The Fourth Meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament

October 8, 2009
Japanese

  1. The fourth meeting of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, co-chaired by Hon. Yoriko Kawaguchi, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, and the Hon. Gareth Evans AO, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Australia, will be held in Hiroshima from October 18 (Sun) to 20 (Tue). (A list of scheduled participants is attached.)
     
  2. The main objective of the International Commission is to issue, prior to the 2010 NPT Review Conference, a report with recommendations compiled to contribute to the success of Conference and advancement toward a world free of nuclear weapons. This fourth meeting is the last meeting to discuss the report. At the meeting, participants are expected to unify their opinions as much as possible, and work towards completing the report by the end of the year with a scheduled announcement date in January 2010.
     
  3. In addition to the meeting, events such as dialogues with civil society, hearing from atomic bomb victims, and visits to the Peace Memorial Museum are also scheduled to be held at the same time. On October 16 (Fri), the co-chairs are scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Mr. Yukio Hatoyama, Prime Minister of Japan, and attend a dinner hosted by Mr. Katsuya Okada, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan.
     
  4. Working with the Government of Australia, the Government of Japan will continue to provide support as the Secretariat of the International Commission so that the Commission will be able to present a path toward a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons as well as measures to maintain and strengthen the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime based on the NPT.

(Reference) The International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament

    The International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation was launched as a joint initiative between Japan and Australia at the Japan-Australia Summit in July 2008. In September 2009, further cooperation between Japan and Australia, based on the report, was agreed upon between Prime Minister Hatoyama and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and between Foreign Minister Okada and Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith. Former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Yoriko Kawaguchi and former Foreign Minister of Australia Gareth Evans serve as co-chairs. The commission deals with the issues of nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. It will also issue a report including specific recommendations to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference that will be held in May 2010. The first meeting was held in Sydney from October 20-21, 2008, the second was held in Washington, DC from February 14-15, 2009, and the third was held in Moscow from June 20-21, 2009. In addition, the Latin American Regional Meeting was held in May 2009 in Santiago, the Northeast Asian Regional Meeting was held in May 2009 Beijing, the Central Asia Regional Meeting was held in September 2009 in Cairo, and the South Asia Regional Meeting in October 2009 in New Delhi.

Participants Scheduled to Attend the Fourth Meeting (Current as of October 8)

  1. International Commission Members
    Ms. Yoriko Kawaguchi (Japan), Co-Chair, former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan
    Mr. Gareth Evans (Australia), Co-Chair, former Foreign Minister of Australia
    Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud (Saudi Arabia), former Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States
    Dr. Aleksei Arbatov (Russia), Scholar-in-Residence at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Moscow Center
    Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland (Norway), former Prime Minister of Norway
    Dr. Frene Noshir Ginwala (South Africa), former Speaker of South Africa’s National Assembly
    Mr. François Heisbourg (France), Chairman of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and Geneva Centre for Security Policy
    Mr. Brajesh Mishra (India), former Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister of India and National Security Adviser
    Gen. Klaus Naumann (Germany), former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee
    Dr. William Perry (United States), former U.S. Secretary of Defense
    Amb. Wang Yingfan (China), former Chinese Permanent Representative to the United Nations
     Baroness. Shirley Williams (United Kingdom), adviser to the Prime Minister on nuclear proliferation issues
    Amb. Wiryono Sastrohandoyo (Indonesia), former Ambassador of Indonesia to Australia
    Dr. Ernesto Zedillo (Mexico), former President of Mexico
     
  2. Advisory Board
    Amb. Nobuyasu Abe (Japan), former UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs
    Mr. John Carlson (Australia), former Director General of Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office
    Ms. Louise Fréchette (Canada), former Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations
    Prof. Lawrence Freedman (UK), Professor at King's College London
    Dr. Shunsuke Kondo (Japan), Chairman of the Japan Atomic Energy Commission
    Dr. Patricia Lewis (United Kingdom), former Director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research
    Prof. Andrea Margelletti (Italy), Chairman of Center for International Studies
    Dr. George Perkovich (United States), Vice-President of Studies and director of the nonproliferation program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
    Gen. V R Raghavan (India), former Director General of Military Operations
    Amb. Yukio Satoh (Japan), Vice Chairman of the Japan Institute of International Affairs
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