TIP A great way to keep informed of the lastest news on disarmament is to use Google Alerts (www.google. com/alerts) or Google News (news. google.com) and customize them to your interests. Google Alerts will search the web and send email updates that match your queries.
ACTION 1: STAY INFORMED
transfer of peaceful nuclear energy technology. It is a UN-related body established as an autonomous organization for safeguarding nuclear-weapon materials and the monitoring of the proliferation of nuclear technology that might be used for developing weapon systems. IAEA staff are the frontline negotiators and inspectors who oversee the development, production, stockpiling, and proliferation of nuclear-weapons-useable materials. Also located in Vienna is the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBTO). While the Treaty itself has not yet entered into force, the CTBTO has been working to establish a global verification regime to monitor compliance with the Treaty’s aims, banning nuclear explosions by everyone, everywhere: on the Earth’s surface, in the atmosphere, underwater and underground. The CTBTO provides the technical support and infrastructure to ensure that a nuclear-weapon test can be detected and verified. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (www.opcw.org) is the Secretariat of the Chemical Weapons Convention (bit.ly/1e0LLy2) that monitors compliance by States that are parties to the Convention and oversees the destruction of existing stocks of chemical weapons. Though there is no independent international organization affiliated with the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), the BWC bans the production, stockpiling and use of biological weapons. As a confidence-building measure, States that have signed on to the Convention exchange detailed information each year on such items as the high-risk biological research facilities that are located in their respective countries or territories. In Geneva, the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) (unidir.org) is responsible for conducting independent research on disarmament and arms control. The Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters (bit.ly/1dJWpK7) advises the Secretary General on matters relating to arms limitation and disarmament, and serves as the Board of Trustees of UNIDIR. It also advises on the implementation of the recommendations of the United Nations Disarmament Information Programme. The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) (www. mineaction.org/unmas) of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (http://www.un.org/en/peacekeeping) acts as the
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