Spring eNewsletter: Table of Contents

May 30, 2008

The Global Security Institute (GSI) is pleased to announce that we have a new location for the New York office, which also serves as headquarters for the Middle Powers Initiative (MPI).   

 
   

We remain very much grateful to Helena Durst and the Durst Organization for providing us with our first home in New York.  The time has come to move on, and we are eager to inch even closer to the United Nations, the focus of much of our advocacy.

Please note in your records that the new address for MPI and the GSI NY staff is:

866 United Nations Plaza
Suite 4050
New York, NY 10017

We look forward to continuing to hold various workshops, seminars, briefings and receptions in our new space, and to seeing you there.

– The Global Security Institute

Table of Contents (click to jump)

DPE Activities

  • India Celebrates 20 years of the Rajiv Gandhi Plan
  • Overcoming Nuclear Dangers Conference, Harvard University
  • GSI Board Member Christie Brinkley Receives Smart Cookie Award from Condé Nast
  • Thinking Outside the Bomb: Action on nuclear weapons, the environment and health
  • California State University lecture: Religious, ethical and legal dimensions of WMD
  • Nobel Peace Laureates for a Better World, Haverford College
  • Educating Students at the Model United Nations, New York
  • American Bar Association Showcase Presentation with Richard Belzer
  • Israeli Civil Society Experts Reach Out to International Community

MPI Activities

  • Article VI Forum, Dublin
  • Advancing a Nuclear Weapons-Free NATO
  • MPI Events at the NPT PrepCom, Geneva
  • MPI Chairman’s Address to the IPPNW Congress, New Delhi
  • Expert Seminar in Canada

BSG Activities

  • Letter to Congress Opposing RRW
  • US-India deal: Advocacy for responsibility in nuclear trade
  • Advocating for a High-Level Panel on Space Security
  • Statement on Wall Street Journal op/ed

PNND Activities

  • NATO Parliamentary Assembly event
  • PNND Co-Presidents’ Statement on International Women’s Day
  • Pugwash, Parliamentarians and Political Will, July 10-12 2008
  • PNND in Africa

GSI In the Media

  • Jonathan Granoff on Air America Radio
  • Radio, print and video features


DPE Activities

India Celebrates 20 Years of the Rajiv Gandhi Plan

 

Indian Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh

 

Towards a World Free of Nuclear Weapons is the title of a high level conference in India with the participation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pranab Mukherjee. 

» Click here for an article from Thaindian news

The two-day international conference is being held in New Delhi on June 9 to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Rajiv Gandhi Plan to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Vice-President Hamid Ansari and UN High Representative for Disarmament Sergio de Queiroz Duarte will give presentations. MPI Chaiman Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C and GSI President Jonathan Granoff are deeply honored by the opportunity to give plenary addresses as well.

» Click here for a full conference program

Overcoming Nuclear Danger conference at Harvard University

  Harvard conference
 

To mark the 20th anniversary of the signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, GSI Adviser Mikhail Gorbachev and the World Political Forum, in conjunction with Graham Allison and the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs and Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, held an international conference entitled, “Overcoming Nuclear Danger.”

GSI President Jonathan Granoff was one of the 60+ experts from Russia, the United States and other nations who came together to examine the historical lessons of the 1987 INF Treaty and to explore ways to leverage those lessons in the future to eliminate nuclear threats.

At the of initiation of President Gorbachev, a working group was created to craft policy recommendations to the new presidents of the United States and Russia to be delivered after the US elections. GSI will remain actively engaged in this very significant process.

» Read the report by Brigadier General (ret.) Kevin Ryan of the Belfer Center
» Read “Nuclear Disarmament: Problems and Prospects,” the paper published in Russia in Global Affairs, by Colonel General (ret.) Victor Yesin, based on materials presented at the conference
» Click here for a full participants list

GSI Board Member Christie Brinkley Receives Smart Cookie Award from Condé Nast

 
Christie Brinkley
 

photo courtesy of Condé Nast  

On April 21, Christie Brinkley was one of seven recipients of the 2008 Smart Cookie Award from Cookie Magazine for her outstanding activism in making a safer, saner, nuclear-free world. Other recipients included Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Karenna Gore Schiff, Kim Raver, Lee Woodruff, Areva Martin and Roni Lomeli.

Christie’s daughter, Alexa, presented her with the award.

In her acceptance speech, Christie said, “If my children understand and live by this message of compassion and peace, I will have succeeded a a mom. If the world understands GSI’s message, our kids will inherit a world of peace where human dignity and he sanctity of all life becomes a reality.”

» Watch Christie discuss her work with GSI and the Tooth Fairy Project
» Watch Christie’s acceptance speech
» Watch Christie and Alexa’s red carpet video

Thinking Outside the Bomb: Action on nuclear weapons, the environment and health

PNA  
   

On May 10, Several GSI leaders participated in a one-day conference organized by the Project for Nuclear Awareness, an allied organization of the Global Security Institute, in Philadelphia.

Over a dozen partnering groups co-sponsored this multidisciplinary conference, which sought to “connect the dots” on the environment, nuclear weapons, and global action on health. Experts, activists, advocates, and interested citizens gathered together in Philadelphia for a critically-important discussion for Earth’s future. 

GSI President Jonathan Granoff delivered a keynote address, along with Bob Edgar of Common Cause and Jonathan Schell, the 2008 Haas Peace Award recipient. Other notable speakers included Amb. Thomas Graham, Chairman of the Bipartisan Security Group, Dr. Craig Eisendrath, GSI Development Director, and Joseph Cirincione, President of the Ploughshares Fund.

» For more information, see www.projectfornuclearawareness.org

California State University Lecture: Religious, Ethical and Legal Dimensions of WMD

 
 

Audrey Kitagawa and Jonathan Granoff, speaking at the Monterrey Forum 2007

On Tuesday, April 29, GSI President Jonathan Granoff delivered an address at a special event co-sponsored by the Global Village Forum and California State University at Northridge entitled, “Weapons of Mass Destruction: Religious, Ethical and Legal Dimensions of an unignorable imperative.” Ms. Audrey Kitagawa, Former Advisor to the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and Dr. Amani Ismail, Assistant Professor of Journalism at CSUN, also presented. In addition, world-renowned violinist Lili Haydn (see: https://www.lilihaydn.com/) delivered a performance.

Nobel Peace Laureates for a Better World

 

Haverford College

 

On April 9th, Haverford College held a special event to highlight the work of the Nobel Laureate Summit held in Rome last year. The event featured Mary Ellen McNish, representative of the Nobel Peace Laureate organization the American Friends Service Committee, and Jonathan Granoff, representative of the Nobel Peace Laureate organization, the International Peace Bureau.

» Read GSI Board of Directors Member Christie Brinkley’s report on the events in Rome
» Click here for Charter for a World without Violence, the statement presented by the Nobel Laureates at their final press conference
» Click here for Freedom from the Scourge of War, Jonathan Granoff’s second presentation to the Summit
» Read the IPB report of the Summit

Educating Students at the Model UN

GSI Senior Officer Rhianna Tyson spoke on two expert panels on nuclear disarmament organized by the World Federation of United Nations Associations. These panels were held during the gatherings of the Model United Nations, held in New York City on March 18-22 and April 22-26.

  GSI Senior Officer Rhianna Tyson at the Model UN
 

Senior Officer Rhianna Tyson speaks with Israeli and Korean students at the Model United Nations

At the March 20th event, Ms. Tyson was joined by United Nations Senior Political Affairs Officer Dr. Randy Rydell and Dr. John Burroughs, Executive Director of the Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy. At the April 24th event, she and Dr. Rydell were joined by Ambassador Slavi Pachovski, former Permanent Representative of Bulgaria to the United Nations.

Hundreds of the 3000+ students gathered at the conference participated in the panels on nuclear disarmament.

» Read the full text of Ms. Tyson’s presentation
» Learn more about the Model United Nations
» Read about WFUNA’s Disarmament Campaign

ABA Showcase Presentation with Richard Belzer

Richard Belzer and Jonathan Granoff  

Jonathan Granoff and Richard Belzer at the American Bar Association Showcase Presentation
April 4, 2008

 

On April 4, Jonathan Granoff hosted the Showcase Presentation at the American Bar Association’s International Law Section’s annual meeting, held in New York City. The Showcase Presentation consisted of an informal, riveting dialogue between the GSI President and and actor/comedian/political blogger Richard Belzer.

This was the fourth such occasion for Mr. Granoff, who is also Co-Chair of the ABA’s International Law Section, to host a Showcase Presentation. Previous showcases have featured Dr. Hans Blix, Ambassador Thomas Graham, Ted Sorensen, Robert McNamara, Dr. Jane Goodall, and, most recently, Sir Bob Geldof.

» Click here for an audio of the dialogue with Richard Belzer
» Click here for a video of the dialogue with Ted Sorensen and Robert McNamara.

Israeli Civil Society Experts Reach Out to International Community

For the first time in the history of meetings of States parties to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, a delegation of Israeli civil society experts participated in the PrepCom meeting, held in Geneva, April 28 – May 9. On May 5, the delegation organized a well-attended panel event, to discuss the ways in which Israeli civil society address issues of nuclearism, in their country, in their media and in the region.

  Rhianna Tyson and Merav Datan
 

GSI Senior Officer Rhianna Tyson and
GP MidEast Political Adviser Merav Datan

GSI Senior Officer Rhianna Tyson chaired the panel event, which was organized and co-sponsored by GP Med. It was held the day before the PrepCom’s day-long session devoted entirely to the issue of the Middle East, a crucial sticking point that many predict will determine, in large part, the success of the 2010 Review Conference.

Over 30 delegates to the PrepCom attended the event. The ensuing discussion was lively, substantive and full of inquisitive and useful comments and questions, reflecting a real desire on the part of the international community to constructively engage with the citizens of Israel. As Tyson commented in her opening remarks, “It is ironic that we, as well-informed activists and government representatives working to make the world more secure, know so little of civil society in Israel and other countries in the region, when it is the regional civil society that will build the bridges between the different governments’ absolutist positions that perpetuate the current, intractable and increasingly dangerous deadlock.  It is, I believe, an empowered and engaged Israeli, Arab and Persian civil society, supported by the civil society of the international community, that possess the key to a secure future for us all.” 

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Middle Powers Initiative Activities

Article VI Forum, Dublin

From March 29-30, 2008, the Middle Powers Initiative (MPI) held the fifth meeting of the Article VI Forum (A6F) in Dublin, Ireland, with the co-sponsorship of the Government of the Republic of Ireland. High-level representatives from 19 key governments actively participated, including the Foreign Minister H.E. Dermot Ahern.

 

Closing session of the Article VI Forum (L-R): GSI President Jonathan Granoff, MPI Chairman Douglas Roche, MPI Director Jim Wurst, and
Tariq Rauf of the IAEA

 

The meeting benefited from the presentations from a formidable group of non-governmental and intergovernmental experts, including: Dr. Steven Miller of the Belfer Center at Harvard University; Dr. Philip Coyle of the Center for Defense Information; H.E. Mr. Jan Kavan, former Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic; Mr. Tariq Rauf of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Dr. John Burroughs of the Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy; Dr. Rebecca Johnson of the Acronym Institute and many others. 

In April, MPI released a Summary Report of the conference. A full report will be published in June, 2008.

The immediate feedback from participants was extraordinary.  In his closing intervention, for instance, Ambassador Alfredo Labbé of Chile referred to the Article VI Forum as “a pilgrimage to the sources of the moral basis of what we do at the United Nations… a pilgrimage to the sources of decency.”  He continued to state that “these meetings have provided us all with the possibility to exchange views… the possibility to reaffirm our faith in the long term goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. For this, I and my country are very thankful, and we encourage you to keep on the same way and the same path.”

 
 

Ambassador Alfredo Labbé

Echoing these sentiments, Ambassador Johannes Landman of the Netherlands declared that, “I am always impressed by the eloquence of Jonathan Granoff, always a source of inspiration.” He continued to posit that, as a diplomat, “to be convincing to your superiors, you need to have very good arguments. I must say that I have been very inspired.  I have used the information from our Forum meetings in the past and am continuing to do so. This gathering certainly pays off.”  Acknowledging that the priorities identified through the A6F process mirror those advanced through the Wall Street Journal op/eds, Landman asserted that, “…we definitely are a reflection of a change of the mood internationally, and, in respect to arms control and disarmament, arms control and disarmament is on its way back.” 

Ambassador Lucia Fiori of Italy, a first time participant in the A6F, offered that she “can 100 percent subscribe to everything that has been said here in today’s conclusion.”  Directly responding to Senator Roche’s summary and suggestions of moving the agenda forward, she agreed that the program advanced by A6F “is sound and reasonable. Your strategy can be fully successful.” 

Re-energized from Dublin, the Global Security Institute is committed to holding two more Article VI Forum consultations next year—Germany has already offered to host the next one in January in Berlin.  The final conference will be held in 2010 at the Carter Center in Atlanta, at the invitation of President Carter, just prior to the Review Conference in May.  

» Click here to read the Summary Report
» Click here for a photo gallery
» Click here for the Briefing Paper, “Back from the Margins: The centrality of nuclear disarmament”

Advancing a Nuclear Weapons-Free NATO

 
   

In January, MPI published a brief arguing that a NATO Strategic Concept that still includes nuclear weapons is contrary to the NPT and irrelevant to modern strategic concerns. “Visible Intent: NATO’s Responsibility to Nuclear Disarmament” says that non-nuclear weapon NATO states should work to bring NATO’s nuclear weapons policy into accordance with NPT commitments and international law. NATO policy should be revised at a minimum to bar the use of nuclear weapons except in response to a confirmed nuclear detonation and more affirmatively to envisage the non-use of nuclear weapons in all circumstances. NATO states should also stop hosting US nuclear weapons in five European NATO states under “nuclear sharing” arrangements that enable delivery of nuclear weapons by NPT “non-nuclear weapon states.” The brief also calls on non-nuclear NATO states to focus attention on the need to prevent the development of missile defenses from impeding nuclear arms reductions.

 
 
(L-R): Hallgeir Langeland, MP: Anette Trettebergstuen, MP; Ågot Valle, MP; Marit Nybakk, MP; DR; Stine Rødmyr and Anne Brinch Skaara, Nei til Atomvåpen

Since its publication, MPI has presented the brief to foreign ministry officials and parliamentarians in Germany, Norway, Spain, Canada and the United Kingdom. The response we have received, coupled with other relevant events, demonstrate the timeliness of this brief and the resonance of the arguments we make. Seen in the context of the NPT review process, the two NATO summits (2008 and 2009), the pending Norwegian White Paper on nuclear weapons policy, and the attention brought to nuclear issues by the Wall Street Journal op-eds, there is a new urgency for MPI to pursue this course as part of our mission to promote the elimination of nuclear weapons.

MPI at the NPT PrepCom, Geneva

MPI was once again active at the preparatory committee (PrepCom) meeting of States parties to the 2010 NPT Review Conference. The second session of the PrepCom took place in Geneva, April 28 – May 9. MPI concentrated on three events that highlighted MPI’s bridge-building mandate and its focus on promoting nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament as a means of preserving the NPT:

 

Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko, Chairman of the
2008 PrepCom

 
  • MPI hosted a reception for the Chairman of the second PrepCom, Ambassador Volodymyr Yelchenko on Sunday, April 27, the day before the opening of the PrepCom. Ms. Uta Zapf, MP, Co-President of PNND, introduced Amb. Yelchenko; Mr. Alyn Ware, a member of the MPI Executive Committee, hosted the event. The reception was well-attended by a formidable cross-section of diplomats, UN officials and NGOs involved in the PrepCom, and as such, it provided a unique opportunity for these three groups to interact in an informal setting.
  • MPI held a panel to brief PrepCom delegates on the Article VI Forum, and in particular, to report on the Dublin A6F, entitled NPT: Pathfinder to a Nuclear Weapons-Free World. (See above) The consultation sought to link the vision of the abolition of nuclear weapons with the need to reconnect with the necessary practical measures to reach that goal.  The panel reported on the Forum and the issues raised as they relate to the NPT preparatory process and the 2010 Review Conference. The May 6 event featured Mr. Jim Wurst, the Program Director of MPI, and Mr. James C. O’Shea, the Deputy Permanent Representative of Ireland to the Conference on Disarmament. GSI Senior Officer, Ms. Rhianna Tyson, chaired the event.
  •  
     

    Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba

    Along with Mayors for Peace, MPI organized a seminar entitled, 2010-2020: From Survival to Success. The panel was designed to examine intermediate disarmament campaigns and some of the long-term initiatives, including the Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan and the drive for a Nuclear Weapons Convention. Wurst discussed the Article VI Forum in the context of viability of the NPT (the “2010” part of the program) and Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima, the President of Mayors for Peace and MPI International Steering Committee member, discussed  the Hiroshima-Nagasaki protocol (the “2020” part of the program). The April 30 event was sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Mexico to the United Nations.

MPI will publish a comprehensive analysis of the PrepCom in June.

MPI Chairman’s Address to the IPPNW Congress

 

Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C. with IPPNW Vice President Shri M. Hamid Ansari of India

photo credit: Roman Sandoz, IPPNW

 

MPI Chairman Douglas Roche, O.C., delivered an address to the 18th World Congress of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, held in New Delhi, March 9, 2008. IPPNW is a Nobel Laureate Organization and an MPI Member Organization.

Physicians have a special role in the growth of what Senator Roche calls a “global conscience,” an emerging appreciation of “the need for a strengthened international legal order, a reformed United Nations, and genuine participatory democracy… Global conscience keeps driving us forward to a world of greater care and mutual respect. Violence, war, greed still assault us. But the body of humanity, elevated in its spirit, mind and capacity to act, grows stronger. The stirring and movement of this body provides new hope for humanity.”

» Read the full text of Senator Roche’s address, “The 21st Century Challenge: Ending Nuclear Weapons and Climate Change”

MPI Co-Sponsors Expert Seminar in Canada

On February 3-4, MPI co-sponsored a special seminar in Ottawa under the theme, “Restoring Canada’s Nuclear Disarmament Leadership.” 20 nuclear disarmament experts convened in the Canadian capital and endorsed a statement calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons through an enforceable agreement. MPI was one of six co-sponsoring groups, including Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the Rideau Institute, the Simons Foundation, Canadian Pugwash Group and Physicians for Global Survival.

 
   

The co-sponsors called for a 6 point agenda to be undertaken by the Canadian Government, whose previous leading role in working for the elimination of nuclear weapons has been cast into doubt under the Harper government. This agenda calls for:

  1. The Prime Minister to unambiguously affirm the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons;
  2. Re-energized Canadian diplomacy to produce action on priority, actionable, and universally agreed steps toward nuclear elimination including de-alerting, CTBT ratification, verified reductions etc.;
  3. Canadian work to review NATO nuclear policy and challenge the alliance to remove, and dismantle, all US tactical nuclear weapons from the territories of non-nuclear weapon states;
  4. The integration of India, Israel and Pakistan in the disarmament and non-proliferation mainstream;
  5. Canada, as a prominent supplier of uranium and technologies for civilian nuclear power, to be a leader in the pursuit of multilateral control over all weapons-sensitive elements of the nuclear fuel cycle;
  6. Canada to mobilize political and diplomatic resources to continue efforts to enhance the NPT’s administrative, diplomatic, and enforcement mechanisms so that NPT states can more effectively address non-compliance issues.

» Read the report on the seminar
» Read the Media Advisory of the co-sponsors

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Bipartisan Security Group Activities

Letter to Congress Opposing RRW

On November 29th, the Bipartisan Security Group joined 30 organizations in sending a letter to Senator Byron Dorgan opposing the Reliable Replacement Warhead. 

» Read the letter to Senator Dorgan

US-India deal: Advocacy for responsibility in nuclear trade

 

photo from whitehouse.gov

 

The Bipartisan Security Group advocated vigorously that the US-India civil nuclear cooperation agreement should include stipulations regarding entry-into-force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and a negotiated, verifiable Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty.  Additionally, BSG joined 22 other DC organizations in creating the Campaign for Responsibility in Nuclear Trade, to which Ambassador Robert Grey served as a principle advisor.  

BSG engaged in numerous consultations on Captiol Hill regarding the US-India deal and its potential to undermine the international norm against rewarding nuclear weapons proliferation.

» Read the press release from the Campaign for Responsibility in Nuclear Trade

Advocacy for a High-Level Panel on Space Security

Last summer, in a testimony to the Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, GSI President Jonathan Granoff appealed to the office of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to create a high-level panel of experts that would examine the cooperative, peaceful uses of outer space.  Through the positive relationships developed by the Bipartisan Security Group with members of Congress, the BSG were able to get letters from Representatives and Senators, including Senator Kerry (D-MA), Senator Hagel (R-NE) and Congressman Markey (D-MA), to the Secretary-General endorsing this plan.

Statement on WSJ Op/Ed

 
   

On January 21st, BSG Chairman Amb. Thomas Graham released a statement praising the second Wall Street Journal op/ed from Kissinger, Schultz, Nunn, and Perry which outlines a path to a world free from nuclear weapons.

» Read Ambassador Graham’s statement
» Read the January 15 WSJ op/ed, “Toward a Nuclear-Free World”

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PNND Activities

NATO Parliamentary Assembly event

 

PNND Co-President
Uta Zapf,
Member of the Bundestag

 

The upcoming NATO Parliamentary Assembly will be an important occasion for parliamentarians of the alliance to use their own particular insights and expertise to help shape the agenda and desired outcome of the 2009 NATO Summit, where they will revise their Strategic Concept.

For this reason, the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament and the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation are hosting a panel discussion which is being held during the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Berlin on May 25 2008 at the German Bundestag.

Two nuclear weapons experts, Dr. Hans M. Kristensen of the Federation of American Scientists and Martin Butcher of the Acronym Institute will lead off the discussion together with Bärbel Dieckman, Mayor of the city of Bonn and a member of the worldwide organization Mayors for Peace.

» Click here for more information

PNND Statement on International Women’s Day

PNND Co-Presidents Uta Zapf MdB (Germany), Hon. Marian Hobbs MP (New Zealand), Senator Abacca Anjain Maddison (Marshall Islands), Alexa McDonough MP (Canada) and Mikyung Lee (South Korea) issued a statement, “The priority of peace and disarmament for the global community,” to commemorate International Women’s Day for Disarmament on May 24.

In the statement, the PNND Co-Presidents urged world leaders to “rededicate themselves to implementing the goals of the United Nations for a world of peace and security through disarmament, the non-violent resolution of conflicts and the reallocation of resources from military budgets to meet social and development goals.”

» Read the IWD Statement

Pugwash, Parliamentarians and Political Will: Advancing the Agenda for Abolition

From July 10-12, legislators from around the world will join with disarmament experts at the Thinkers Lodge in Pugwash in an unprecedented meeting to develop strategies for building the political will necessary to take bold steps for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament leading to the abolition of nuclear weapons and the achievement of a nuclear weapons free world.

 
 

Senator Roche, Senator Dallaire and Paolo Cotta Ramusino at the Pugwash Conference, July 2007

With over 500 legislators from 70 countries, the PNND network is well-placed to make a significant contribution to advancing the nuclear abolition agenda.  This conference and board meeting will provide an opportunity to develop concrete and effective plans.

Participants include: Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala, President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs; PNND Co-Presidents MP Marian Hobbs, MP Alexa McDonough, MP Mikyung Lee, MdB Uta Zapf, and Senator Abacca Anjain Maddison; PNND Special Representative Senator Roméo Dallaire, Former Commander of the UN Forces in Rwanda; Senator Douglas Roche, Chairman of the Middle Powers Initiative; and H.E. Sergio Duarte, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.

For more information, contact PNND Global Coordinator Alyn Ware.

PNND in Africa

PNND Assistant Global Coordinator Kaspar Beech, along with key PNND members, Senator David Coltart of Zimbabwe and Hon. Dr. Raphael Chegeni of Tanzania, undertook an extensive tour of Africa to promote the African Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (Pelindaba Treaty).

Namburete and Beech  

PNND Member Eduardo Namburete and PNND Assistant Global Coordinator Kaspar Beech

 

The PNND delegation met with legislators in Burundi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia, Angola, Malawi. Subsequently, Mozambique ratified the Pelindaba Treaty on the 26th of March 2008 and other countries, such as Burundi, Malawi and Zambia, began the ratification process or indicated they would also ratify the treaty. Also as a result of these efforts, a dozen more parliamentarians joined the PNND network.

Since its signature by 51 of the 53 African States in 1996, only 23 States have ratified it. However the treaty cannot enter-into-force until a minimum of 28 ratifications has been received by the African Union, the treaty initiator and depository. Mozambique was the 24th country to ratify the treaty. Based on information derived from these consultations, PNND believes that another four countries will have ratified the treaty before the end of 2008. Africa is the last territory in the Southern Hemisphere that is not protected by a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone (NWFZ). The entry-into-force of the treaty would thus not only be a positive step for Africa, but would also complete the sanctity of the Southern Hemisphere’s territories as nuclear weapons-free.

Entry-into-force of the Pelindaba Treaty initiates negotiations for an African Commission on Nuclear Energy which polices and promotes the aims of the treaty. These include the agreement:

  • not to seek to acquire, or assist any other state in acquiring nuclear weapons;
  • not to station nuclear weapons on African territory by a nuclear weapon state;
  • refrain from importing nuclear waste to African soil;
  • to make binding the International Atomic Energy Agency’s recommended safety standards and procedures  before proceeding with the extraction or export of nuclear materials;
  • to prohibit trade in nuclear materials with anyone outside of the Pelindaba Treaty or an IAEA agreement; and
  • to establish with the IAEA a safe-guards agreement.

The PNND headquarters and new membership in Africa is continuing to work with all African States to continue promoting the Pelindaba Treaty.

» Read the report from PNND Member Raphael Chegeni and PNND Assistant Global Coordinator Kaspar Beech on completing the Pelindaba Treaty.

» Read more about the Pelindaba Treaty, the treaty that aims to make Africa a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone, and other NWFZs around the world.

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GSI In the Media

Jonathan Granoff on Air America

Twice– on April 16th and April 24th– GSI President Jonathan Granoff joined Guest Host Richard Belzer on the new Air America program, “American Afternoon.” It was broadcast on Air America stations nationwide, as well as via satellite and streamed on the Air America website.

aiamerican  
   

The conversations were in part a follow-on to the dialogue they held before the American Bar Association’s International Law section, during a Showcase Presentation on the theme of “Celebrity and Social Responsibility.” (See above)

Belzer has honed his life experiences into barbed comedic material drawn from other former jobs including paperboy, teacher, census-taker, jewelry salesman and dockworker. He began his career in show business with a starring role in “Groove Tube,” the counterculture film that went on to become a cult classic. Since then, Belzer’s comedic talents have been featured in every entertainment medium from off-Broadway (“The National Lampoon Show” with Bill Murray, Gilda Radner and John Belushi) to radio (“Brink and Belzer” on WNBC) to film (“Fame,” “Author, Author,” “Night Shift” and “Scarface”). He also starred in the six-part comedy Showtime series “The Richard Belzer Show,” and hosted both the live Lifetime talk show, “Hot Properties,” and Court TV’s “Crime Stories.”

» For more information, visit the Air America website at: https://www.airamerica.com

» For more streaming audio interviews with GSI leadership and staff, visit our Online Audio Archive

Radio, print and video features

Over the past several months, GSI experts have been featured in a variety of radio interviews speaking on a host of issues relating to global security. The following are just a sample, primarily those that are archived online:

  • On February 22, BSG Director Ambassador Robert Grey, Jr., gave an interview on the follies of the US-India nuclear deal on Radio Netherlands Worldwide;
  • On February 20, GSI Senior Officer Rhianna Tyson discussed space weaponization and the need to prevent it, on WBAI, Pacifica Radio;
  • On January 4, Ambassador Grey discussed international security and nuclear non-proliferation in the Middle East, on Focus 580, a National Public Radio program from the University of Illinois.

» Listen to the radio interviews

Beyond radio, GSI experts have also published op/eds and other pieces in national and global print and online media, including:

  • “Nuclear Fuel Recycling: More Trouble Than Its Worth,” Scientific American, April 2008, by GSI Board of Advisers member Frank von Hippel;
  • “Sleepwalking in a Nuclear Minefield,” Sojourners, April 2008, by MPI Chairman Douglas Roche;
  • “Toward a Nuclear-Free World: Reaganites against the bomb,” Sojourners, April 2008, by GSI Board of Directors member Tyler Wigg Stevenson and Jessica Wilbanks;
  • “Restoring U.S. nuclear-free leadership,” Washington Times, April 2, 2008, by BSG Chairman Thomas Graham, Jr., and Max Kampelman;
  • “Spiritual Disaster Preparedness,” Christianity Today, March 31, 2008, by GSI Board of Directors member Tyler Wigg Stevenson;
  • “Forsaking Space Weapons Would Spur Peace,” CommonDreams.org, March 26, by GSI Senior Officer Rhianna Tyson
  • “Preventing Future Nuclear Catastrophes,” The Korea Times, by MPI ISC Member David Krieger and Stanley K. Sheinbaum;
  • ” America Was Not Entirely Asleep at the Nuclear Switch,” The Embassy, by GSI President Jonathan Granoff.

» Read our op/ed pieces

Beyond op/ed pieces, GSI experts and leaders are often quoted in the mainstream and online press. See our ever-growing compilation of quotes and interviews with the leaders in our network.

» Check out GSI in the media

And lastly, to round off GSI’s multimedia resources, we encourage you to check out our newly uploaded Video section, with new additions including:

  • GSI President Jonathan Granoff’s suggestions for what the next US President should do on his or her first day in office, courtesy of OnDayOne.org;
  • WFUNA asking GSI Senior Officer Rhianna Tyson, “What can lead governments to do away with nuclear weapons?”
  • BSG Director Bob Grey’s presentation at the Reach to Space Conference in Washington, DC.

» See all the videos with GSI experts

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