On Day Two of the NPT Review Conference, delegates were unanimous in urging the entry into force as soon as possible of a global ban on nuclear tests.
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Opening day of NPT Review Conference 2010
Judging by the applause that greeted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the end of his speech to Day One of the NPT Review Conference, the next month will be hard going for the United States and the other Nuclear Weapons States.
Des Browne: The UK Defence Secretary is no more…
Reading the initial news chatter suggesting Des Browne is to be replaced at the Ministry of Defence with John Hutton, I am filled with dismay. Des Browne is famous within our arms control community for the speech he gave at the Conference on Disarmament earlier this year and referenced earlier in this blog, at which he proposed a technical disarmament conference of the P5. As a defense secretary Des has been uniquely sympathetic to the more holistic, global perspective, whilst also winning the support of the military (when initially they were suspicious).
Two missed opportunities for GTZ during the presidential debate
The first US Presidential debate between senators John McCain and Barack Obama was supposed to be the big chance for the candidates to showcase their foreign policy visions and differences. Unfortunately, both candidates missed two opportunities within the debate to mention their vision for a world without nuclear weapons. It's actually one issue that both of them seem to agree on, at least in a general way.
Majority of UK voters now against Trident replacement
I have no doubt that the latest opinion poll published this evening by the Guardian reflects the significant media coverage that Trident replacement has seen recently, as well as the cracking of the ranks at the very top of all three principal parties around replacement. This is very encouraging for those looking for public interest in the recent discussions over moves towards a world free of nuclear weapons:
START follow-on: Reductions – not radical optimists – can focus on limits
In conjunction with the Obama-Medvedev Summit in Moscow today, the United States and Russia reached a Joint Understanding (White House press release) for establishing new limitations on the number of strategic nuclear warheads and delivery vehicles under the START Follow-on Treaty.
PM Brown calls for increased global commitment to disarmament
On March 17 UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown delivered a speech before the International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Conference at Lancaster House in London. Expanding the agenda of the upcoming G20 Summit beyond repairing the global economy, he emphasized the need to take a “broader view” and work to establish a “new global society.” Central to this proposal was for nations to cooperate in reducing nuclear arsenals.
The non-proliferation priorities of the Obama administration
Carrying out President Obama's pledge to secure loose nuclear materials and strengthen the nonproliferation regime, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) plans to increase nonproliferation funding to the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) over the next several years and has set out plans to cancel funding for the Reliable Replacement Warhead (RRW) program.