Nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament: Is it time for no-first-use policies in the USA and globally?
Event Date: 29th April 2021
Location: Internet Session 1 06:30 Session 2 16:15 BST
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Session 1: Asia/Pacific
7:30am CET, Islamabad 10:30am, Delhi 11am, Beijing 1:30pm, Seoul/Tokyo 2:30pm, Sydney 3:30pm. Register now.
Session 2: Americas/Europe/Africa
Washington DC (EDT) 11:15am, London 4:15pm, Paris/Berlin: 5:15pm, Moscow 6:15pm.
Register now.
‘No-first-use’ is a policy that can be adopted by a nuclear armed (or allied) state to never initiate a nuclear exchange by being the first to use nuclear weapons. China and India have declared such policies. The Soviet Union/Russia had such a policy from 1982 to 1993.
There are emerging political opportunities for the adoption of no-first-use policies by others – particularly the United States and its allies (NATO/Japan/South Korea and Australia).
This webinar, Nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament: Is it time for no-first-use policies in the USA and globally?, will explore whether such policies reduce the risk of a nuclear war and pave the way for multilateral nuclear disarmament, how such policies can be operationalised, what new initiatives are advancing such policies, and political forces and security arguments supporting or preventing their adoption.
The event is being held in two sessions – the first for Asia/Pacific and the second for the Americas, Europe and Africa.
We invite you to join the session in your region, or both sessions.
Session 1: Asia/Pacific
Chair: Alyn Ware (New Zealand). Global Coordinator, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament.
Speakers:
- Hon Gareth Evans (Australia), Chair of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network forNuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament; Former Australian Foreign Minister
- Professor Manpreet Sethi (India) who is Distinguished Fellow and head of the Nuclear Security Project at the Centre for Air Power Studies
- Professor Pervez Hoodbhoy (Pakistan). Former Chair and professor, Department of physics at Quaid e Azam University. Member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters
- Dr Tong Zhao (China). Senior fellow in the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace located at the Carnegie–Tsinghua Center for Global Policy in Beijing
- Vanda Proskova (Czech Republic), Vice-Chair of PragueVision institute for Sustainable Security.
Session 2: Americas/Europe/Africa
Chair: Marc Finaud, (France/Switzerland), Head of Arms Proliferation at Geneva Centre for Security Policy
Speakers:
- Mr Thomas Countryman (USA), Chair of the Arms Control Association Board of Directors, Former United States Assistant Secretary of State for International Security and Non-proliferation
- Mr Andrey Baklitskiy (Russia), Senior Research Fellow, Center for Advanced American Studies, Institute of International Studies, MGIMO University of the Russian Foreign Ministry
- General Bernard Norlain (France), Former Air Defence Commander and Air Combat Commander of the French Air Force. Vice-President of Initiatives pour le Désarmement Nucléaire
- Lord Hannay of Chiswick (UK), Chair, All Party Group on Global Security and Non-proliferation
- Commander Robert Forsyth (UK), Former Nuclear Submarine Commanding Officer, Royal Navy
- Ms Uta Zapf (Germany/NATO/OSCE), Former Chair of the Bundestag Subcommittee on Disarmament and Arms Control
- Ms Yasmeen Silva (USA), Partnerships Manager, Beyond the Bomb.
Event sponsors
The webinar is hosted by the Geneva Centre for Security Policy and cosponsored by Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, Peace Depot Japan, People for Nuclear Disarmament, PragueVision Institute for Sustainable Security and the World Future Council.
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