No. Date

M51 2 May 1991

AUSTRALIAN...CHEMICAL...WEAPONS EXPERT JOINS UN SPECIAL COMMISSION

Dr John Gee, a senior officer of the Department of Foreign  Affairs and Trade,  has been appointed to head the United  Nations Special Commission Working Group established to  coordinate and oversee the destruction of Iraq's chemical and  biological weapons. i

Australia's participation 'on the Special Commission was  foreshadowed by the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke,  in Parliament on  16 April.  '

Announcing Dr Gee's appointment today,  the Minister for  Foreign Affairs and Trade, Senator Gareth Evans,  said that he  was delighted with the appointment, which was not only a  reflection of Dr Gee's personal qualities but also a clear  acknowledgement of Australia's particular expertise in the

field of chemical disarmament.

"The appointment of an Australian to this crucial post-Gulf  War job is something of which Australia can fairly be very  proud" Senator Evans said. .

The UN Special Commission is being established pursuant to  Security Council Resolution 687, setting the terms for a  permanent ceasefire in the Gulf War, which Iraq has accepted.

Dr Gee will leave shortly for New York to head the

Commission's Working Group on Chemical and Biological Weapons.

The Resolution provides for the implementation of Iraq's  obligation to accept unconditionally the destruction, removal  or rendering harmless,  under international supervision, of all  chemical, and biological weapons,  as well as ballistic missiles  with a range greater than 150km, together with any facilities  associated with these weapons systems.  It also provides for  the Special Commission and! the International Atomic Energy  Agency to develop a plan !for the destruction, removal or  rendering harmless as appropriate all of Iraq's usable nuclear  materials.

Australia has also offered to provide expertise to the Special  Commission and to the IAEA to assist them with the

verification of Iraq's declarations of its weapons of mass  destruction and its holdings of nuclear material,  the  inspection of its nuclear facilities and the handling of its  nuclear materials.  Mr John Bardsley,  of the Australian

Safeguards Office,  has been:made available to assist the IAEA  to implement the necessary inspections.

COMMONWEALTH  PARLIAMENTARY LIBRARY  MIC AH

2

ÃÂ

Australia has ployed a leading role in the field of chemical  disarmament.  It lias made a major .input into the negotiations  in the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on a comprehensive  convention which would on 11  aw chemical weapons.  It ployed a  vital role in the establishment in . 1  98 5 of the Australia  Group,  a group of twenty industrialised countries which have  placed controls on the export of chemicals which could be used

in the manufacture of chemical weapons.

Australia has also taken action regionally through the  Chemical Weapons Regional Initiative to develop a regional  consensus in the South Pacific and South East Asia against  chemical weapons and hosted in Canberra in 1989 the very

successful Government Industry Conference against Chemical  Weapons. j

Dr Gee is currently Director, of Chemical and Biological  Disarmament in the Department .'of Foreign Affairs and Trade.   Biographical material is enclosed.

CANBERRA

* * *

HI 01) ÃÂ'ÃÂ ÃÂ

DR JOHN (ÃÂ¯ÃÂ'ÃÂ’ .

Dr John Gee is currently Director of the Chemictil and Biological  Disarmament Section in the Australian Department of Foreign  Affairs and Trade, lie was horn in Launceston, Australia, on 16

December 19 11. lie. graduated with First Class Honours in  chemistry from the University of Tasmania in 1966 and obtained

It is degree of Doctor of Philosophy, also in chemistry, from the  University of Oxford in 1971.

lie joined the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs in 1 97 1

and has had a number of overseas postings to Australian missions  in Cairo (1971 I97.D. Moscow (1976-1978), New Delhi (1 9 8 0 Â­ 1982) and Bangkok (1987-1990). In. Bangkok he was Minister and  Deputy I lead of Mission and also Permanent Representative of  Australia to the Liconomic and Social Commission for Asia and the

Pacific ( FSCAP). !

Dr Gee worked cm disarmament and arms control issues, including  chemical and biological weapons, in the Disarmament and Arms  Control Branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Canberra in  1982-1986, In this capacity he was responsible, inter alia, for the

development of Australia's response to I r a q ' s  use of chemical  weapons during the Iran-lraq war, which included the founding

of the Australia Group in 1986. lie was the Australian contact

point for the Croup in 1985-86 and attended many of the earlier

meetings of the Croup.

For much of 1990 lie was Director of Nuclear Safeguards in the

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. He took up his current

position in December 1990.

R.J.D.GEE  CURRICULUM VITAE

i '

Date and  Place of Birth:

Education :

19 ÃÂ 9 - 1962

1961 - 1967

1967 - 1970

Launceston, Tasmania, Australia  16 December 1914

Launceston Church Grammar School,  Launceston, Tasmania.

University of Tasmania  Bachelor of Science (First Class Honours)

University of Oxford  Doctor of Philosophy (Chemistry)

Marital Status Married with three children

career :

J a ÃÂ· 19 7 1

llov 1971 - NOV 1973

M O V  1973 - Sept 1975

Oct 1975 - Oct 1976

Sept 1976 - Sept 1978

Joined Department of Foreign Affairs,  Canberra:

Third later Second Secretary, Australian  Embassy,|Cairo

Department of Foreign Affairs, Canberra.

.  North Africa and Middle East  Section  .  Political and Social Research  !  Section  .  Transport and Resources Section

Russian Language Training, UK

First Secretary, Australian Embassy,  Moscow. :

Oct 1978 - Oct 1980 Department’  of Foreign Affairs, Canberra  .  Foreign Service Advisory Unit

Nov l900 - Nov 1982 First Secretary, Australian High  Commission, New Delhi.

Dec 1902 - Dec 1986 Department of Foreign Affairs, Canberra  .  Disarmament & Arms Control Branch .  Director, Arms Control Section

Jan 3987 - Jan 1990 Minister and Deputy Head of Mission, Australian Embassy, Bangkok and Permanent  Representative of Australia to the  Economic and,Social Commission for Asia  and the Pacific (ESCAP)

Feb 1990 - Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,

Canberra  .  Director, Nuclear Safeguards  Section .  Director, Chemical and Biological

Disarmament Section

Major International Conferences Attended in a Representative  Capacity :

43rd ESCAP  1987  Commission Session, Bangkok, 21 -30 April 4 4 th ESCAP

1988

Commission Session, Jakarta, 11 -20 April

45th ESCAP  April  Commission  1989

Session, Bangkok, 27 March - 5

21st ASEAN  July : Post Ministerial Conference,  1988

Bangkok, 7 - 9

Second General Conference of the United Nations  Industrial Organisation (UNIDO), Bangkok, 9 - 1 3   November 1987

IAEA Board of Governers Meeting, 10-14 June 1990

UN Regional Disarmament Workshop for Asia and the  Pacific, Bandung, Indonesia, 28 January - 1 February 1991

