Disarmament Diplomacy

Issue No. 48, July 2000

Editor's Introduction

In July's issue, the Acronym Institute launches a discussion aimed at ensuring that the disarmament pledges unanimously adopted by the 2000 review conference of the NPT go beyond diplomatic words. Rebecca Johnson kicks off with some thoughts on how the commitments might be addressed and invites readers to contribute comments, arguments and proposals of their own.

Many arms control advocates fear that US National Missile Defence (NMD) plans could lead to the collapse of existing disarmament and non-proliferation regimes. In her latest UK Parliament Update, Nicola Butler, looks at how the debate over NMD in Britain has been hotting up. Away from nuclear issues, Jenni Rissanen reports from Geneva on the latest progress in negotiations to develop a verification protocol to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).

In Opinion and Analysis, Laketch Dirasse of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), gives a feminist analysis of efforts underway in Africa to build peace and move away from a culture of violence and violation. Nikolai Sokov from the Center for Non-Proliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute provides a provocative argument highlighting a little-known debate in Russia towards shifting away from reliance on nuclear weapons.

Developments and comment surrounding the missile defence issue feature prominently in both Documents and Sources and News Review, which also cover the G8 and ASEAN meetings, Russia's new Foreign Policy Concept, as well as the not unproblematic progress in US-North Korea nuclear and missile discussions, and further, bitter stalemate in UN-Iraq relations

Note The Acronym Institute bids farewell to Michael Szabo and welcomes back Sean Howard, who has rejoined as full time editor, despite continuing to live in the wilds of Nova Scotia. We all wish Michael, Stephanie and their new daughter the very best for the future.

We also must apologise to readers for embarrassing mistakes in Disarmament Diplomacy No. 46, especially in the report on the 2000 NPT Conference. The difficulties of the editorial changeover were compounded by copyediting errors resulting in changed meaning and incorrect names. Some articles were then published without having been double-checked by authors. Correct versions appear on the website. Sorry!

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