Angela Kane on Weapons Governance

On 30 September VCDNP Senior Fellow Angela Kane contributed to the 2019 New Shape Forum's opening panel discussion, "Surveying the landscape: Weapons governance achievements, challenges and opportunities." Joining Ms. Kane on the panel were Mr. Gilles Carbonnier (International Committee of the Red Cross) and Mr. Eric Borremans (Pictet Asset Management).

Ms. Kane placed the topic of weapons governance in the context of multilateralism and the United Nations (UN), reminding audience members that the very first UN General Assembly resolution called for "the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction."

Despite this, the UN's historic role in weapons governance has been relatively modest, except for UN Security Council resolutions aimed at the indefinite extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, as well as on the the nuclear programs of Iran and North Korea.

Against that backdrop, Ms. Kane observed a progressive degradation in multilateral weapons norms and "rule-breaking" on weapons governance in many countries. She also noted the ongoing instances of chemical weapons use that have gone unpunished, despite the UN and other organizations identifying the responsible parties.

Overall, Ms. Kane warned of a worsening "crisis in multilateralism" as a key challenge in the future of weapons governance.

A full video of the panel discussion is available below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SrnG51F-mOc