Countering Proliferation Finance: Implementation Guide and Model Law for Governments

The proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and their delivery vehicles is a persistent threat to global peace and security. In the face of the grave risks posed by proliferation, the international community must devise effective ways to prevent state and non-state actors from attaining WMDs.

This guidance paper aims to assist governments in strengthening their domestic counter proliferation finance (CPF) regimes. It outlines the increasingly complex global obligations on CPF and offers practical tools for states to implement these obligations in their jurisdictions. Attached to the guidance paper are model legislative provisions to assist governments develop necessary CPF legislation.

The paper also explores approaches to inter-agency cooperation to facilitate CPF efforts, international avenues for collaboration, and the importance of a public–private partnership. Without these ingredients, states are likely to lack a sufficient body of real-time information to support taking action pursuant to national legislation, no matter how well it is formulated.

The first guidance paper on countering proliferation finance is aimed at financial institutions that have carried out little or no concerted thinking on proliferation finance as distinct from other forms of financial crime.