PRIME MINISTER

STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P J KEATING, MP  CANBERRA COMMISSION ON THE ELIMINATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

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It is my pleasure today to announce that two additional outstanding individuals have  agreed to participate in the Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear  Weapons. They will join the fifteen eminent statesmen, scientists, disarmament  experts and military strategists who, as noted in my statement on 26 November, will

bring experience and imaginative thinking to the task of proposing how to achieve a  world totally free of nuclear weapons.

The new members of the Canberra Commission are Commander Jacques-Yves  Cousteau and Ambassador Qian Jiadong. Both have exceptional qualifications and  will strengthen the Commission in key areas. Commander Cousteau has a unique  international reputation deriving from his work on environmental issues, notably in the  field of marine conservation, and has moreover a strong personal commitment to the

cause of nuclear disarmament. Ambassador Qian's distinguished diplomatic career  includes serving as China's Ambassador for Disarmament.

The Commission will meet for the first time iii Canberra from 23-25 January and is to  conclude its report by 31 August 1996. It should be large enough to encompass the  range of specialisations needed for its task but not so large as to be unwieldy. With  these two most welcome additions I am confident that the Commission is appropriately

structured to carry out its mandate.

CANBERRA  29 December 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 Dhanavala (Sri Lanka)

Jayantha Dhanapala chaired the 1995 Nuclear Non-Proliferation 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 (E~pt)

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 aavan)

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 Bank. 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 SaW,eev (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 Theorin (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.

