role in global efforts to prevent terrorists from obtaining nuclear weapons. The United States annually provides nearly $200 million in support of the International Atomic […]

The Defense Department announced Monday that it has formally begun preparing a new Nuclear Posture Review for the Donald Trump administration. In a brief statement, the Pentagon said Defense Secretary James Mattis “directed the commencement of the review, which will be led by the deputy secretary of defense and the vice chairman of the joint chiefs of […]

The U.S. State Department on Monday marked the 30th anniversary of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), calling it “an outstanding example of multilateral nonproliferation cooperation.” The Group of Seven nations – the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Japan – on April 16, 1987, announced the establishment of the MTCR, meant to restrict […]

A resolution now before the House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee would prod the United States and other likeminded nations to step up support for the International Atomic Energy Agency’s nuclear security activities. In his bill, Rep. Bill Foster (D-Ill.) highlighted the U.N. agency’s work after being established in 1957 to promote the peaceful use of […]