Group of Governmental Experts to make recommendations on possible aspects that could contribute to a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices

This report outlines the details of the Group of Governmental Experts’s deliberations, characterizes the range of expert views on aspects of a treaty — notably in relation to the dynamic correlation between a future treaty’s scope, definition, verification requirements and associated legal obligations and institutional arrangements — and presents the Group’s conclusions and recommendations.

Belfer Center Senior Fellow Olli Heinonen is a member of the Group of Governmental Experts and a co-author of this report.

The Group reaffirmed that a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices should be legally binding, non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable, and that document CD/1299, and the mandate contained therein, remains the most suitable basis on which future negotiations can commence without further delay in the Conference on Disarmament and, as noted in that report, allows negotiators to raise for consideration all aspects of a treaty, including its scope. The Group agreed that such a treaty could contribute practically to achieving a world without nuclear weapons, to non-proliferation in all its aspects and, more broadly, to enhancing global security.

Experts agreed that their report, and the deliberations which underpin it, can serve as a valuable reference for States and should be a useful resource for negotiators of a future treaty. It identifies areas of convergence and divergence on key treaty aspects, including where a spectrum of views may exist and where further technical and/or scientific work can be pursued that may assist negotiators.