Strengthening threat reduction: International Non-proliferation and Disarmament Assistance

The very large military capabilities developed during the cold war continue to represent a present danger to national, regional and international security as well as to the environment. To reduce the risk that weapons or materials could be acquired by unauthorized state or non-state actors a number of practical measures have been defined to increase their physical security, safeguard against their diversion or misuse and in some cases eliminate them or render them unusable.

Many of these weapons and materials remain in Russia. As the region perhaps most acutely at risk from weapons and materials located in Russia, European countries have both an interest and a responsibility to help Russia to implement practical measures to safeguard and eliminate military capacities of different kinds.

To reduce the risk that nuclear weapons, delivery systems and fissile materials could be acquired by unauthorized state or non-state actors a number of practical measures have been defined to increase their physical security, safeguard against their diversion or misuse and in some cases eliminate them or render them unusable. One example of such a risk reduction effort is the effort to design reactor technologies and fuel cycles that are more proliferation-resistant. The G8 group of industrialized states has played an important role in financing threat reduction measures.

Point of Contact: Dr. Ian Anthony, Research Coordinator