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

June 16, 2009
Japanese

The third 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 Moscow from June 20 (Sat) to 21 (Sun).
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 the Conference and from a mid- and long-term point of view aiming at a world free of nuclear weapons. In this third meeting, participants are expected to discuss the outline of the report. During the meeting, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) session will also be held with Mr. Tadatoshi Akiba, the Mayor of Hiroshima, in attendance. On June 22 (Mon) a round table consultation is to be held with representatives from the nuclear energy industry.
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

At the Japan-Australia Summit in July 2008, then-Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd agreed to establish the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament as a joint initiative between Japan and Australia, and former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Yoriko Kawaguchi and former Foreign Minister of Australia Gareth Evans were appointed 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 ahead of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference that will be held in May 2010. Four meetings will be held before the report is presented. The first was held in Sydney from October 20-21, 2008, and the second was held in Washington, DC from February 14-15, 2009. The fourth will be held from October 18-19, 2009 in Japan (Hiroshima). In addition, the Latin American Regional Meeting was held in May 2009 in Santiago, and the Northeast Asian Regional Meeting in Beijing. Other planned regional meetings include Middle East (late September in Cairo) and South Asia (early October in Delhi).

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