[Press conference] Launch of the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor 2026 Edition 

The Geneva Press Club and ICAN are pleased to invite you to the launch of the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor 2026 Edition, the annual report published by the Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) in collaboration with the Federation of American Scientists (FAS).

Speakers:

• Hans M. Kristensen, Director, Nuclear Information Project, Federation of American Scientists (FAS)
• Grethe Lauglo Østern, Special Advisor on weapons issues, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA); editor of the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor project since 2019
• Stuart Casey-Maslen, International lawyer and editor of the 2026 Edition Ban Monitor; Associate Fellow (GCSP) and Honorary Professor, University of Pretoria

Moderator: Alistair Burnett, Head of Communications, ICAN

Following the presentation and Q&A, there will be an opportunity for one-to-one interviews with the speakers (by arrangement).

To participate, please register using the following links:

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The Monitor provides a comprehensive overview of the positions of the 197 states eligible to join the global legal architecture for disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. This includes the 193 United Nations member states, the two UN observer states (the Holy See and the State of Palestine), and the two additional states, the Cook Islands and Niue.

Each country profile is categorised according to its stance on the TPN; states parties, signatories, other supporters, undecided states, and states opposed; and includes key data on their participation in major international treaties. These include the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), nuclear-weapon-free-zone (NWFZ) treaties, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), as well as Safeguards Agreements and Additional Protocols with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), alongside the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).

This press conference will provide expert insights into the current status of nuclear arsenals, global disarmament dynamics, and the evolving international legal framework governing weapons of mass destruction.

About the Ban Monitor

The Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor is an annual civil-society research project that assesses nuclear weapons policies and the development of nuclear arsenals, and tracks progress on disarmament and implementation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

Speakers BIO:

Grethe Lauglo Østern is Norwegian People’s Aid’s special advisor on weapons issues and has edited the research project Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor since NPA started publishing in 2019. Grethe has previously represented NPA on the International Steering Group of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and worked in the International Humanitarian Law Unit of the Norwegian Red Cross. 

 Hans M. Kristensen is Director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists where he provides the public with analysis and background information about the status of nuclear forces and the role of nuclear weapons. He specializes in using open sources and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in his research to increase transparency of nuclear arsenals and is a frequent consultant to and is widely referenced in the news media on the role and status of nuclear weapons.

Stuart Casey-Maslen is an international lawyer specializing in use of force and the protection of civilians. He is an Associate Fellow within the Global Fellowship Initiative of the GCSP and an Honorary Professor at the University of Pretoria. He holds a doctorate in the law of armed conflict and master’s degrees in international human rights law and forensic ballistics. Stuart is the editor of the 2025 Ban Monitor.