Achievements 1993 to 1998

Structure of INESAP

The International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation (INESAP) is a non-profit, non-governmental network organisation with participants from all over the world.

The International Co-ordinating Committee of INESAP has 7 members in 4 continents: Prof. Anatoli Diakov (Russia), Dr. Martin Kalinowski (Germany), Dr. George Lewis (USA), Dr. Zia Mian (Pakistan), Prof. Dr. Shen Dingli (China), Prof. Dr. Fernando de Souza Barros (Brazil), and Dr. Johan Swahn (Sweden).

INESAP is part of the world-wide active International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility (INES), which at this point comprises more than 80 organisations from 34 countries. INES is an UN accredited NGO.

The Interdisciplinary Research Group in Science, Technology and Security (IANUS) at Darmstadt University of Technology (Germany), as a member organisation of INES, manages most existing activities in INESAP. The staff consists of part time work devoted by the post-doc researchers Martin Kalinowski, Wolfgang Liebert and Juergen Scheffran as well as of the part time student assistants Martin Mueller (administrative assistant), Volker Hahn (technical editor INESAP Information Bulletin), and Daniel Pisano (translator and language editor).

Goals of INESAP

The main objectives of INESAP are to promote nuclear disarmament, to tighten existing arms control and non-proliferation regimes, as well as to implement unconventional approaches to curbing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and to controlling the transfer of related technology. Major topics are the proliferation of nuclear weapons and related delivery systems. Strengthening of non-proliferation and disarmament activities is one major goal. A second major goal is to outline conceptual approaches to a nuclear-weapon-free world.

The world community of scientists and engineers can play a key role in promoting the major objectives. It can help to overcome restrictions caused by looking only at national interests by demonstrating new alternatives. Recognising that science and technology are part of the problem as well as part of the solution in the case of proliferation, INESAP uses an integrated, interdisciplinary and international approach to combine research, networking and action for establishing a close interface between science and international negotiating diplomacy; ensuring an exchange of research results and ideas related to the assumptions mentioned above at an early stage of thinking and widening the perspective of the general public, of diplomats as well as of fellow researchers with regard to a nuclear-weapon-free world.

Projects and activities of INESAP

Foundation of INESAP. The origins of INESAP go back to the International Congress "Challenges - Science and Peace in a Rapidly Changing Environment" in Berlin (Nov. 29 - Dec. 1, 1991), where INES was founded. During 1992, IANUS developed a project proposal for INESAP and in early 1993, an international Organising Committee and Program Committee for the first INESAP conference was set up. The INESAP Founding Conference, entitled "Against Proliferation: Towards General Disarmament", took place at the Protestant Academy Muelheim/Ruhr (Germany), August 27-31, 1993, with roughly 50 scientists, engineers and experts from 20 countries. The purpose of the meeting was to delineate different possible approaches to addressing problems of the development and spread (proliferation) of nuclear weapons and related delivery systems world-wide, explore which policy options there were agreement on and which INESAP should work to promote, and identify any unresolved technical issues on which research was needed.

Study Group "Beyond the NPT". In 1994, INESAP formed the Study Group "Beyond the NPT". After preparatory workshops in Muelheim (Germany) in November 1994 and in London in February 1995, the document "Beyond the NPT: A Nuclear-Weapon-Free World" was prepared by about 50 authors from 17 countries, including Praful Bidwai (India), Frank Blackaby (UK), William Epstein (Canada), Richard Falk (USA), Harald Feiveson (USA), Pervez Hoodbhoy (Pakistan), Liu Huaqiu (China), and Joseph Rotblat (UK). This document was presented on April 25, 1995 during the NPT Review and Extension Conference in New York where 100 people attended and at the same time or later at other places of the world (Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Japan and Mexico). The study looks beyond the NPT and outlines the transformation process of the traditional non-proliferation regime towards a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World. A main conclusion of the study is that the NPT Extension should be followed by multi-lateral negotiations towards a Nuclear Weapons Convention (NWC). This document is promoting this idea by examining how the goal could look like and analysing how it could be reached and what it would imply to go in a step-by-step process from here to there, both based on the technical expertise of international scientists and engineers.

Nuclear proliferation and arms control in India and Pakistan. In 1994 and 1995 INESAP conducted various activities related to nuclear proliferation and arms control in South Asia. Support was provided for the project on "Nuclear weapons in the India-Pakistan conflict" conducted in Pakistan. One of the outcomes was an edited book by Zia Mian on "Pakistan's Atomic Bomb and the Search for Security" as well as the proposal to introduce nuclear arms negotiations by addressing tritium control on a bilateral basis.

Scope of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. Much of INESAP's scientific and political activities between 1994 and 1996 focused on raising attention to weaknesses of a limited test ban and providing scientific input to the CTBT negotiations at the CD. A number of publications were produced dealing with CTBT circumvention technologies. Largely due to the international protest, hydronuclear tests are included in the ban and subcritical tests, announced by the US government, were not conducted in 1996.

Fissile materials and tritium. A project entitled "Fissile materials and tritium - how to verify a comprehensive cut-off convention and safeguard all stocks" was conducted in 1995 and 1996. INESAP participants made proposals to induce negotiations on a Cut-off for nuclear weapons-usable materials, e.g. by promoting a Comprehensive Cut-off Convention which includes tritium as well as civilian fissile materials. One main goal of this project was to establish a science-policy interface to promote ideas and concepts for the elimination and control of all weapons-usable nuclear materials. Therefore, as part of this project INESAP has organised a workshop in co-operation with UNIDIR (United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research), which took place on June 29/30, 1995 in the Palais des Nations, Geneva. This workshop was tightly related to current political developments as well as at the top level of international scientific research on this problem. Therefore, members of different delegations and scientific experts were invited.

Model Nuclear Weapons Convention. From its beginning INESAP advocated a Nuclear Weapons Convention. INESAP took a leading role in initiating and facilitating the NWC Working Group of Abolition 2000 which is a global network of NGOs with the goal that nuclear weapons will be eliminated. Out of this working group, ideas and activities emerged, leading towards the foundation of a NWC Drafting Group and promoting a UN Resolution linking the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legality of threat or use of nuclear weapons, dated July 8, 1996, with the NWC. The NWC Drafting Committee which consists of lawyers, scientists, disarmament experts and activists, is organised by the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy. INESAP actively supported the drafting process by providing scientific input. A regular exchange took place between New York and Darmstadt which included visits for drafting and follow-on meetings. The Model NWC was launched on April 7 1997 in New York during the NPT PrepCom meeting. The majority of states demands such a treaty. Later in the year, the government of Costa Rica submitted the model NWC to the UN Secretary General and asked him to disseminate it to the government of all states. The model NWC was translated into all official UN languages and received the document number A/C.1.52/7.

INESAP 1996 Conference in Gothenburg. The INESAP 1996 Conference was entitled "From non-proliferation towards a nuclear-weapon-free world" It was organised in co-operation with Swedish FIMK (Swedish Scientist and Engineers against Nuclear Weapons). The conference was a success in gathering more than 30 active INESAP participants. The conference examined and discussed comprehensive approaches towards a NWFW that could be accomplished in a step-by-step process. Topics discussed during parallel sessions were nuclear disarmament, halting nuclear weapons development, regional approaches to a NWFW, cut-off and disposal of nuclear weapons- usable materials, nuclear-capable delivery systems and missile defence.

Delivery systems and missile defence. An INESAP Study Group on delivery systems and missile defence has been formed in 1996, with the goal of assessing the missile threat and possible options to respond to this threat from the perspective of various countries. The group is convened by George Lewis, Goetz Neuneck and Juergen Scheffran. After holding sessions during the annual conferences of INESAP and after publishing various papers, the study group is planning a workshop and a publication.

NGO support for strengthened NPT review process. INESAP took part at the first and second Preparatory Committee Meeting for the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in 2000 in New York (1997) and Geneva (1998). Many instances were at stake, since it was the first meeting of the Parties to the Treaty after the unlimited and unconditional extension of the NPT two years before. Back then, it was concluded to significantly strengthen the review process. INESAP has substantially contributed to the organisation, the development of substantial discussions and the quality of the briefing program of the NGOs during these meetings. The main topics were the role of existing and new treaties in nuclear disarmament, the role of nuclear material control and disposition in disarmament as well as steps towards a NWFW and their verification.

INESAP 1997 Conference in Shanghai. In September 1997 INESAP held its third conference in Shanghai. The local host was the Centre for American Studies of the Fudan University. This was the first international conference in China which was specialised on disarmament of nuclear weapons. The meeting of 47 experts from 14 countries was an opportunity to learn from each other across the cultures and to make friends. International participants acknowledged that the 50 presentations and related discussions helped them to get a better understanding of Chinese positions on nuclear disarmament and related issues. 19 Chinese participants from 12 different institutions had the opportunity to hear and discuss foreign political positions. The goal of a nuclear weapons free world was shared by all participants and was further explored. Differences appeared with respect to specific ideas about how to arrive there.

Security in the Middle East. INESAP started activities on security in the Middle East in 1997. IANUS co-ordinates the preparation of a concept for co-ordinated research work on co-operative non-intrusive monitoring as well as policy development with regard to the goal of a Weapons-of-Mass-Destruction-Free Zone. The major co-operating partners are Ayman Khalil of CRACS (Centre for Research on Arms Control and Security, Amman, Jordan), F.H. Hammad of ESAP (Egyptian Scientists Against Proliferation) and Reuven Pedatzur of the Galili Centre for Strategic and National Security, Tel-Aviv, Israel. The newly founded national group ESAP and the Co-ordinating Centre for Arabic Peace Organisations contribute with regional activities including networking among scientists and engineers in the Middle East and educating them and the public.

Verification of a nuclear weapons free world. In 1997 and 1998, a study has been prepared with the provisional title: "Beyond technical verification: Transparency, verification, and preventive control for the Nuclear Weapons Convention". The main purpose of this proposed study is to increase awareness concerning the scientific-technological constraints and boundary conditions for a way leading to a nuclear-weapon-free world. It will illuminate the verification needs and limits and the problems of enforcement. The integrated and comprehensive approach chosen for the Nuclear Weapons Convention will be further developed. The basic new features are preventive measures that ensure physical control over weapons-usable materials by the international agency and reduced availability of these materials. Transparency and social verification will play an important additional role.

Breaking the deadlock regarding an agreement on a cut-off of weapons-usable materials. The cut-off project "Breaking the deadlock - How can negotiations get started on effective international control of nuclear-weapon-usable materials?" was prepared in co-operation with IANUS and UNIDIR. In order to enable close links for a science-policy interface in many countries, a core group of liaisons in a dozen of countries was formed and contributed to the drafting of the proposal. All applications for funding of this project were rejected so far, mainly because of the political impasse with regard to this topic. The activities of the core group of liaisons continue on a low level basis. The main question is, what the next steps in nuclear disarmament could be and how innovative ideas could possibly facilitate progress towards a cut-off agreement for fissile materials.

Further spread of nuclear weapon free zones. What regions are good candidates for the next nuclear weapon free zones? What can we learn from existing zones and how can they be improved? What role should verification and non-intrusive monitoring play? As part of this project, a strategy should be developed to create a political impetus from local nuclear free authorities through the state level and further to an alliance of nuclear weapons free countries. A conference and a book publication are planned. This project started in 1997. It is conducted in co-operation with Praful Bidwai and Achin Vanaik (India), the Dag Hammarskjoeld Foundation (Sweden), the Transnational Institute (Netherlands) and the Peace Depot (Japan).

Table 1: INESAP conferences and workshops 1993-1998

• August 27-31, 1993: Founding-conference of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation (INESAP), Muelheim/Ruhr, Germany.
• September 1-2, 1993: Workshop of INESAP on "Non-Proliferation Regimes for Nuclear Weapons and Delivery Systems", Darmstadt, Germany.
• November 23-25, 1994: Workshop of the INESAP Study Group "Beyond the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)", Muelheim/Ruhr, Germany.
• April 25, 1995: Presentation of the results of the INESAP Study Group "Beyond the NPT" during the NPT Review and Extension Conference, New York, USA.
• June 28-30, 1995: Conference of IANUS, INESAP and UNIDIR (United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research) on "Cut- off for Fissile Materials and Tritium", Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland.
• January 19-21, 1996: Conference on "Europe and the future with or without atomic weapons", Muelheim/Ruhr, Germany.
• May 30 - June 2, 1996: INESAP 1996 Conference "From Non-Proliferation towards a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World", Gothenburg, Sweden.
• March 20-21, 1997: Workshop of IANUS and INESAP on "Ambivalence of Space Technology", Darmstadt, Germany.
• April 11, 1997: Symposium on "The Road to a Nuclear Weapons Free World: Treaties, Materials, and Verification Issues" jointly organised by IEER, INESAP and WSLF, United Nations in New York, USA.
• June 13-15, 1997: Conference of INESAP and other NGOs on "Nuclear Weapons Free Europe. Visions for non-nuclear European Security", Peace Centre Burg Schlaining, Austria.
• September 8-10, 1997: INESAP 1997 Conference "Challenges and opportunities for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World" Shanghai, China.

International networking and science-policy interface

Network of Engineers and Scientists. INESAP is an international network with no formal membership besides of personal membership in INES. About 120 persons from about 25 countries belong to the continuously active participants in INESAP activities. Nearly 200 contributors have written for INESAP publications so far. Regional activities linked to INESAP are currently concentrated to Latin America, South Asia and the Middle East. The most active groups are the German branch of INESAP, the Swedish FIMK (Swedish Scientist and Engineers against Nuclear Weapons) and the Egypt Scientists Against Proliferation (ESAP).

The INESAP Information Bulletin. From 1994 to 1998, 15 issues of the INESAP Information Bulletin were published and disseminated freely to a growing distribution list that now reaches a number of 500. The Editorial Board includes members from China, Germany, Pakistan, Russia and the United States. As a source of information and a forum for communication for science-based policy debates on non-proliferation and disarmament, it became an important medium for scientists, non-proliferation and disarmament experts, diplomats and politicians, activists and journalists around the globe both inside and outside of the network. The INESAP Bulletin became not only essential in linking INESAP activities. It became unique in providing a globally balanced forum for topical contributions by authors from all continents. By involving authors from a variety of organisations, it contributed to building a global community of experts and activists in this field. In terms of quality and quantity, layout and content, the INESAP Bulletin has made considerable progress, despite technical and financial restrictions. The feedback from authors and readers to the main editor (Juergen Scheffran) was very encouraging and resulted in an increasing voluntary financial support by some subscribers.

Electronic communication. An email discussion list has been established in 1994 by Johan Swahn to serve the needs of active INESAP participants and facilitate immediate communication across borders, e.g. during the NPT PrepComs and the NPT Conference. It became a source of relevant information and exchange among participants about political events, opinions and facts. Since 1995, INESAP also maintains a homepage on the World Wide Web which includes some of INESAP's publications and statements.

Networking with international NGOs. INESAP is networking within the scientific community as well as with other NGOs (Pugwash, IALANA, IPPNW, ipb, BASIC, BITS, PENN, etc.). From the beginning, INESAP played an initiating and catalysing role in the nuclear abolition movement. In 1993 joint activities were undertaken to form an international coalition of NGOs for promoting nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, including IPB, INES, INESAP, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA). INESAP actively supported this International Coalition in lobbying towards a Nuclear Weapon Convention during the NPT review and extension process and played a key role in setting up the "Abolition 2000 Network: A Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons" which was launched on November 5, 1995 in The Hague. INESAP supported the Abolition 2000 Global Network, in particular by convening the Working Group on the Nuclear Weapons Convention (Juergen Scheffran) as well as the Working Group on nuclear-weapons-usable materials (Martin Kalinowski) and by sending representatives to the global strategy meetings. INESAP co-organised the European NGO-Conference "Nuclear Weapons Free Europe. Visions for non-nuclear European Security" on June 13th -15th at the Peace Centre Burg Schlaining, Austria together with IALANA, ipb, IPPNW, WILPF and PENN. INESAP. The goals of this conference included to present and discuss topical information central to peace and security in the OSCE region (and surrounding area), especially the future role of nuclear weapons, enlargement of NATO and WEU and their relation to CIS as well as the future role of the OSCE and alternative concepts and strategies for peace and security. As a result the Schlaining Manifesto was agreed by the organising NGOs and a European branch of the NGO network "Abolition 2000" was formed.

Science-policy interface and public outreach. The science-policy interface is aimed e.g. at delegates to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, at decisionmakers in national parliaments and governments as well as at the media and the general public. INESAP participants are observing disarmament negotiations and support them e.g. with briefings for NGO representatives and delegates. Furthermore, INESAP conducts private discussions with delegations and government officials and representatives. For example, the German INESAP participants maintained their contacts with the German Parliament and government by distributing information and contributing to public policy briefings in Bonn by the newly founded organisation FONAS, comprising German research groups working on natural science, disarmament and international security. They also took part in a project of the German Bureau for Technology Assessment on the control of emerging military technologies that was concluded and published in 1996. Strategy meetings are held around major events and, to plan various activities, e.g. publications and on the testing issue, the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice and UN Resolutions on the NWC. A number of political statements have been published by the INESAP Co-ordinating Committee and INESAP participants. From time to time, INESAP forms coalitions with other NGOs on certain topics and advocates common policy statements. INESAP attracts public awareness not only by scientific conferences but also by public information in form of newspaper supplements, public statements, press releases and press conferences.

Funding sources

The total amount of funding related to INESAP from 1993 to 1998 was almost $700,000 in 1997. About half of this came from German funders and about 4% was provided from Swedish sources. The rest was granted by US Foundations. Nearly 80% of the budget was made available through IANUS, where the office and staff of INESAP is located. The subsidies for INESAP through public funds of the State of Hesse and Darmstadt University of Technology given to IANUS will soon have to cease. The office of the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility (INES) in Dortmund continues to support the work of INESAP, especially in respect to the Abolition 2000 Network.

Table 2: Funding supporters for INESAP (funds received in its first 5 years)

(Further information can be obtained from INESAP)

Selected publications of INESAP

The INESAP Information Bulletin, edited by Juergen Scheffran, remains the main medium of INESAP for international communication. From 1994 to 1998, 15 issues were produced. The dates are given in the following list together with the focus topics which were started with issue number 9:

1/April 94, 2/July 94, 3/October 94, 4/January 95, 5/April 95, 6/July 95, 7/November 95, 8/February 96, 9/May 96: Ten years after Chernobyl, 10/August 96: Nuclear weapon free zones, 11/December 96, NWC and nuclear abolition, 12/March 97: NATO expansion and nuclear weapons between START and Star Wars, 13/July 97: Control and disposition of nuclear weapons-usable materials, 14/November 97: Searching for the bomb: Nuclear disarmament verification, 15/April 98: Security, sustainability and nuclear weapons.

In 1998 the Ploughshares Fund provided a grant for dissemination of the INESAP Information Bulletin and for translation of excerpts into Arabic.

INESAP published three proceedings, edited by Martin Kalinowski:

• No. 1 Fissile Materials and Tritium: How to verify a comprehensive production cut-off and safeguard all stocks. Selected Papers of a Workshop on June 29/30, 1995 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, ISBN: 3-933071-00-3.
• No. 2 INESAP 1996 Conference: From Non-Proliferation towards a Nuclear-Weapon-Free-World. May 30 - June 2, 1996 in Gothenburg, Sweden, ISBN: 3-933071-01-1.
• No. 3 INESAP 1997 Conference: Challenges and Opportunities for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free-World. September 8 - 10, 1997 in Shanghai, China, ISBN: 3-933071-03-8.

In 1997 INESAP started its Technical Report Series. It was proposed by Andre Gsponer (ISRI, Geneva), mainly because there is an urgent need for a peer reviewed publication series of scientific analyses on a professional level which deal with arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Its goal is to improve the quality of independent scientific knowledge on technical issues of importance for shaping new policy initiatives. Everybody is invited to submit reports to be reviewed for publication in this series.

INESAP Technical Report No. 1 has been published in August 1997: Andre Gsponer, Jean-Pierre Hurni: "The Physical Principles of Thermonuclear Explosives, Inertial Confinement Fusion, and the Quest for Fourth Generation Nuclear Weapons", fourth corrected and expanded version, May 1998, 190 pages, 24 figures, 439 references and 5 tables, ISBN: 3-933071-02-X

Monographs and edited book:

• INESAP, Beyond the NPT: A Nuclear-Weapon-Free World. Preliminary findings of the INESAP study group "Beyond the NPT" presented on the occasion of the NPT Review and Extension Conference on April 25, 1995 in New York.
• Liebert, W.; J. Scheffran (eds.), Against Proliferation - Towards General Disarmament. Proceedings of the First INESAP Conference at Muelheim in August 1993, Agenda Verlag, Muenster 1995.
• Zia Mian (ed.): Pakistan's Atomic Bomb and the Search for Security Gautam Publishers, Lahore 1995.
• Praful Bidwai, Achin Vanaik, Testing Times - The Global Stake in a Nuclear Test Ban, Report published by the Dag Hammarskjold Foundation, Uppsala 1996.
• Otfried Ischebeck, Goetz Neuneck (eds.), Co-operative Policies for Preventing and Controlling the Spread of Missiles and Nuclear Weapons - Policies and Perspectives in Southern Asia, Baden-Baden: Nomos, 1996.

Briefing papers: Prepared on the occasion of the second Preparatory Committee meeting for the NPT Review Conference in the year 2000 from April 27 to May 8, 1998 in Geneva. (Sponsored by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation)

• No. 1/1998: Beyond technical verification: Transparency, verification, and preventive control for the Nuclear Weapons Convention (Martin B. Kalinowski, Wolfgang Liebert, Juergen Scheffran)
• No. 2/1998: Multilateralising the nuclear disarmament process: Some next steps for the nuclear weapon states (Owen Greene)
• No. 3/1998: Cut-off in the NPT review process. Does a cut-off agreement offer a leverage to overcome the current deadlock between complete nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation? (Martin B. Kalinowski)
• No. 4/1998: A Faustian bargain: Why "Stockpile Stewardship" is incompatible with the process of nuclear disarmament (Andrew Lichterman, Jacqueline Cabasso)
• No. 5/1998: Regional monitoring and verification system for a WMDFZ in the Middle East (F.H. Hammad)
• No. 6/1998: New German research reactor using highly enriched uranium (HEU) raises concern (Wolfgang Liebert)