Foreign Affairs Committee - Fourth Report
Global Security: Non-Proliferation

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Here you can browse the report together with the Proceedings of the Committee. The published report was ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 3 June 2009.

Contents

Terms of Reference

Conclusions and recommendations

1 Introduction

Background

Terms of reference

Conduct of inquiry

National Security Strategy

2 The Government's approach to non-proliferation

The EU

The role of the US and NATO

Restricting the resources required for proliferation

Export control regimes

The Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI)

Personnel: the UK's ATAS scheme

Finance

Scope for rationalisation of the non-proliferation architecture

3 Nuclear weapons

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

The NPT's successes

Nuclear weapons proliferation

Iran's nuclear programme

Other challenges to the non-proliferation system

Verification of the NPT and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)

Enforcement of the NPT

Universalisation of the NPT

Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation

US-Russia nuclear weapons control

UK nuclear arsenal

'Global Zero'

The Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)

The Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT)

Internationalising the nuclear fuel cycle

4 Biological and chemical weapons

Biological and chemical weapons: the threat

Definitions of biological and chemical weapons

Recent and historical uses of biological and chemical weapons

Control of chemical and biological weapons

The Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC)

Universality

Implementation of the CWC

Destruction of existing chemical weapons

Compliance with the CWC

The Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC)

Universality

Implementation of the BTWC: the absence of verification

Non-compliance with the BTWC

Strengthening the BTWC

The BTWC and CWC and new technologies

Non-lethal biological and chemical weapons

5 Ballistic missiles and missile defence

Action against ballistic missile proliferation

Ballistic missile defence (BMD)

6 Terrorism and physical security

The threat posed by terrorists and weapons of mass destruction (WMD)

Nuclear weapons

Biological and chemical weapons

Ballistic missiles

Initiatives against terrorist acquisition of WMD

G8 Global Partnership/UK Global Threat Reduction Programme

UN Security Council Resolution 1540

The Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism (GICNT)

International Convention on the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism

Physical security

Nuclear materials

Biological and chemical materials

7 Conventional weapons

Impact on global security

Success outside the UN framework: cluster munitions and landmines

Cluster munitions

Landmines

The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)

Feasibility of an ATT

Enforcement of an ATT

Scope of an ATT

Standards to be defined in an ATT

The future of negotiations towards an ATT

The role of NGOs and the defence industry

The future relationship between an ATT and existing non-proliferation initiatives

8 Taking stock of Government strategy

The rules-based approach

Arguments against a rules-based approach

The treatment of different weapons types

A holistic approach to disarmament and non-proliferation

Annex

Abbreviations

Formal Minutes

Witnesses

List of written evidence

Reports and Evidence from the Foreign Affairs Committee since 2005

Oral and Written Evidence

5 November 2008
19 November 2008
26 November 2008
28 January 2009
4 February 2009

Written Evidence

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Prepared 14 June 2009