The Group has been established following an initiative by Norway.
‘The launch of the Group of Governmental Experts, which Norway has now been selected to chair, shows that the active role Norway has been playing to promote disarmament is having an impact,’ said Minister of Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide.
The Group will give advice on the development of control mechanisms that will make nuclear disarmament verifiable. A verification regime that is trusted by nuclear-weapon states and non-nuclear-weapon states alike is crucial for achieving future reductions in nuclear arsenals.
‘Norway is working actively towards the goal of a world without nuclear weapons, and the Government is giving particular priority to verification efforts. This is in line with the Non-Proliferation Treaty, and with the Storting’s unanimous decision on nuclear disarmament in April 2016. It is very encouraging that almost all UN member states support the work of the Group of Governmental Experts. Unifying processes of this kind are just what the world needs now,’ said Ms Eriksen Søreide.
The Group of Governmental Experts is composed of representatives from 25 countries, including the five permanent members of the UN Security Council.