Definition
In 1988, in the report of the United Nations Disarmament Commission that established the “16 Principles of Verification”, two principles reflect on the function of compliance:
11. Adequate and effective verification arrangements must be capable of providing, in a timely fashion, clear and convincing evidence of compliance or non-compliance. Continued confirmation of compliance is an essential ingredient to building and maintaining confidence among the parties.
13. Verification of compliance with the obligations imposed by an arms limitation and disarmament agreement is an activity conducted by the parties to an arms limitation and disarmament agreement or by an organization at the request and with the explicit consent of the parties, and is an expression of the sovereign right of States to enter into such arrangements. (A/S-15/3, para. 60, p. 50)
In 1990, the Group of Qualified Governmental Experts, in their report on the “Study on the Role of the United Nations in Verification”, described compliance as:
“Compliance refers to the actual behaviour of a party with respect to the provisions of a binding agreement. It denotes behaviour that is in accordance with the forms and requirements of the agreement.” (A/45/372, para. 14, p. 20)
And noted that the process of verifying compliance encompasses:
“The process of verifying compliance with arms limitation and disarmament agreements consists of multiple steps that can be either unilateral or co-operative in nature, or a combination of both. The initial steps involve monitoring, examining and analysing information relating to compliance.” (A/45/372, para. 15, p. 20)
In 2007, the Panel of Governmental Experts, in their report on “Verification in all its aspects, including the role of the United Nations in the field of verification”, reflected on the relevance of verification to promote compliance:
“[…] there is growing emphasis on full compliance by all States with their obligations under existing treaties, agreements and commitments, as well as growing realization of the importance of responding to non-compliance and building national capacities to implement those treaties, agreements and commitments more fully and effectively. This has stimulated renewed discussion on the purpose, effectiveness and relevance of verification in its capacity to promote compliance and to deter, detect and help to address non-compliance.” (A/61/1028, para. 3, p. 10)