'Trust, but verify', was a famous slogan during the Cold War in the context of arms control. However, the question of how to verify that a state is honouring its commitments is (one of) the biggest problem facing arms control regimes. How can we be sure that a party to an arms control treaty is really reducing or eliminating a certain type of weapons? This learning unit aims at providing answers to these tricky questions.

After completing this unit, you will

• understand the critical role of compliance, verification and enforcement in achieving non-proliferation and arms control objectives.
• have an overview of how the different treaties approach verification.
• comprehend why verification alone is not sufficient without enforcement.
• know the enforcement role of the Security Council.
• understand the rationale for applying sanctions.
• have an overview of how various non-compliance cases have been addressed.
• be capable of assessing ideas for strengthening compliance.
• grasp the potential of societal verification.