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China has ratified numerous legally binding international agreements. Like other countries, it has a strong incentive to commit itself in this way: international agreements are a means of binding other treaty parties; strengthening international standing; creating a favourable legal framework for trade and investment; and, such as with the 1984 Sino-British Declaration on Hong Kong, settling territorial questions. At the same time, China has been careful to avoid making commitments in two areas in ...

On 22 January 2021, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (the TPNW) enters into force. On that day, nuclear weapons development, testing, production, possession, stockpiling, use and threat of use, as well as the stationing or deployment of another country's nuclear weapons on a state party's national territory will become prohibited under international law. The TPNW has been hailed as historic by supporters of an initiative, which has gained ground in recent years, to rid the world of ...

The US President, Donald Trump, and North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, are preparing for a high-stakes summit on the latter country’s nuclear programme, following Trump’s decision on 1 June to revive the meeting after having cancelled it the previous week. At the summit, due to take place on 12 June in Singapore, Trump is expected to press for denuclearisation of North Korea in exchange for easing economic sanctions and, possibly some aid. The main sticking point lies on the meaning the two countries ...

In July 2015, Iran and the E3/EU+3 – France, Germany, the UK and the EU plus China, Russia and the USA – signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a landmark agreement to ensure the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for the termination of restrictive measures against Iran. Following certification by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that Iran had complied with its nuclear dismantlement commitments, implementation of the JCPOA commenced on 16 January ...

The United States is the world's second largest nuclear power, coming close behind Russia. Together the two states account for 93 % of the world's nuclear weapons. Since the end of the Cold War, the US has followed a policy of reducing its nuclear arsenal, while maintaining a nuclear triad. Under President Obama, it embarked on an intense nuclear modernisation programme, while making commitments towards nuclear non-proliferation and – as a long-term goal – nuclear disarmament. President Donald Trump ...

Both the European Union and NATO have sought to promote democratic security sector governance as one of the criteria for their respective accession candidates. Consequently, the Western Balkan countries – Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Kosovo, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYR Macedonia), Montenegro and Serbia – have begun security sector reforms as part of their Euro-Atlantic integration. The overall objective of these reforms is to support the transformation of the security ...

On 23 December 2016, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed a resolution on taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations, thus paving the way for a conference in 2017 to ‘negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination’. The adoption of the resolution has been hailed as historic by supporters of an initiative that has gained ground in the last few years to rid the world of the most destructive weapon known to humankind ...

Although the EU has become a leading multilateral actor in the field of security sector reform (SSR), it continues to face significant challenges that hinder its potential for delivery. In the run-up to the prospective adoption of an EU-wide strategic framework for supporting SSR, this study aims to shed light on the realities faced by SSR policy makers and practitioners. By looking at the EU’s SSR track record, as well its involvement in the complementary process of disarmament, demobilisation and ...

Arms control and non-proliferation agreements are an important part of Europe's post-Cold War security order, now looking increasingly fragile due to the Ukraine crisis. Numerous concerns have been raised about Russia's commitments on weapons of mass destruction and conventional arms.

The second EU–CELAC Summit

At a Glance 10-06-2015

The second EU–CELAC Summit (eighth EU-LAC Summit) will be held in Brussels on 10 and 11 June under the theme 'Shaping our common future: working for prosperous, cohesive and sustainable societies for our citizens'. As the main mechanism of bi-regional cooperation between the EU and the region, it will seek to reinvigorate the commitment to multilateral cooperation, building on the agenda established in Santiago in 2013 and taking into account developments in both regions since then.