This year’s EU Conference on Non-proliferation and Disarmament took place in Brussels
The fifth EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Conference, organised by the EU Non-Proliferation Consortium, took place on 3-4 November 2016 in Brussels. It was opened by High Representative/Vice-President Federica Mogherini who underscored the importance of looking for new solutions, new initiatives and new pathways towards a more peaceful global order, as the international environment becomes more confrontational.
"This is what our Global Strategy means when it talks about “widening” the system of global governance. We are working constantly to implement existing treaties on non-proliferation and disarmament, and to expand their membership. But we also need to tackle proliferation crises when they arise, seeking creative solutions and investing in multilateral formats, as we did with Iran," she stressed in the video message opening the conference.
The conference was the largest thus far with around three hundred participants from over sixty countries and international organisations, including Kim Won-soo, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and Dr Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organisation.
As in previous years, the conference addressed key areas of interest for Europe’s non-proliferation community, notably deterrence and disarmament, analysis of the Iran Deal one year on, and the role of disruptive technologies on security and non-proliferation. Special sessions were devoted to a wide range of topics, including conventional arms control, the non-weaponisation of space, disarmament of biological and chemical weapons, missile defence, regional security in Asia and the Middle East and the threat of non-state actors.
This year's EU Non-proliferation and Disarmament Conference demonstrated once again the European Union's strong commitment and support to non-proliferation and disarmament in a complex and rapidly evolving global and regional security context.
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