- Office Home
- About Us
- Key Topics

HomeOffice of Cooperative Threat Reduction...Key Topics – Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction

# 									Key Topics – Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction							

CTR’s **Biosecurity Engagement Program (BEP)** mitigates global biological threats by minimizing the access of proliferator states and non-state actors to biological expertise, materials, and equipment that could be misused to conduct biological weapons (BW) attacks. BEP works to prevent illicit acquisition of weaponizable biological materials or related equipment; detect and disrupt potential BW attack plots; secure life science institutions and especially dangerous pathogens (EDPs); reduce the risk that scientists with dual-use expertise will misuse EDPs; and promote adoption of and compliance with comprehensive international frameworks that advance U.S. biological nonproliferation objectives.

CTR’s **Chemical Security Program (CSP)** partners with law enforcement, government, academic, and industrial communities in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia to strengthen their ability to prevent, detect, and mitigate chemical attacks and the proliferation of weaponizable chemicals. CSP secures chemical weapons-related assets (such as chemicals, equipment, technologies, expertise, and infrastructure) and helps partner-state authorities prevent their transfer to terrorists or proliferator states that may conduct chemical attacks.

CTR’s **Counterproliferation Programs (CP)** team supports the pressure campaign against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK) by training partners to fully implement United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs), detect and halt DPRK-linked sanctions evasion activities, and impede material and financial flows that fund the DPRK’s development of WMD. CP also works to counter the Islamic Republic of Iran’s acquisition of proliferation sensitive technology as well as to enhance the capacity of higher education institutions to prevent the transfer of sensitive technology to proliferator states.

CTR’s **Iraq Program** administers threat reduction activities in partnership with Iraqi government, security, academic, public and veterinary health, and industrial communities to strengthen their ability to prevent WMD attacks. This program secures chemical and biological materials, dual-use equipment, technologies, expertise, and infrastructure to prevent their misuse by terrorists and other nefarious actors in Iraq.

CTR’s **Partnership for Nuclear Threat Reduction (PNTR)** program works to strengthen global norms against nuclear proliferation and to prevent states or terrorist groups from diverting, acquiring, or proliferating nuclear material, technology, or expertise that could be used to attack the United States. PNTR activities include countering nuclear security vulnerabilities posed by proliferator state sales of civilian nuclear energy technology and strengthening nuclear security practices to mitigate threats from radicalized or coerced personnel at sensitive nuclear facilities.

CTR’s **Special Projects (SP)** team seeks to prevent proliferator states from providing advanced conventional weapons to states of proliferation concern that destabilize international security and exert malign influence. SP also seeks to identify and disrupt efforts by resurgent proliferator states to develop and disseminate chemical and biological weapons, deter asymmetric WMD use, and disrupt malign influence campaigns that threaten U.S. national security and nonproliferation interests.

Back to Top