^{Crispin Hain-Cole, Head of the Disarmament, Arms Control and Cooperative Security Section of NATO's Political Affairs Division. In: NATO review, Summer 1999. p. 33-34}

NATO's revised Strategic Concept points out that, despite positive developments in the strategic environment, the security of the Alliance remains subject to a wide variety of military and non-military risks, which are multidirectional and often difficult to predict and assess. In this regard, the proliferation of nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons and their means of delivery is a matter of serious concern. In spite of welcome progress in strengthening international non-proliferation regimes, major Despite efforts to prevent it through diplomatic means, proliferation continues to pose a direct military threat to the Alliance. Some states, including on NATO's periphery and in adjacent regions, seek to sell or acquire NBC weapons and delivery means. Commodities and technology that could be used to build these weapons systems are becoming more common, while detection and prevention of illicit trade in these materials and know-how continues to be difficult. Non-state actors have also shown the potential to create and use some of these weapons.

Political decisions

In December 1998, Alliance Foreign and Defence Ministers expressed their determination to prepare NATO's forces to succeed in the full range of missions that they might have to face despite the threat or use of chemical or biological weapons.

Building on the successful work of the NATO groups on proliferation that were created as a result of the 1994 NATO Summit(1), Ministers indicated that they were prepared to expand NATO's effort to address the evolving proliferation risk.

Accordingly, the North Atlantic Council was tasked to prepare proposals, in time for the Washington Summit, for an Initiative to ensure that the Alliance has the political and military capabilities to address appropriately and effectively the challenges posed by the proliferation of NBC weapons and their delivery means.

The Initiative

The WMD Initiative should be viewed in the context of the Alliance's existing approach to proliferation issues. It seeks to expand the Allies' understanding of proliferation issues, to focus appropriate attention on WMD risks, and to coordinate the activities of the various NATO bodies involved in proliferation matters. To this end, it will:

• Ensure a more vigorous, structured debate at NATO leading to strengthened common understanding among Allies on WMD issues and how to respond to them;
• Improve the quality and quantity of intelligence and information-sharing among Allies on proliferation issues;
• Support the development of a public information strategy by Allies to increase awareness of proliferation issues and Allies' efforts tosupport non-proliferation;
• Enhance existing Allied programmes which increase military readiness to operate in a WMD environment and counter WMD threats;
• Strengthen the process of information exchange on Allies' national programmes of bilateral WMD destruction and assistance;
• Enhance the possibilities for Allies to assist one another in the protection of their civil populations against WMD risks.

The WMD Initiative will integrate political and military aspects of Alliance work on WMD issues and complement, not supplant, existing international regimes and arms control efforts responding to proliferation.

A WMD Centre will be created in the NATO International Staff in Brussels to improve coordination of all WMD-related activities at NATO. It will strengthen political consultations related to non-proliferation, as well as defence efforts to improve the preparedness of Alliance forces and contribute to national efforts to protect civil populations. The Centre will:

• Maintain the Matrix of Bilateral WMD Destruction and Management Assistance Programmes, a database designed to expand information-sharing between member states on national contributions to WMD withdrawal and dismantlement in the former Soviet Union;
• Serve as a repository for information on WMD-related civil response programmes in Allied nations;
• Support the Alliance Groups(1) dealing with WMD proliferation and through them, the North Atlantic Council;
• Develop briefings, fact sheets and other information documents on WMD issues for a wider public audience.

The WMD Initiative will be implemented first among the 19 NATO member countries, with participation being expanded to Partner and Mediterranean Dialogue countries, where appropriate, as the programme matures.

The Alliance has already held - or is planning - sessions on proliferation issues with various Partner countries under the auspices of the NATO-Russian Permanent Joint Council, the NATO-Ukraine Commission, the Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council, and the Mediterranean Dialogue Group.

NATO's response to proliferation, through the Initiative on Weapons of Mass Destruction, is an integral part of the continuing adaptation of the Alliance to the new security environment.

1.The Senior Polito-Military Group on Proliferation (SGP) and the NATO Senior Defence Group on Proliferation (DGP), under the authority of the Joint Committee on Proliferation (CJP