Quad Nuclear Verification Partnership

The Treaty for the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) recognizes that non-nuclear weapon states have a role to play in the verification of nuclear disarmament, and the point of departure for the Quad is that verification of nuclear disarmament has a multilateral dimension. UN General Assembly’s First Special Session on Disarmament (SSOD-I) establishes that all states have the right to participate in disarmament negotiations on an equal footing when the negotiations have a direct bearing on their national security.

A future comprehensive nuclear disarmament scenario would have bearing on the security interests of all states, and nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states alike need assurance that disarmament actually takes place. Multilateral nuclear disarmament verification therefore is a pre-requisite for reaching the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.

The process of multilateral nuclear disarmament verification builds trust and thus in itself contributes to global nuclear threat reduction. The involvement of non-nuclear weapon states must be in strict conformity with NPT non-proliferation obligations, as well as necessary safety and security parameters. By testing and demonstrating how non-nuclear weapons states can play an important role in nuclear disarmament verification, the Quad collaboration makes a concrete contribution to the fulfillment of Article VI of the NPT.