Corey Hinderstein
Vice President, International Fuel Cycle Strategies
International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification
Engaging a diverse group of states to develop innovative monitoring and verification solutions
Challenge
Critical gaps remain in addressing the technical challenges inherent in nuclear disarmament verification
Action
Engage a diverse group of countries – with and without nuclear weapons – to develop innovative monitoring and verification solutions
Results
A major new international initiative, co-led by NTI and the U.S. Department of State and involving over 25 countries, focused on nuclear disarmament verification
A public-private partnership between the U.S. State Department and Nuclear Threat Initiative, the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification is a major new effort to further understanding of the complex technical challenges involved in nuclear disarmament verification. A new IPNDV website, with wide-ranging analyses from Phase I, was launched in December 2017.
Verification measures are implemented around the world every day for commitments related to nuclear and chemical weapons, nuclear material, and other military activities. Inspectors use an extensive toolkit of instruments, techniques, and methods—including data exchanges, on-site inspections, tags and seals, containment and surveillance equipment, and environmental sampling—to verify compliance with a range of bilateral and multilateral agreements.
Such verification systems and methods are crucial to managing risks and mitigating threats, but gaps remain. Going forward states will need the ability to monitor and detect smaller items and quantities of nuclear material. While important contributions have already been made to address these challenges, the development and application of new technologies and concepts will be essential.
To this end, in December 2014, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, Rose Gottemoeller, announced that the U.S. government would lead an International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification in cooperation with NTI.
The International Partnership is designed to build capacity among both states with and without nuclear weapons, and develop technical solutions for monitoring and verification challenges. In particular, in order to lay a solid foundation for further reductions in nuclear weapons and advance NPT nuclear disarmament goals, the IPNDV is assessing monitoring and verification issues across the nuclear weapons lifecycle (from production of fissile material and warheads, warhead inventories, the dismantlement of nuclear weapons, and the disposition of nuclear material resulting from the dismantlement process). The initial focus of the International Partnership addressed the most important, most complex, and most challenging aspect related to future arms control reductions, namely, determining potential options for how to monitor the dismantlement of a nuclear warhead.
This initiative sets into motion the key recommendation from NTI’s Innovating Verification: New Tools & New Actors to Reduce Nuclear Risks Series, released in July 2014: States should come together now to begin an international process to assess verification gaps, develop collaborative technical work streams and contribute to overall global nuclear threat reduction.
More than 25 states attended IPNDV’s inaugural meeting, where participants agreed that the International Partnership will be a sustained, multi-year effort and will consist of both technical working groups that take on specific projects, tasks, and collaborative research and development activities, and up to two plenary meetings each year. These plenary meetings are comprised of senior officials and technical experts and are designed to monitor the progress of the working groups, discuss common themes or challenges, and increase the understanding of other relevant research that may inform the work of the Partnership.
Additional details and resources for the Partnership, including summary reports from the first two phases of work, can be found on the IPNDV’s website: www.ipndv.org
Monitoring and Verification Resource Collection
To complement the International Partnership, NTI developed a “Monitoring and Verification Resource Collection,” a comprehensive, centralized library of articles, reports and studies on a range of verification and monitoring topics. The documents have been divided into five subject areas: Arms Control Agreements, Demonstrations & Experiments; Future Monitoring & Verification Challenges; Warhead Confirmation & Radiation Measurements; Information Protection & Information Barriers; and Chain of Custody, Tags, Seals & Tamper Indicating Enclosures. Please note that this collection will continue to expand over time. If you would like to submit additional studies, reports, or articles, please contact Andrew Newman.
2021
New Interactive Graphic Illustrates A Verifiable Path to Nuclear Weapon Dismantlement
New Interactive Graphic Illustrates A Verifiable Path to Nuclear Weapon Dismantlement
2020
NTI Supports IPNDV Release of New Analysis and Videos as NPT Marks 50th Anniversary
New Products Highlight Ongoing Commitment and Contributions to Nuclear Disarmament Verification
2020
IPNDV Phase II Concludes in Ottawa
New Report Summarizes “Paper to Practice” Outcomes in Nuclear Disarmament Verification
2019
NTI Experts Participate in Hands-on Nuclear Disarmament Verification Exercises in Belgium and Germany
NTI's Andrew Newman joined experts at the Belgian Nuclear Research Centre to begin a 10-day international technology demonstration by the IPNDV.
2019
NTI Joins 80+ IPNDV Participants in Utrecht for Dismantlement Exercise and More
NTI Experts Participate in a Joint Working Group meeting of the Internaitonal Partnershup for Nuclear Disarmament Verification (IPNDV)
2019
IPNDV’s Valuable Work Recognized in 2019 NPT Preparatory Committee Meeting Statements
The International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification was recognized by partners and non-partner countries in statements and reports.
2019
NTI expert chairs NPT Side Event on IPNDV Practical Work to Further Disarmament Verification
NTI Senior Director Andrew Newman chaired a side event at the NPT Preparatory Committee Meeting to discuss the practical activities of the IPNDV.
2019
NTI Joins IPNDV Experts for Working Group Meeting in Helsinki
NTI staff joined experts and the European Union in Helsinki for a Joint Working Group Meeting to prepare for a series of practical activities planned for 2019.
2018
NTI Joins 100+ IPNDV Experts at 2018 Plenary Meeting in London
Members of NTI’s team joined more than 100 experts from 24 countries and the EU in London in early December 2018 for the sixth plenary meeting of IPNDV.
2018
New Article in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Highlights IPNDV’s Collaborative Verification Work
NTI's Corey Hinderstein describes the NTI-U.S. State Department public-private partnership on nuclear arms reduction verification.
2018
NTI Expert Participates in IPNDV Side Event at the 2018 NPT PrepCom
NTI Senior Director Andrew Newman participated in a panel event about the IPNDV at the 2018 NPT PrepCom.
2018
Evolution and Scope of North Korea’s Nuclear Program Illustrated in New 3D Virtual Museum
Jeffrey Lewis describes the evolution and scope of North Korea’s missile and nuclear programs in a new article that includes a 3D virtual museum.
2018
NTI Joins Experts From More Than 20 Countries for IPNDV Joint Working Group Meeting in Sweden
The IPNDV held its first joint working group meeting of Phase II in Stockholm, Sweden on March 26 – 28, 2018.
2018
NTI Expert Participates in International Nuclear Disarmament Verification Meeting
NTI Vice President Andrew Bieniawski is among the experts slated to speak at an international meeting on multilateral nuclear disarmament verification.
2017
IPNDV Countries See a Path Forward to Multilateral, Verifiable Nuclear Weapon Dismantlement
Countries participating in the IPNDV have concluded that although challenges remain, multilaterally monitored nuclear warhead dismantlement should be possible.
2017
International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification (IPNDV) Fifth Plenary Meeting
The meeting will focus on the Partnership’s effort to build international capacity for, and understanding of, nuclear disarmament verification.
2017
New 3D Video Highlights Developments at Iranian Space Launch Center
The James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies has produced a new 3D facility video, highlighting developments at the Imam Khomeini Space Launch Center.
2017
Side Event on Nuclear Disarmament Verification at UN First Committee
Friday's discussion will highlight the work completed during the IPNDV's first phase, which focused on verifying the dismantlement of a nuclear weapon.
2017
International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification Highlighted in the Canadian House of Commons
The Hon. Andrew Leslie underscored the positive contribution of the IPNDV to help address "doubts and mistrust" that have stalled previous disarmament efforts.
2017
NTI and IPNDV featured at 2017 European Safeguards Research & Development Association Symposium
NTI senior program officer, Martin Rioux-LeFebvre, delivered a keynote address on the IPNDV to the 39th annual meeting of ESARDA in Dusseldorf, Germany.
2016
IPNDV Partners Meet in Abu Dhabi for Fourth Plenary on Nuclear Disarmament Verification Efforts
NTI and partner countries are gathered in Abu Dhabi this week for the fourth Plenary meeting of the International Partnership on Nuclear Disarmament Verification.
2016
Past Event
Fourth Plenary of the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification
Abu Dhabi, UAE
2016
NTI and U.S. State Department host UN First Committee side event on IPNDV joint initiative
NTI and the U.S. Department of State are hosting a side event at the United Nations First Committee on the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification (IPNDV).
2016
Third Plenary of the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification Advances Discussions on Nuclear Verification
Twenty-five countries gathered for the third International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification (IPNDV) plenary, a partnership between the State Department and NTI to advance capacity around nuclear verification.
2016
Third Plenary of the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification Advances Discussions on Nuclear Verification
2016
IPNDV Working Group Meetings Report
After a successful second plenary of the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification, working groups met in Geneva to continue their work.
2016
“Underhanded C” Contest Highlights Challenges For Nuclear Arms Control Verification Technologies
WASHINGTON, DC—Linus Åkesson has been named the winner of the 2015 Underhanded C Contest.
2015
International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification Working Groups Launched in Oslo
Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brende welcomed attendees from 25 countries to the meeting in Oslo, Norway, where the International Partnership launched three expert working groups and defined a plan of work for the first, two-year phase of the project.
2015
Past Event
Second Plenary Meeting of the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification
Oslo, Norway
2015
Past Event
Building a Path Forward: Update on the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification
New York, NY
2015
Teleconference: Decoding the Iran Agreement
NTI President Joan Rohlfing will participate in a teleconference on Iran agreement and what it means for verification and monitoring.
2015
Past Event
2015 NPT Review Conference Side Event: The International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification
Trusteeship, UN Headquarters
2015
Des Browne Addresses New International Verification Partnership
NTI Vice Chairman Des Browne addressed the inaugural meeting in Washington, D.C., of a new U.S. State Department-NTI International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament.
2015
Past Event
International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification Kickoff Meeting
Washington, DC
2015
More than 25 States Attend Inaugural Meeting of International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification
Representatives from more than 25 countries are gathering today and tomorrow for the first meeting of the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification, convened by the U.S. Department of State with NTI.
2014
U.S. State Department and NTI Launch New International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification
The U.S. State Department today announced a partnership with NTI to launch a U.S.-led International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification.
2010
Statement by Sam Nunn on Removal of All Highly Enriched Uranium Spent Fuel from Serbia
Sam Nunn commends the NNSA's Global Threat Reduction Initiative, the Republic of Serbia, the Russian Federation, the IAEA and others on removal of all HEU from Serbia.
2008
NTI Co-Chairman Sam Nunn speaks to an international conference on “Achieving the Vision of a World Free of Nuclear Weapons” in Oslo, Norway
Former Senator Sam Nunn Co-Chairman of NTI “The Mountaintop: A World Free of Nuclear Weapons” International Conference on Nuclear Disarmament Oslo, Norway