CNS News & Views: February 2021

Middlebury Institute of International Studies

February 2021

Join Us at the Feb. 24-25 OrgsinSolidarity Conference “Standing Together in 2021”

As an active member of the Organizations in Solidarity Initiative spearheaded by Women of Color Advancing Peace, Security and Conflict Transformation (WCAPS), numerous CNS staff and students will participate in the inaugural conference, “Standing Together in 2021” Feb. 24-25. The conference will showcase 13 working groups that coincide with the 12 commitments outlined in the Solidarity Statement “Standing Together Against Racism and Discrimination,” and culminate in a Career Fair that will allow candidates from diverse backgrounds to meet and network with peace and security organizations like CNS. Register and join us at the conference.

CNS also has a close relationship with the West Coast Chapter of WCAPS, which runs an associated Student Club at the Middlebury Institute. Nomsa Ndongwe, who is a CNS Research Associate and Co-Director of WCAPS-West explains, “We tackle modern challenges to peace and security by centering and amplifying the voices of women of color.” WCAPS-West hosts numerous online events and offers a newsletter.

2021 Paid Undergraduate Fellowship Program: Applications Due March 5

The 2021 Summer Undergraduate Nonproliferation Fellowship Program will run from early June to late August 2021. Fellows will work closely with CNS experts on nonproliferation research and participate in a training program. Applications must be submitted by March 5. For more information, please visit the program website.

CNS’s 2020 Online Undergraduate Nonproliferation Fellowship Program has successfully concluded after a final two-week January training (January 4-15). The Fellowship Program provided undergraduate students with a unique, academically rigorous, enriching, and innovative program despite the necessity for it to be conducted remotely. The course began with a three-week online training course in summer 2020, The fourteen undergraduate fellows then carried out a range of independent research projects on a wide range of nonproliferation and disarmament topics.

Learn More and Apply Now

VCNDP Initiative for Young Women in Non-Proliferation and Disarmament

The fields of arms control, non-proliferation and security have been dominated by men. But the Vienna Center for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation (VCDNP) and the International Affairs Institute (IAI) in Rome, Italy, supported by the EU Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Consortium have started the Young Women in Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative to correct this problem.

To launch the initiative, the VCDNP held a panel discussion Feb 10 on “Non-Proliferation, Arms Control and Disarmament: Changes in the Field and Career Tracks,” which attracted over 350 participants via Zoom and livestream. Panelists included Angela Kane (VCDNP), Ambassador Kjersti E. Andersen (Norway), Dr. Kim Baines (IAEA) and Dr. Heather Williams (MIT).

View Panel

Nonproliferation Course for African Women in STEM

CNS and the African Center for Science and International Security (AFRICSIS). held a two-week virtual intensive course on WMD Nonproliferation and Security for Women in STEM from Jan. 25 – Feb. 5, 2021.

The course provided 80 women technical experts, researchers, scientists, and government officials from 23 countries across Africa with a broader understanding of weapons of mass destruction, nonproliferation, arms control, disarmament, peaceful uses of nuclear energy, chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear security, as well as the various institutions, tools, and mechanisms necessary to address current nonproliferation and security challenges.

High-Level Virtual Event on “Strengthening the CTBT and Its Verification Regime”

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is approaching the 25th anniversary of its opening for signature. While the treaty is not yet in force, the establishment of its monitoring and verification regime is nearing completion, and the treaty embodies a global norm against nuclear testing.

On Jan. 28, 2021, the VCDNP organized a high-level event on the status of the Treaty and ways to strengthen the CTBT and its verification regime. The event featured a number of prominent speakers, including CTBTO Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo, President-Designate of the 10th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Ambassador Gustavo Zlauvinen, VCDNP Senior Fellow and former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane and five Ambassadors to the international organizations in Vienna.