The Core Issues

The four core issues that are being discussed in the Conference on Disarmament are:

Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty (FMCT)
The continued production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons is a threat to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. The negotiation of a Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) could help curb the development and spread of nuclear weapons. The Shannon Mandate details the mandate for negotiations of an FMCT that was agreed upon in 1995. It is included in the CD's programme of work (adopted on 29 May 2009 after more than a decade) as the basis for negotiations of an FMCT. For more information about the possibilities for an FMCT, please Reaching Critical Will's fissile materials page and the International Panel on Fissile Materials.

Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS)
The potential weaponization of space threatens to result in a multi-billion dollar race for destruction. A war in space would affect the entire planet's ability to function. For more information, please see Reaching Critical Will's PAROS resources and the PAROS Working Group.

Negative Security Assurances (NSAs)
A negative security assurance is a guarantee by a nuclear weapon state (a state that possess nuclear weapons) that it will not use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states (states that do not possess nuclear weapons). For more information, please see Reaching Critical Will's factsheet on NSAs.

Nuclear Disarmament
The United States, the United Kingdom, Russian Federation, China, France, India, Pakistan, and Israel have nuclear weapons today. The first UN General Assembly resolution ever, A/RES/1/1, from January 1946, stated that nuclear weapons should be phased out. Civil society experts have drafted a model Nuclear Weapon Convention, which has been submitted as an official document to the UN General Assembly and the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT); the UN Secretary-General annouced a five-point plan for nuclear disarmament in October 2008; and more. To keep up to date with nuclear disarmament initiatives and calls, subscribe to Reaching Critical Will's E-News.

See the states' positions on these issues in our Positions Matrix.