The Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy

About the Acronym Institute

The Acronym Institute was set up in November 1995 under the name 'Disarmament Intelligence Review'. In April 1997 we became sole publishers of Disarmament Diplomacy, a monthly journal of news, documentation and opinion pieces on disarmament and arms control negotiations. In September 1997 we were legally established in London, UK, under the name The Acronym Institute.

The Acronym Institute works with policy makers and non-governmental organisations to promote non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament by disseminating information and maximising negotiating opportunities in all available fora. When arms control measures become blocked, as at present on treaty ratification and the proposed ban on the production of fissile materials, the Acronym Institute will work to promote constructive dialogue and alternative approaches.

The Acronym Institute aims to:

• provide timely, high quality reporting of negotiations at the UN, the CD, and the NPT review process. Publications include the ACRONYM Reports on the CTBT negotiations and NPT Review Process.
• promote further ratifications and the full implementation of arms control treaties;
• promote talks among the nuclear weapon states and identify concrete measures for further progress in transparency, arms control and confidence building, focusing on unilateral initiatives, five-power (P-5) agreements or joint declarations, as well as multilateral negotiations;
• exchange information and increase understanding of arms control and non-proliferation issues and fora among diplomats, parliamentarians and officials in non-nuclear-weapon and threshold states, with a view to more effective participation, especially from states in regions of high tension or proliferation concern.

Background: The Acronym Institute was founded to continue the investigative work on disarmament negotiations Rebecca Johnson had carried out from 1994 in Geneva and New York for four nongovernmental organisations, VERTIC, ISIS, BASIC and Dfax, known as 'The Acronym Consortium'. The Acronym Consortium dissolved into its constituent parts in October 1995. You will find related material and some earlier publications on the websites of former Consortium members.

Personnel and Consultants:

Founding Director & Editor: Dr Rebecca Johnson rej@acronym.org.uk
Deputy Director and Website manager: Nicola Butler.

Board of Directors:

Dr Stephen Pullinger (Chair)
General Sir Hugh Beach (retired)
John Edmonds CMG CVO, retured UK Ambassador
Dr Patricia Lewis, Director, The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)
Dr Joanna Spear, Director, US Foreign Policy Institute, The Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington University, Washington DC
Professor Paul Rogers, Department of Peace Studies, University of Bradford.

Acknowledgements:

The Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy is grateful to the Ford Foundation and the Ploughshares Fund for their enabling support of our work and publications, including this website.

The Acronym Institute can be contacted via:

Rebecca Johnson's direct lines:
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7503 8857
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7503 8857

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© 2005 The Acronym Institute.