Statement by Australia's Foreign Minister Mr. Stephen Smith, at the 'International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament' briefing, as part of the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, as delivered on 3 May 2010.
(as delivered)
Thank you Ambassador Quinlan for that introduction.
I acknowledge Japan’s Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Mr Tetsuro Fukuyama.
Ambassador Cabactulan, Chair of the Review Conference: best wishes for the formidable task in the coming four weeks. Australia is committed to working with you for a Successful Review Conference.
Commission Co-Chairs, Professor Gareth Evans and Ms Yoriko Kawaguchi.
I am pleased to be here today to participate in this presentation by the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament at the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference.
Australia proposed the establishment of this Commission less than two years ago in June 2008 because of a very simple imperative: that the destructive power of nuclear weapons is without parallel. That the risk of their use is growing. And that we – the human race – are not doing anywhere near enough to protect ourselves and the future of our planet from the disastrous consequences of their use.
Let me quote the opening words of the Commission’s report:
Nuclear weapons are the only weapons ever invented that have the capacity to wholly destroy life on this planet, and the arsenals we now possess are able to do so many times over. The problem with nuclear weapons is at least equal to that of climate change in terms of gravity – and much more immediate in its potential impact. So long as long as any state has nuclear weapons, others will want them. So long as such weapons remain, it defies credibility that they will not one day be used - by accident, miscalculation or design. And any such use would be catastrophic.
These opening words are themselves enough to make the case for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
The importance of the NPT Review Conference for international peace and security was also a key factor in the Australian Government establishing the Commission.
Australia wanted the Commission to stimulate debate and build momentum for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament in the lead-up to the Conference, recognising the NPT’s fundamental role in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and forging a commitment to get rid of them.
Establishing the Commission also recognised that there is no more pressing international threat than the proliferation of nuclear weapons and their possible use. It was time for the seriousness of the threat to be matched by the concerted determination of the international community to address it.
The Australian Government was very pleased to be joined in this endeavour by the Government of Japan, the only country to have suffered the horrific impact of these devastating weapons. Our joint effort to set up and support the Commission has further reinforced the strength of the partnership between our two countries.
There was no-one more suitable for Australia to consider for the role of Co-Chair than Gareth Evans. As Australia’s then Foreign Minister, Gareth conceived an earlier Australian initiative, the 1995 Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. His relentless drive and passion to achieve progress on non-proliferation and disarmament embodies a fine Australian tradition of commitment in this area.
Japan appointed an equally high-calibre Co-Chair, former Foreign Minister and Environment Minister Ms Yoriko Kawaguchi, to serve on the Commission. The Co-Chairs were joined by thirteen eminent and influential individuals from all parts of the globe, ensuring that its work would be independent, authoritative and representative of a range of views.
The Commission has benefitted from wide-ranging consultations – in Latin America, North Asia, South Asia and the Middle East – as well as with representatives of Governments, the global nuclear power industry and Non-Governmental Organisations devoted to the cause of disarmament. In Vienna, Geneva and New York the Co-Chairs have met those directly charged with advancing and monitoring nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament instruments.
The Commission launched its report, Eliminating Nuclear Threats, in Tokyo in December 2009, in the presence of Prime Minister Rudd and Prime Minister Hatoyama.
The report is a substantial and enduring contribution towards achieving the goal of a world without nuclear weapons and, more immediately, to achieving a positive outcome at this Review Conference. It is a report that is focused on action to achieve practical results.
The report’s twenty-point action statement “A New International Consensus on Action for Disarmament” has been circulated to the Review Conference as a Working Paper from the Commission.
Since the launch, the Co-Chairs and Commissioners have engaged with an extensive range of countries and their Governments, civil society, academia, think-tanks and media to advocate the findings of the Commission and to help create a global consensus for progress in this challenging agenda.
The Commission is independent, indeed staunchly so. There is a great deal in the report with which Australia agrees, as I have set out very recently in the Australian Government’s formal response to the report.
I am pleased that the Report’s analysis and recommendations have attracted a positive reaction from a wide range of countries, Nuclear Weapons States and Non Nuclear Weapons States, developed and developing countries alike.
The NPT Review Conference opens at a time when Australia, as a country committed to strengthening global non-proliferation measures and working towards the ultimate goal of a world free of nuclear weapons, sees reason for some optimism that progress can be made.
Following President Obama’s landmark speech in Prague a year ago, we have been further encouraged by the leadership shown by President Obama and President Medvedev in signing the New Start agreement.
Last month’s Nuclear Security Summit demonstrated what can be achieved with shared purpose and a common resolve to act.
Australia hopes that this Review Conference will also demonstrate that shared purpose and resolution.
The NPT underpins the security of all its members. Its three pillars – non-proliferation, disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear energy – are mutually reinforcing. We need to make progress on all of them.
Australia will work constructively and purposefully with all other participating countries to achieve a successful outcome. The Working Paper that Australia and Japan have jointly provided to the Conference proposes sixteen practical measures that we hope will gain wide support.
I again thank the Co-Chairs, and their fellow Commissioners, for the tremendous contribution they have made to a positive outcome of this Conference, and to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.
Thank you.