With the ongoing geopolitical tensions and rapid technological evolution, there is a broad acknowledgement of the need to understand whether international initiatives remain fit for purpose in preventing the spread and misuse of chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) weapons and materials.
The Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction (GP) was established at the 2002 G7 Kananaskis Summit, drawing on post–Cold War initiatives and catalysed by the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks. Over 22 years, the GP has provided a platform for partners to fund, coordinate and deliver non proliferation projects on the ground. It began by supporting cooperative projects primarily in Russia, focused on non-proliferation, disarmament and nuclear safety. From 2014, biosecurity moved up the agenda, and since 2021 the GP has broadened its focus to include biological risk reduction in Africa, revitalised efforts to minimise highly enriched uranium (HEU), support to Ukraine in countering CBRN threats and advancing information-sharing and counter-disinformation initiatives.
Understanding the GP’s effectiveness, challenges and how it can evolve is essential for future global CBRN security.
The Global Health Programme and International Security Programme are working together to examine the accomplishments, effectiveness and efficiency of the GP and its work, lessons for the partnership’s programme of work and the way it functions, and the challenges and opportunities it faces going forward in its role as a cornerstone of international cooperation and coordination to counter CBRN threats.
This project is funded by the Weapons Threat Reduction Program of Global Affairs Canada and the UK’s International Biological Security Programme.