PRIME MINISTER

STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P J KEATING MP

AUSTRALIAN INITIATIVE FOR A NUCLEAR \VEAPONS-FREE WORLD

I am pleased to announce the formation of the Canberra Commission on the Elimination of  Nuclear Weapons. I foreshadowed the Commission's establishment in my 24 October 1995  address on Australia and a world without nuclear weapons.

The Commission comprises eminent and outstanding individuals from around the world -statesmen, scientists, disarmament experts and military strategists - with extensive knowledge  and experience of the subject matter. They are uniquely placed to bring fresh and imaginative  thinking to this important task. A list of the Commission's members is attached.

The Commission will propose practical steps towards a nuclear weapons.;.free world including  the related problem of maintaining stability and security during the transitional period and after  this goal is accomplished.

During the current session of the United Nations General Assembly a number ofresolutions  have been adopted on nuclear matters which reaffirm broad international support for progress  towards our shared goal of the cessation of nuclear testing and the continuation of the process  of nuclear disarmament leading to the ultimate objective of the complete elimination of nuclear  weapons.

The adoption of these resolutions is consistent with the commitment made by 178 nations,  including the five nuclear weapons states, in May this year to the indefinite extension of the  Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), article VI of which commits these  nations to pursue measures towards complete disarmament.

The Canberra Commission and its work will be a major contribution to that shared goal.

Some years ago a Commission of this type would have been a theoretical exercise. But the end  of the Cold War means that we can seriously envisage a concrete program to achieve a world  free of nuclear weapons. Current and planned reductions in nuclear arsenals, the unanimous  decision to extend the NPT, the commitment of the international community to conclude a  Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty in 1996 and the international outcry against continued nuclear  testing all show that the time is right to take a fresh look at concepts of security and the role of  nuclear weapons.

The Commission's wide-ranging mandate will enable it to deal with the many complex issues  that need to be taken into account. These include the importance of political motivation and  incentive in strengthening non-proliferation norms and moving to a nuclear weapons-free  world, the role.of the nuclear weapon states and threshold states, steps to strengthen  international instruments and control mechanisms, verification arrangements, global and  regional security in the transitional period to a nuclear weapons-free world, and dealing with  possible breaches of commitments - often called 'break out' - nuclear theft and terrorism.

The Commission will meet three or four times beginning early in the new year in Australia. Its  report will be presented to me by 3 1 August 1996. The Government intends to submit the  report of the Commission to the 1996 United Nations General Assembly and to the  Conference on Disarmament as a major contribution to nuclear disarmament initiatives  emanating from these bodies.

We should be under no illusions about the difficulty of the task but the opportunity to develop  a practical program leading to complete elimination of nuclear weapons must not be lost.

CANBERRA  26 November 1995

CANBERRA COMMISSION ON THE ELIMINATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

Ambassador Celso Amorim (Brazil)

Celso Amorim was Brazilian Foreign Minister from 1993-1994, and a former Assistant Professor,

Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Brasilia. He is

currently Brazil's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York.

General fret.) George Lee Butler (United States)

Lee Butler was Commander in Chief of the US Strategic Air Command (1991-92) and

subsequently the US Strategic Command (1992-94) with responsibility for all US Air Force and  Navy nuclear deterrent forces. He was closely involved in the development of US nuclear  doctrine. General Butler has served as a deputy to General Colin Powell.

Ambassador Richard Butler (Australia) (Convenor)

Richard Butler was Australia's Ambassador for Disarmament from 1983-88 and is now Australia's

Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York.

Field Marshal the Lord Carver (United Kingdom)

Michael Carver was Commander in Chief Far East of the British Army (1967-1969), Chief of

General Staff (1971-1973), and Chief of Defence Staff (1973-1976). He is author of A Policy for  Peace (1982), on nuclear policy, and numerous other works on military history.

Ambassador Jayantha Dhanapala (Sri Lanka)

Jayantha Dhanapala chaired the 1995 Nuclear Non-ProliferaJion Treaty Review and Extension  Conference and is a former Director of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR). He

is a prominent figure in international nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament issues and is

currently Sri Lanka's Ambassador to the United States.

Ambassador RolfEkeus (Sweden)

Rolf Ekeus is Executive Chairman, United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM), whose  mandate is to identify and eliminate Iraq's weapons of mass destruction. He is a former Swedish

Ambassador for Disarmament and Ambassador to the CSCE.

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Ambassador Dr Nabil Elaraby (Egxpt)

Nabil Elaraby is a specialist international lawyer and a member of the International Law

Commission. He has been a key figure in nuclear non-proliferation matters for many years, and

was formerly Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations, Geneva (1987-91). He is

currently Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations, New York.

Professor Ryuldchi Imai {Japan)

Ryukichi Imai is a Counsellor to the Japan Atomic Power Company and a Professor at Kyorin

University. He is a former Ambassador of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament (1982-87), to

Kuwait and to Mexico. He has been a Distinguished Scholar and a member of the Board of the

Institute for International Policy Studies founded by former Japanese Prime Minister Nakasone.

Professor Imai is an author of numerous books and articles mainly on nuclear energy, nonÂ­

proliferation and disarmament matters.

Datuk Dr Ronald S McCoy (Malaysia)

Ronnie McCoy is Vice President of Asia Pacific Region and Chairman of Malaysian Chapter of

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which organisation won the Nobel

Peace Prize in 1985. He is currently President of the Malaysian Medical Association.

Robert McNamara (United States)

Robert McNamara was Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson. He is a

former President of the Ford Motor Company and the World Banlc Since leaving the World Bank

he has been active in economic and development efforts across the globe and in the areas of arms

control and nuclear non-proliferation.

Professor Robert O'Neill (Australia)

Robert O'Neill is Chichele Professor of the History of War, All Souls College, Oxford University

and was formerly Director, International Institute of Strategic Studies, London.

Michel Rocard (France)

Michel Rocard was Prime Minister of France 1988-91. He is now a member of the European

Parliament and the French Senate, and a member of the Foreign Affairs and Defence Commission

in each.

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Professor Joseph Rotblat (United Kingdom)

Winner of the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize, Joseph Rotblat is President of the Pugwash Conferences on  Science and World Affairs and a long standing activist and writer on nuclear disarmament. He

worked on the atom bomb during World War II in Liverpool and Los Alamos and was a signatory

of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto. He is Emeritus Professor at St Bartholomew's Hospital,

University of London.

Professor Roald Sagdeev (Russia)

Roald Sagdeev is Distinguished Professor, Department of Physics, University of Maryland and  Director of the East-West Space Science Centre. He has held the post of Director of the Space

Research Institute of the USSR Academy of Sciences and was former President Gorbachev's  science adviser. From 1987-1988 Professor Sagdeev was Chairman of the Committee of Soviet

Scientists for Global Security.

Dr Mai-Britt 'Ineorin (Sweden)

Maj-Britt Theorin is a Member of the European Parliament. She is a former Swedish Ambassador  for Disarmament and President of the International Peace Bureau. She was Chairman of the UN  Commission of Experts on Nuclear Weapons 1989-90.

CANBERRA COMMISSION ON THE ELII\UNATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS:  PROPOSED MANDATE

The Commission will develop ideas and proposals for a concrete and realistic program to  achieve a world totally free of nuclear weapons. The proliferation of nuclear weapons is  widely recognised as having become the most serious threat to global security ,and member  states of the United Nations and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) have committed

themselves to the objective of a world totally free of nuclear weapons. While various studies  relevant to the achievement of such a world have been and are being conducted, there has been  no attempt to develop a comprehensive and practical answer to the crucial question of how this  objective can be achieved.

The practical steps towards a nuclear weapon free world, to be suggested by the Commission,  will also address the related problem of maintaining stability and security during the  transitional period and after the ultimate goal is accomplished.

The Commission will present a report to the Prime Minister of Australia by 31 August 1996. It  is the Government of Australia's intention to submit the Commission's report to the Slst  Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations and to the Conference on  Disarmament.

The Commission will consider and develop recommendations on the following issues:

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Identification of concrete and realistic steps for achieving a nuclear weapons free world,  including the development and establishment of necessary verification and control  mechanisms and new international legal obligations. Possible areas of focus include:

the contribution of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty; Nuclear Weapon Free  Zones; a 'Cut-Off Convention on the cessation of production of fissile material for  nuclear weapons; a possible treaty requiring all states to declare and account for  their present stocks of fissile material; and the strengthening of the international  safeguards system;

carrying through of the commitment by the nuclear weapon states to eliminate  their nuclear stockpiles through a systematic process, including safe and secure  arrangements for weapons dismantlement and destruction; and

the problem of nuclear threshold states and the related issue of achieving universal  participation in the NPT.

Ã¢ÂÂ¢ Development of durable security arrangements, both globally and regionally, including

the maintenance of a system of stable deterrence while the reduction and eventual  elimination of nuclear weapons is being achieved;

the link with other weapons of mass destruction and their control or elimination;  and

measures to prevent break-out, nuclear theft and nuclear terrorism/criminality.

Other related issues the Commission may identify during its work.

