GSI eNewsletter: Ongoing Initiatives and Upcoming Events

Dear friend,

We are pleased to share with you an outline of Global Security Institute’s Ongoing Initiatives. We are further pleased to notify you and encourage your attendance at several substantive, Upcoming Events. (Both the Ongoing Initiatives document and the Upcoming Events are also available in PDF.)

Amongst these events are several workshops of the Middle Powers Initiative and a Global Council meeting of the Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament. We have several high-level events on space security, including a panel co-sponsored by the Secure World Foundation, the Government of Russia and the UN Institute for Disarmament Research in Geneva. Moreover, we are committed to several activities beyond those events organized by GSI, such as a conference at Quinnipiac University, where I am honored, as a keynote speaker, to join President Jimmy Carter and several hibakusha—atomic bomb survivors— at a conference on The Dangers of Nuclear Weapons.

On our website you can find a full listing of these upcoming events, and it is my sincere hope that you can join us for some of them.  Our New York staff very much looks forward to hosting you. Please contact us if you are interested.

» Click here to read about our Ongoing Initiatives
» Click here to learn of our Upcoming Events

Please join us in New York for any or all of our exciting, upcoming events. We look forward to seeing you here.

Sincerely,

Jonathan Granoff
President

» Read about our Ongoing Initiatives in PDF format or scroll down for the HTML version
» Learn about our Upcoming Events in PDF format or scroll down for the HTML version

Global Security Institute
Ongoing Initiatives
2006-2007

• 	High-level ambassadors from the MPI conference in Ottawa, September 2006

  Following successful consultations at the Carter Center in Atlanta and the Clingendael Institute in The Hague with high level participation of senior diplomats of more than 25 governments and former heads of state, the Middle Powers Initiative (MPI) is privileged to have secured governmental co-sponsorship of its ongoing work to preserve and strengthen the nuclear onproliferation/disarmament regime. For example, in September, 2006 at the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in March, 2007 at the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, MPI’s Article VI Forum was hosted by the governments of Canada and Austria respectively. In the near future we look forward to being hosting by the governments of Ireland, Sweden, Japan and Germany. We are proud of this capacity to convene such high level participation to strategize and address practical means of advancing nuclear disarmament.

  Dr. Blix, Amb. Graham and Jonathan Granoff meet with Senator Casey(D-PA)

• Effectively advocates for a strengthened non-proliferation regime with senior Republicans and Democrats in Congress. In partnership with the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission led by Dr. Hans Blix, GSI convened several delegations to Washington through our Bipartisan Security Group (BSG) program, presenting effectively our analysis and policies to leading Senators and Congresspeople addressed meetings of members of the Bipartisan Task force on Non-proliferation and the Center Aisle Caucus. Our contacts with key moderate Republicans and Democrats have grown in strength and in number as a result of these welcomed testimonies. We are pleased with some of the political positions these members are now taking.
• Expanding the network of parliamentarians around the world working for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. The Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament continues to grow quantitatively and qualitatively. With over 500 members in 70 countries, we work to inform, empower and support lawmakers seeking to advance these policies in their respective legislatures. In Belgium and Germany, PNND Members introduce resolutions on tactical nuclear weapons deployed in Europe. These resolutions were adopted. PNND Update is published in several languages on a regular basis, and, in 2006, we launched the German and Japanese versions of the PNND website.
• Effectively engages world leaders to work for nuclear disarmament. As part of our Disarmament and Peace Education program, we work continually with Nobel Peace Laureates and other similar cultural leaders to advance the issue of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. For example, several GSI leaders have represented the International Peace Bureau (a Nobel Laureate organization) at Peace Laureate Summits regularly since 2002 and just last November, GSI leaders contributed significantly to the creation and issuance of “The Rome Declaration,” a call for nuclear disarmament, the first such statement on this issue from these morally authoritative world figures.
  

  	Jonathan Granoff and Douglas Roche, working with the Nobel Laureates to craft their statement calling for abolition in Rome, 2006

• Contributes to advancing the role of the United Nations in disarmament worldwide. Our successful advocacy at the highest levels of the UN helped to ensure that the Office for Disarmament Affairs retained its stature and budgetary levels in the new administration of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. We continue our effective working relationship with the Office of the Secretary-General and the Office of Ambassador Sergio Q. Duarte, the new High Representative and Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs.
• Helped organize and testified at the first Congressional hearing of the decade focused entirely on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. On September 26, 2006, GSI President Jonathan Granoff, BSG Chairman Ambassador Thomas Graham and GSI Advisory Board member Dr. Frank von Hippel testified at the hearings titled, “Weapons of Mass Destruction: Current Nuclear Proliferation Challenges.”
• Advances a cooperative security regime in outer space. Through our new project with the Secure World Foundation, GSI has convened several high-level panels and informal consultations and workshops, allowing governments to discuss in-depth ways of strengthening the rule of law in outer space and preventing its weaponization. No other forum to discuss this critical issue of global security currently exists.
• Provides the United Nations leadership with creative, new ideas. As one of only three non-governmental experts, GSI testified to the Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, on the need for a cooperative security regime, based on the rule of law, in outer space. The Board adopted our recommendation that the Secretary-General convene a high level panel to assess the legal and security needs of our growing dependence on outer space and we continue to further advance this idea with Member States.
  
  

  Informal lunchtime consultation on space security in our New York office February 9, 2007

• Contributes substantive analysis to major and specialized media. In addition to the dozens of policy papers circulated at the United Nations, in Washington and in foreign ministries around the world, GSI leadership published dozens of op/eds and other articles on disarmament and international security in online blogs, legal journals and major newspapers. We are regularly interviewed by radio and print journalists as credible, authoritative experts on international security and arms control, including NPR, BBC, and the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Network.
• Regularly engages and empowers young people. In addition to our exciting internship programs in New York, Washington, Philadelphia and New Zealand, GSI leadership continually works with students and young activists across the world, encouraging new leadership and promoting new thinking on nuclear weapons elimination through innovative educational activities. In 2006, GSI participated in almost a dozen conferences and workshops aimed at youth, including the Dropping Knowledge forum in Berlin, several Model UN Conferences in Philadelphia and at churches and universities across the US.
• Opened dynamic New York office. Serving as the headquarters for our Middle Powers Initiative program, our new offices in New York City– located just three blocks from the United Nations– serve as a hub of activity for the peace and security community in New York. We have hosted dozens of formal and informal sessions and seminars in our large and magnificently appointed conference room. We are sharing the space with the Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy, Global Action to Prevent War and the Jane Goodall Institute.
  

  	High-level delegation to Canada: Sen. Roche, Prime Minister Campbell, Amb. Graham and Jonathan Granoff

• Regularly works with the highest-level decision makers in key middle power countries. For example, the Rt. Hon. Kim Campbell, former Prime Minister of Canada and GSI Advisory Board member successfully led MPI’s fifth high-level delegation to the government of Canada since 1998. The delegation included MPI Chairman the Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C., BSG Chairman Ambassador Thomas Graham, and GSI President Jonathan Granoff. The delegation was received by the Prime Minister, the Deputy Foreign Minister and the National Defence Minister. They presented an MPI Briefing Paper prepared especially for the government of Canada. In addition, the delegation formally testified before the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee. Similar delegations have been sent to Germany, Norway, Japan, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

 

 

GSI events are open to the public unless otherwise indicated. Registration may be required.

September 26-27
Albert Schweitzer’s Legacy: The Dangers of Nuclear Weapons
Quinnipiac University Alumni Hall
Hampden, Connecticut
8:00 p.m.

Former President Jimmy Carter will deliver the opening address on September 26th.
Attendance by invitation only.

Former United States President Jimmy Carter will deliver the opening address (attendance by invitation only) on September 26th, and the event will culminate on September 27th with a keynote from Jonathan Granoff, President of the Global Security Institute followed by a dialogue with two atomic bomb survivors: Kohta Kiya, Secretary-General of Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Survivors Network, and Hirotami Yamada, Secretary-General of Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Survivors Network.

For More Information on the Albert Schweitzer Institute: https://www.quinnipiac.edu/x153.xml
For More Information on the Conference: https://calendar.quinnipiac.edu/NewEvents.aspx?id=56928
Contact: David Ives, (203) 582-3144

October 3- 7
American Bar Association (ABA) International Law Section Fall Meeting
Grosvenor Hotel
London, United Kingdom

October 5
ABA Showcase Presentation with Bob Geldof (invited)
and Jonathan Granoff
Grovesnor Hotel
London
4:00-5:30 p.m.

Jonathan Granoff, Co-Chair of the American Bar Association’s Blue Ribbon Task Force on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Special Advisor to the ABA’s International Law Section Committee on National Security, will hold a special Showcase Dialogue with Bob Geldof .

Attendance by registration only

For more information, please see the ABA website: https://www.abanet.org/intlaw/fall07/home.html

October 9
“Global Conscience” Book Launch
UN Bookstore
New York
1:00 p.m.

Middle Powers Initiative Chairman Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C., will launch his new book, “Global Conscience” at the United Nations Bookshop at the United Nations in New York. Senator Roche is one of the foremost experts and the prolific author of eighteen books on the intersection of ethics and politics.

For a full listing of Senator Roche’s publications and books, visit his website: https://www.douglasroche.ca/

October 10
Towards 2010: Priorities for NPT Consensus*
Conference Room 6 of the United Nations
New York
1:00-2:45 p.m.

This Middle Powers Initiative (MPI) will hold a seminar based on its analysis and recommendations published in the MPI briefing paper, “Towards 2010: Priorities for NPT Consensus.”  Senior diplomats from over 25 middle power countries, non-governmental experts and distinguished members of civil society will address the MPI recommendations for moving forward to preserve and strengthen the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Read “Towards 2010: Priorities for NPT Consensus,” at https://www.gsinstitute.org/mpi/docs/Towards_2010.pdf

For more information, visit the MPI website at: www.middlepowers.org

October 11
Security through a Nuclear Weapon-Free World* (tentative title)
Conference Room 4 of the United Nations
New York
1:15-2:45 p.m.

The Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament (PNND), the Middle Powers Initiative and the Global Security Institute will host a presentation at the United Nations in New York entitled “Security through a Nuclear Weapon-Free World”. Parliamentarians, senior diplomats and civil society experts from around the world will participate.

For more information, see the PNND website: www.pnnd.org

Reception for UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Sergio Duarte
GSI/MPI Office
675 Third Avenue (corner of 42nd street), Suite 315

From 6-8 p.m., the Global Security Institute, the Middle Powers Initiative and the Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament will host a reception honoring H.E. Mr. Sergio Duarte, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs and former President of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. 

Attendance by RSVP only. Business attire is required.

GSI supporters interested in attending should contact the New York office at mpi-ny@gsinstitute.org or +1 (646) 289-5170

October 12
PNND Global Council Meeting
GSI/MPI Office, 675 Third Avenue (corner of 42nd street), Suite 315
9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Seminar featuring Senator Roméo Dallaire
GSI/MPI Office, 675 Third Avenue (corner of 42nd street), Suite 315
New York
1:15-2:45 p.m.

Reception for the PNND Council and the Middle Powers Initiative
6 p.m.

Attendance at all October 12 events is by invitation only.  

For more information, visit the PNND website or read PNND Update #18, available in English, French, Spanish and German at: www.pnnd.org .

October 15  
Exploring Cooperative Approaches to Security in Space*
Conference Room 4 of the United Nations
New York
1:15-2:45 p.m.

The Global Security Institute will co-sponsor a panel event with the Secure World Foundation, the Government of Russia and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). Confirmed speakers include: Representatives from the Government of Russia, Ambassador Thomas Graham, Chairman of the Bipartisan Security Group, and Dr. Patricia Lewis, Director of UNIDIR. 

Read more about our partner, Secure World Foundation at: https://secureworldfoundation.org
 
October 17
Beyond the US –Russia treaties of START/SORT
GSI/MPI Office, 675 Third Avenue (corner of 42nd street), Suite 315
New York
1:15-2:45 p.m.

The Middle Powers Initiative will host a seminar on the future of US-Russian bilateral reductions after the expiration of the Strategic Arms Reduction (START) and Strategic Offensive Arms Reductions (SORT) treaties. Senior diplomats, non-governmental experts and distinguished members of civil society will participate.

Attendance is by registration only.

October 22
“Final Frontier” Film Presentation and Dialogue at the UN*
Conference Room 4 of the United Nations
New York
1:00 – 3:00 p.m.

The Global Security Institute and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs will co-sponsor the screening of “Final Frontier”, which highlights the issue of space weaponization from the perspective of the youth of today.  This is the second UN screening for the 14-year-old filmmakers Stephen Sotor and Trace Gaynor, who showed their film, “Genie in a Bottle: Unleashed,” at the 2005 NPT Review Conference.  Following the film, Mr. Granoff will moderate a dialogue with the filmmakers.

October 23
Strategies for Advancing Cooperative Security in Space
GSI Office, 675 Third Avenue (corner of 42nd street), Suite 315
New York
1:15-3:00 p.m.

GSI will hold an informal workshop in its New York office as a follow-on to the October 15th event on space security.  At this lunchtime, off-the-record event, senior diplomats from relevant countries will have the opportunity to strategize on various ways of moving the cooperative regime in space forward.  Dr. Craig Eisendrath (https://www.allworth.com/category_s/65.htm ), co-author of the new book, “War in Heaven: The Arms Race in Outer Space” will give the opening presentation.

Attendance is by registration only
 
October 24  
Security and the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
GSI/MPI Office, 675 Third Avenue (corner of 42nd street), Suite 315
New York
1:15-2:45 p.m.

The Middle Powers Initiative will hold a private seminar on nuclear fuel cycle issues. Senior diplomats, non-governmental experts, and distinguished members of civil society will participate.

Attendance is by registration only

November 1-4
Universal Forum of Cultures
Monterrey Forum 2007
Monterrey, Mexico

Jonathan Granoff, a Member of the World Wisdom Council, will deliver a presentation at the Council’s next Forum, held in Monterrey, Mexico.  The Forum is held every four years and is hosted by the Club of Budapest. The WWC brings together leaders from around the globe who work to constructively change the world by offering guidance for developing the individual and collective wisdom that empowers action in the local and global economic, social and ecological environment. Other Members of the WWC include Dr. Jane Goodall and Nobel Laureates Mikhail Gorbachev and Wangari Maathai.

More information can be found at: https://www.monterreyforum2007.org/?lang=en

More Information on the World Wisdom Council can be found at: https://www.clubofbudapest.org/wwc.php

November 30
Fortune Forum Summit 2007
The Royal Courts of Justice
London, United Kingdom

Former United States Vice-President Al Gore will give the keynote address at the 2nd Annual Fortune Forum. As a Senior Advisor to the Forum, Jonathan Granoff will play an active role in this year’s Forum event.

For more information about the Forum: https://www.fortuneforum.org/the-event.htm

December 13-15
8th Annual Summit of the Nobel Peace Laureates
Campodiglio
Rome, Italy

The 8th Annual Summit of the Nobel Laureates and Laureate Organizations will be held at the Campodiglio in Rome.  The theme, “The Next Generation,” will focus on today’s youth.  This will be Jonathan Granoff’s sixth active participation in the Nobel Summits, where he represents the Nobel Laureate organization, the International Peace Bureau.
For more information, please visit www.nobelforpeace.org

* Please note that for public events held in the UN, a UN Visitor’s Pass must be obtained. Please contact the New York Office for more information

For more information or to register for the Global Security Institute, Middle Powers Initiative or Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament events, please contact the New York Office at 646-289-5170 or via e-mail at gsi-ny@gsinstitute.org