Alicia Sanders-Zakre

Authored by on January 11, 2017

Authored by on November 30, 2016

Authored by on November 30, 2016

Authored by on November 30, 2016

Authored by on November 3, 2016

This op-ed originally appeared in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists On October 27, the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly voted to begin negotiations next year on a legally binding international treaty to ban nuclear weapons. The historic resolution passed with the support of 123 member states, 38 opposed, and 16 abstaining—but has drawn sharp criticism from many of the world’s nuclear powers. The United States is a staunch opponent, calling the proposed resolution unrealistic and unverifiable, and reprimanding its supporters for attempting to dismantle the existing “…

Authored by on October 31, 2016

Authored by on October 31, 2016

Authored by on September 24, 2016

The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 2310, which reaffirmed the international moratorium on nuclear weapon testing, on Sept. 23. The resolution followed a Sept. 15 statement by the permanent five members of the UN Security Council committing not to defeat “the object and purpose” of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) as required under customary international law. It also acknowledged the value of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organization’s International Monitoring System. “This first-ever, CTBT-specific Security Council resolution (2310) is a very important reaffirmation…

Authored by on September 13, 2016

The Stimson Center and the Arms Control Association hosted a panel discussion about the history and progress of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) 20 years after it was signed on September 24, 1996. To date, 183 states have signed the treaty. Represented in the panel were senior officials from states that have been strong supporters of the treaty over the past 20 years. Rose Gottemoeller, the undersecretary for arms control and international security and Adam Scheinman, the special representative of the president of nuclear nonproliferation reiterated the United States’ strong…

Authored by on September 9, 2016

North Korea conducted its fifth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 8. The test was met with international condemnation and calls for increased sanctions on North Korea. Russia issued “the strongest possible condemnation,” and both Japan and the United States condemned the test in “the strongest possible terms” in official statements following the test. The UN Security Council convened on Sept. 9 in an emergency session to discuss the test. “The test explosion is yet another unpleasant reminder that the threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear program continues to grow. Current…