Sunnier times for Canada’s disarmament diplomacy
The only thing more shocking than the Conference on Disarmament’s dysfunctionality has been the willingness of leading states to tolerate it. Read Paul Meyer’s article here.
Paul Meyer | March 2016
Tag:nuclear disarmament
Sunnier times for Canada’s disarmament diplomacy
U.S. Elections and Nuclear Weapons
The U.S. and Control of Nuclear Weapons
The U.S. elections focuses the mind on who will be Commander-In-Chief — and why we continue to have nuclear weapons anyway. Read Erika Simpson and Murray Thomson’s article for PostMedia here.
Erika Simpson & Murray Thomson | September 2016
Canada Turns its Back on UN Nuclear Ban Plan
Canada Turns its Back on UN Plan to Ban Nuclear Arms
Tariq Rauf, who specializes in nuclear disarmament, says Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, seems disengaged on nuclear arms control. Read Douglas Roche’s Hill Times article here.
Douglas Roche | The Hill Times, August 24, 2016
UN’s Kim Won-Soo calls on Canada for disarmament role
UN High Representative Calls on Canada to Play Special Role in Nuclear Disarmament
Canada is uniquely placed to play a catalytic role between the nuclear weapons states and the non-nuclear states in promoting nuclear disarmament, UN High Representative for Disarmament Kim Won-soo said in Ottawa on May 3, 2016.
Addressing a Parliamentary Forum organized by Canadians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention, Mr. Kim warned that the consequences of not resolving present geopolitical tensions in the world could prove “catastrophic” if nuclear weapons are not eliminated. He said Canada, with a strong record in nuclear disarmament work over several decades, could play a “bridging role” bringing the nuclear and non-nuclear states closer together on forming common policies.
The High Representative’s two-day visit to Ottawa was elevated by the Government of Canada to official status. He met with Foreign Minister Stephane Dion, who also gave a luncheon in his honour for officials and civil society representatives.
Mr. Kim also met with the Speaker of the Senate, George Furey and with senior officials in the Prime Minister’s office as well as giving a lecture, “Pursuing a Nuclear Weapon-free World: the Secretary-General’s Five-Point Plan on Nuclear Disarmament,” to the University of Ottawa. Appearing before the House of Commons Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, he urged parliamentarians to activate a motion already passed by the Parliament of Canada calling for progress in getting negotiations started that would lead to the elimination of nuclear weapons.
Senator Douglas Roche, former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament, hailed the High Representative’s visit to Ottawa as “an outstanding success in raising the profile in Canada of nuclear disarmament issues at a time when the nuclear states are modernizing their arsenals and also boycotting ongoing talks in Geneva aimed at finding a legal path to the elimination of nuclear weapons.”
Read the text of HR Kim Won-Soo’s speech here: UN High Representative Calls on Canada to Play Special Role in Nuclear Disarmament
Nuclear Security Requires Nuclear Disarmament
Leaders from more than 50 countries including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met in Washington on Thursday and Friday at a Nuclear Security Summit dedicated to keeping nuclear bomb making materials out of the hands of terrorists. [read more]
Peggy Mason | April 1, 2016
Peggy Mason, Rideau Institute President and a former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament
Setsuko Thurlow and the Hibakusha of Hiroshima and Nagasaki Voted 2015 Arms Control Person of the Year
For Immediate Release: January 6, 2016
(Washington, D.C.)—Setsuko Thurlow and the Hibakusha of Hiroshima and Nagasaki received the highest number of votes in an online poll to determine the 2015 Arms Control Person of the Year.
A nuclear agreement in need of Canadian leadership
Canada may not be involved with Iran negotiations, but it does play a key role in efforts to realize a treaty to ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons [A nuclear agreement in need of Canadian leadership]
Paul Meyer | July 13, 2015
CPG at Thinkers’ Lodge
Canadian Pugwash conference “The Way Forward to a World Free of Nuclear Weapons” July 9-11, 2015, at the National Historic Site of Thinkers’ Lodge in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, featured leading Canadian and American experts. The conference examined the challenges posed by the current international security context and ideas for making real progress on the road to a world without nuclear weapons. [see Canadian Pugwash Group conference program and speaker presentations.]
Read selected biographies of CPG expert workshop
Read The Way Forward to a World Free of Nuclear Weapons – Summary Report
Read Recommendations to the Government of Canada and Recommandations de Pugwash Canada réuni à Pugwash en juillet 2015
A nuclear deal with Iran: A farewell to arms control?
A nuclear deal with Iran: A farewell to arms control? (pdf)
Paul Meyer | March 5, 2015
Pope breaks ground in seeking abolition of nuclear weapons
Pope breaks ground in seeking abolition of nuclear weapons (pdf)
by Douglas Roche | December 29, 2014