In the Issue

• The Path to Nuclear Security
• The Rise of the G-20
• Implementing the Responsibility to Protect
• R2P and the DRC
• 2010: The Year of Nuclear

Features

The Path to Nuclear Security. On February 18, Vice President Joe Biden spoke at National Defense University on “The Path to Nuclear Security.” The speech outlined the contours of US policy on nuclear weapons and proliferation, put them into the context of a pivotal moment in international diplomacy, and previewed the domestic politics of the cresting policy debate. In this article, Stanley Foundation program officer David Shorr looks at how in the coming weeks two key high-profile gatherings will chart the next steps for international cooperation on nuclear issues.

The Rise of the G-20. In the spring 2010 edition of Courier, Bruce Jones, senior fellow at Brookings Institution and director of the Center on International Cooperation at New York University, looks at the relationship of the G-20 with the UN. Stewart Patrick, director of the International Institutions and Global Governance Program at the Council on Foreign Relations, examines how the G-20 offers flexibility to the global governance system. Finally, Alan S. Alexandroff, co-director of the G-20 Research Group at the University of Toronto’s Munk Centre and a senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation, explores whether the G-20 will help solve more global problems. Read more in HTML or PDF.

Implementing the Responsibility to Protect. In 2005, the heads of state and governments of United Nations member states assembled for the World Summit, which formally adopted the responsibility to protect populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. Since 2005, the United Nations has moved from the affirmation of this principle to an extensive discussion of its scope and substance and, more recently, toward turning promise into practice. During January 15-17, 2010, the Stanley Foundation convened a conference in Tarrytown, New York, to discuss the way forward in implementing the Responsibility to Protect. The meeting provided a forum for reflection and discussion among representatives of United Nations member states, Secretariat officials, and experts on this important topic. The conference started with a keynote address by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. This executive summary highlights key conclusions and recommendations that surfaced in the course of three days of substantive dialogue.

Beyond the Headlines

R2P and the DRC. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) continues to suffer a brutal war in its eastern region that has surpassed the Holocaust in length and in fatalities; after 12 years, the death toll has reached an estimated 6.9 million people, and 2.1 million people are internally displaced. Bordering Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi, eastern DRC has become “the world capital of rape, torture and mutilation,” says Nicholas Kristof of The New York Times, due to ethnic rivalries and struggle over natural resources. In an op-ed piece published on February 6, Kristof calls for attention to the human suffering in the DRC. Read the full article.

2010: The Year of Nuclear. The next several months will be a busy period in the world of nuclear material security, arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament. Despite domestic political hurdles, President Obama remains steadfast on making progress on this range of issues on several fronts, all of which have both national and global security implications. On the 40th anniversary of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the president reiterated the goals he laid out in Prague last April. These declarations come less than one month ahead of his Nuclear Security Summit, an unprecedented convening of more than 40 world leaders in Washington, DC, on April 12-13. Government officials from around the globe, in addition to international nongovernmental experts and advocates, will focus on securing all vulnerable nuclear material worldwide. In addition to the immediate focus on the summit, the administration is focused on reinforcing the basic bargain of the NPT ahead of the treaty’s Review Conference at the United Nations in May. Rallying support for Congress to approve the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) will also be critical in quantifying US progress toward disarmament. In the same vein, the US is working with Russia on a new START treaty for reducing nuclear arsenals, which may or may not come before next month’s summit. The US Nuclear Posture Review is due to be released any day now. It’s anticipated to mark, at least rhetorically, a move beyond outdated Cold War thinking and, as the President said, “will reduce the number and role of nuclear weapons…even as we maintain a safe, secure and effective nuclear deterrent.”