UK/Norway Initiative on nuclear warhead dismantlement verification
Norway/UK collaboration to investigate technical and procedural challenges regarding possible future nuclear disarmament verification regime.
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In early 2007, representatives from UK Ministry of Defence, the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment, several Norwegian laboratories and the non-governmental organisation VERTIC (Verification Research, Training and Information Centre) began work on the technical verification of nuclear arms control.
This is the first time that a nuclear weapon state and a non nuclear weapon state and an independent NGO have collaborated in this field of research. This work was presented at the 2009 NPT PrepCom.
The 2010 report details the outcome of three years collaboration between experts from Norway and the United Kingdom to investigate technical and procedural challenges associated with a possible future nuclear disarmament verification regime.
To further this collaborative technical research on nuclear dismantlement verification, the UK and Norway hosted a three day workshop between 7 to 9 December 2011. This brought together non nuclear weapon states to discuss verification tools and methods needed to verify nuclear dismantlement, and to explore how all states parties to the NPT can contribute to their NPT Article VI obligations.
The UKNI work was also highlighted at the NPT Preparatory Committee on 3 May 2012, with a UKNI presentation on the Managed Access Exercise that took place at the UK Atomic Weapons Establishment in 2010 and output from the December 2011 Workshop described above.
Links to the 2010 Managed Access Exercise Report, the December 2011 Workshop report and the 3 May NPT Prep Com presentation are included above.