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Chapter 6: Arms Control, Disarmement and Non-proliferation NATO’s policy of support for arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation plays a major role in the achievement of the Alliance’s security objectives. NATO has a longstanding commitment in this area and continues to ensure that its overall objectives of defence, arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation remain in harmony. In order to respond to the risks to Alliance security posed by the spread of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery means, the Alliance launched an Initiative in 1999 that builds upon work to improve overall Alliance political and military efforts in this area. This WMD Initiative is ensuring a more vigorous, structured debate at NATO leading to strengthened common understanding among Allies on WMD issues and how to respond to them; improving the quality and quantity of intelligence and information-sharing; supporting the development of a public information strategy; enhancing Allied military readiness to operate in a WMD environment and to counter WMD threats; strengthening the process of information exchange about Allies’ national programmes of bilateral WMD destruction and assistance; and enhancing the possibilities for Allies to assist one another in the protection of their civil populations. In May 2000 a WMD Centre was established at NATO Headquarters to support these efforts. As of May 2000, the WMD Centre has been established, and has produced a robust work programme for the future. As stated in the Strategic Concept of 1999, the Alliance is committed to contribute actively to the development of arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation agreements as well as to Confidence and Security Building Measures (CSBMs). Member countries consider confidence building, arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation as important components of conflict prevention and recognise that the Alliance can play a vital role in this field by promoting a broader, more comprehensive and more verifiable international arms control and disarmament process. NATO’s partnership, cooperation and dialogue programmes offer a unique opportunity to promote these objectives and contribute to the overall goal of increasing confidence and security and developing a cooperative approach to international security. At the Washington Summit NATO Allies agreed, in the light of overall strategic developments and the reduced salience of nuclear weapons, to consider options for confidence and security building measures, verification, non-proliferation and arms control and disarmament. Since the Summit, the responsible NATO bodies have undertaken an extensive and comprehensive evaluation of overall developments and have examined a number of options for the future. A summary of the principal developments in this field is given on the next pages.