The Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP) and the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS) held a diplomatic workshop in Baden, Austria, on 19–20 June 2014. The workshop brought together about three dozen Vienna-based ambassadors, a number of senior officials from international organizations and other institutions—such as UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane, Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo, International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Yukiya Amano, and Lord Des Browne, Chair of the ELN and Vice Chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative—as well as non-governmental experts from think tanks and academia.

The workshop focused on “Nuclear Verification Challenges and Opportunities,” and was modeled after a workshop on issues facing the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) annually conducted by CNS for senior diplomats in Annecy, France.

In his keynote remarks Lord Des Browne highlighted the role of all states, particularly nuclear weapon states, in advancing nuclear disarmament goals and fulfilling their NPT obligations. In his view, “The international community needs a transparent, sustainable, and credible plan for multilateral nuclear disarmament—and measures that can fulfill the requirements for the verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons are central to that plan.”