Assassination attempt does not deter international parliamentarians' dialogue on strategies to address nuclear dangers.
Related items:
» Full report
» Photo Gallery
» Text of presentations
Summary
On November 7-9, 2003, parliamentarians from around the world gathered in Vancouver for the first international conference of the Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament. The goal of this event was to consider ways that parliamentarians can work collaboratively in order to address dangers arising from nuclear proliferation, as well as the increasingly-threatening policies and practices of the nuclear-weapon States.
The conference opened with the unnerving news that one of its would-be participants, Israeli Member of Parliament Issam Makhoul, had been the target of an assassination attempt only two days earlier. It was suspected that the assassination attempt arose in reaction to Mr Makhoul's criticism of government policies on security issues, including Israel's secrecy over their nuclear weapons program. Fortunately, Mr. Makhoul, along with his family, survived when the bomb planted under their car was detonated.
The assassination attempt did not deter a very positive dialogue amongst parliamentarians from around the globe, including from some of the other proliferation 'hot-spots' such as South Asia and Korea, from the nuclear-weapon States and their allies, and from key countries working for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament such as the members of the New Agenda Coalition.
A key focus of the event was on the comprehensive nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament program proposed at the United Nations General Assembly and the Non-Proliferation Treaty meetings by the New Agenda Coalition, an international coalition of governments including Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, Aotearoa-New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden.
Participants at the conference also considered proposals to:
. create a nuclear weapon free zone in North East Asia
. link existing nuclear weapon free zones into a Southern Hemisphere and Adjacent Areas Nuclear Weapon Free Zone
. begin preparatory work on an international treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons
. collaborate with a new coalition of Mayors for Peace
. criminalize the threat or use of nuclear weapons through domestic legislation
. implement the World Court's decision on the illegality of nuclear weapons through direct action at nuclear weapons facilities
The International Parliamentary Conference, entitled "From Nuclear Dangers to Cooperative Security" was made possible in part through the generous support of its co-covenor, the Simons Foundation.
Roster of Speakers
Presentations by the following speakers (in order of appearance) are available for download here.
Jennifer Allen Simons, President of the Simons Foundation & Executive Director of the Centre for Peace and Disarmament Studies, Liu Institute for Global Issues, University of British Columbia.
The Hon. Lloyd Axworthy, Director and CEO of the Liu Institute for Global Issues, University of British Columbia. Former Foreign Minister of Canada
Congresman Christopher Shays (United States, R-CT), Co-Chair, U.S. House of Representatives Bipartisan Task Force on Non-Proliferation
SUZUKI Tsuneo, President, PNND Japan
Libby Davies, MP (Canada)
Senator Lyn Allison (Australia):
Kim Seong Ho MP (South Korea)
H.E. Nobuyasu Abe, UN Under-Secretary General for Disarmament
Tariq Rauf, International Atomic Energy Agency
Graham Kelly, New Zealand High Commissioner to Canada
Brian Job , Director, Liu Centre for International Relations, University of British Columbia
Peter Weiss , President, Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy,Vice-President of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms
Urs Cipolat , Program Manager of the Middle Powers Initiative
Eloi Glorieux MP (Belgium)
Mani Shankar Aiyar MP (India )
Ambassador Robert T. Grey Jr., Director of the U.S. Bipartisan Security Group
Malcolm Savidge MP (UK), Chair of the UK All-Party Group on Non-Proliferation
Paddy Torsney MP (Canada), Chair Inter-Parliamentary Union
Senator Douglas Roche , (Canada) Chair, Middle Powers Initiative
Matt Robson MP (New Zealand)
Raphael Chegeni MP (Tanzania), Secretary General of the Great Lakes Parliamentary Forum on Peace
Aaron Tovish, Mayors for Peace Campaign
Issam Makhoul MP , (Israel) |
