The International Security Forum, Cyprus was represented in the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Conference by Dr. Yiorghos Leventis, Director and Mr. Zoran Ristic, Research Associate. The conference attended by about 300 international delegates was held at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Brussels on 3-4 November 2016.
As an independent think tank, the International Security Forum has been participating in the annual conferences, deliberations and consultative meetings organized by the EU Non-Proliferation Consortium, The European Network of Independent Think Tanks since its launch in 2011.
In July 2010 with Council Decision 2010/430/CFSP on establishing a European network of independent non- proliferation think tanks in support of the implementation of the EU strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction, the Council of the European Union decided to create a network bringing together foreign policy institutions and research centres from across the EU to encourage political and security-related dialogue and the long-term discussion of measures to combat the proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and their delivery systems. EU Council Decision 2014/129/CFSP of the 10th March 2014 “promoting the European network of independent non-proliferation think tanks in support of the implementation of the EU Strategy against Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction” provided support for three further years of EU Non-Proliferation Consortium activity.
The 2016 EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Conference discussed in plenary sessions the following themes:
- Disarmament & Deterrence – Bridging the Divide
- The Impact of Technological Change on Security and Non-Proliferation and
- The Iran Accord One Year On
Special sessions deliberated, inter alia, on the following subjects:
Prospects for Arms Control and Disarmament in the Middle East, The Threat of Non-State Actors, The Role of Conventional Arms Control in Light of Pressing Security Challenges, Combatting the Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons, Security on the Korean Peninsula, The Future of the Nuclear Suppliers Group, Missile Defence – Asia, Middle East and Europe, The Utility of Sanctions in Non-Proliferation Policy.
Dr. Yiorghos Leventis held, at the margins of the conference, a number of private meetings discussing pressing security issues troubling the Eastern Mediterranean – MENA region.