UNICRI is pleased to announce a call for contributions for the fifth issue of the 1540 Compass, due for publication in November 2025. The 1540 Compass is an e-journal dedicated to advancing the objectives, awareness, and implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) (UNSCR 1540) and its successor resolutions. The journal aims to be a trusted source of knowledge, analysis, and dialogue for countering the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and their means of delivery by non-State actors.
The fifth issue will explore the theme “Disrupting proliferation in finance and trade”. This theme will explore the crucial role played by robust export and financial controls in preventing the proliferation of WMDs and their means of delivery by non-State actors.
Topics of Interest
We encourage contributions that address the following themes, though submissions are not limited to these topics:
• Best practices for proliferation finance national risk assessments;
• How non-State actors exploit globalization to proliferate, through trade finance, shell companies, and weak export controls;
• Risks and challenges of virtual assets for WMD proliferation;
• Success stories of effective inter-agency mechanisms, involving direct cooperation between, for example, FIUs and customs or export licencing authorities;
• Private sector perspectives: industry obligations, risk-based approaches, and information-sharing between regulators and businesses;
• Intersection of export control regimes with UNSCR 1540;
• Creating effective national control lists and export licensing systems.
Submission Guidelines
We warmly invite representatives of Member States, private sector representatives, researchers, policymakers, and professionals involved in CBRN security to contribute articles, opinion pieces, interviews, case studies, letters, and news updates. Submissions of event notifications related to UNSCR 1540 implementation are also welcome.
Articles, opinion pieces, case studies, and similar contributions: Submissions should not exceed 2,000 words and should focus on sharing best practices, innovative strategies, challenges, and policy recommendations. Each article submission should include an abstract (no more than 200 words), an author biography (no more than 100 words), and an author photo. These items do not count towards the total word count.
Letters-to-the-Editor: Letters should not exceed 750 words and can provide commentary or discussion points on previous issues or recent developments of relevance.
Event notifications and news items: These items should not exceed 150 words and must pertain to events, trainings, workshops, or other relevant activities linked to UNSCR 1540.
Contributions should adhere to the journal’s style, formatting, and citation guidelines as indicated in the UN Editorial Manual, available here: https://www.un.org/dgacm/en/content/editorial-manual.
Language
To ensure a diverse range of contributors, UNICRI will accept contributions in any of the six UN languages (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish). Contributors give their permission for UNICRI to translate the content into English for publication in the 1540 Compass.
Deadline
Interested contributors are invited to send their contributions to UNICRI-1540compass@un.org by 30 September 2025.