ABSTRACT
The architecture of international treaties and organisations formed in the 20th century to reduce deadly conflict and foster stability seems more strained today than at any time in its history. It is critical to strengthen the existing system governing weapons, with urgent focus on those elements that govern nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. One area of inquiry involves whether more can be done to enact Article 26 of the UN Charter or more robustly pursue its intent. While governance of armaments broadly is an important topic, in this chapter, we will focus on the need to manage and mitigate global catastrophic risks in the 21st century—in particular, the governance of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. Throughout, we aim to highlight how measures that meet the spirit of Article 26 are important to rebuilding trust in international cooperation. The chapter begins with the background behind the early years in which implementing Article 26 was considered, followed by indicators of the status of the current major weapons of mass destruction–related treaties. We describe key trends in the global security environment today that are shaping the status quo, offer ideas for how to strengthen weapons governance in these areas and provide context for what has changed since the inception of Article 26 and what remains possible in terms of meeting its ideals.
