This May, the Geneva Conference on Disarmament (CD), after over a decade of deadlock, finally adopted a programme of work. This programme envisages, in particular, the long-overdue commencement of negotiations on a verifiable agreement banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons (the Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT)). Such an agreement is an important step towards making nuclear disarmament irreversible.

To support the CD’s work, the Federal Foreign Office has seized the initiative by inviting senior experts and diplomats from all countries involved to attend a seminar, on 17 and 18 November in Berlin, to discuss key aspects of a future FMCT.

This seminar is clear evidence of the Federal Government’s commitment to disarmament.