The following articles and essays provide additional insight into current developments and issues which our staff and experts are following.
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OPCW Rebukes Syria’s Chemical Weapons Program
July 14, 2020
The executive council’s comprehensive decision hailed dissent and dissatisfaction from certain member states that appear intent on shielding Syria from accountability for its egregious violations of the CWC.
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Iran’s Illicit Arms Transfers Do Not Justify U.S. Snapback
June 26, 2020
Though concerning, possible violations of arms-related provisions of Resolution 2231 by Iran are not grounds for the unilateral U.S. actions to prevent the embargo’s expiration.
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Iran’s Failure to Comply with IAEA Investigation Raises Concerns
June 8, 2020
The June 5 IAEA report provides additional detail about the agency's investigation into possible undeclared nuclear materials and activities tied to Iran's past nuclear weapons development efforts and noted that Tehran has yet to comply with the agency’s requests for information and access.
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IAEA Report Shows Iran’s Stockpile of Uranium Grows
June 8, 2020
The IAEA's latest report assessing Iran’s compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal noted that Tehran’s stockpile of low enriched uranium continues to increase beyond limits set by the accord.
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Tear Gas is Banned in War. It is Time to Ban its Domestic Use.
June 5, 2020
While the Chemical Weapons Convention bans the use of toxic chemicals in warfare because they do not discriminate between combatants and non-combatants, but carves out an exception for their use for "domestic riot control purposes" despite their indiscriminate use against non-violent protestors and those engaged in acts of violence alike.
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Responses to Audience Questions from April 29 New START Briefing
May 4, 2020
The Arms Control Association hosted a briefing on "The Future of New START and U.S. National Security" on April 29. Here are some answers to additional questions that participants submitted but that the speakers were unable to address due to time constraints.
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OPCW Investigation Confirms Syria Responsible for Three Chemical Attacks in 2017
April 13, 2020
An inaugural report released April 8 by the OPCW's new Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) attributes a series of chemical weapons attacks in Syria in March 2017 to the Syrian Air Force. The new OPCW team has a mandate to assign responsibility for chemical attacks identified by the OPCW's Fact-Finding Mission reports that were not investigated by the United Nations-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism, which was dissolved in 2017.
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The IAEA’s March Reports on Iran’s Nuclear Activities Raise Questions
March 16, 2020
Two new reports by the IAEA detail the status of Iran’s nuclear program and raise questions about its compliance with its international legal obligations. While Iran continues to comply with its JCPOA-related safeguards and has not taken further steps to breach the 2015 nuclear deal, the IAEA is investigating possible undeclared nuclear activities likely related to Iran’s pre-2004 nuclear weapons research.
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As 2020 Dawns, Disarmament Treaties Face Financial Hardship
January 17, 2020
As the United Nations system staggers under increasing levels of debt, a small group of other multilateral treaties, many of which focus on disarmament topics, are threatened for another reason: lack of money.
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Looking Ahead 2020: Arms Trade Issues Should See Center Stage in the U.S. Election
December 16, 2019
Will arms trade issues have a prominent role in the public discourse that leads up to the 2020 U.S. election?