I am pleased to announce with Prime Minister Aso of Japan the Commissioners who will serve on the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, along with Co-chairs former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans and former Japanese Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi.
These eminent and outstanding individuals from around the world - including former heads of state and ministers, military strategists and disarmament experts - are uniquely placed to bring fresh and imaginative vision to this important undertaking. A list of the Commissioners is attached.
The first meeting of the Commission, hosted by the Australian Government, will be held in Sydney from 19-21 October.
The Commission's two year mandate is to reinvigorate the global debate on the need to prevent the further spread of nuclear weapons and for nuclear disarmament, and to strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) by seeking to shape a global consensus in the lead up to the 2010 NPT Review Conference, and beyond. The NPT is the most significant and successful arms control instrument of the nuclear age. While remaining the cornerstone of global disarmament efforts, the NPT is facing increased pressure and strain from the actions of countries such as North Korea and Iran.
The Commission's work will not, however, be limited to the fundamentally important task of reinvigorating the NPT. It will also be looking at ways in which the non-NPT nuclear armed states can be brought into the global non-proliferation and disarmament system. The Commission will also address the important issue of ensuring that any expanded use of civil nuclear energy due to climate change and energy security concerns does not result in an associated increase in proliferation risks.
These are goals that Australia and Japan both share, as key partners working together with other like-minded countries to advance the goals of both nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
I look forward to working with Japan, and with Ms Kawaguchi and Mr Evans, together with their fellow Commissioners, in taking forward this very important initiative.
Commissioners
Gareth Evans (Australia) (Co-Chair)
Mr Evans was Australia's Resources and Energy Minister from 1984 to 1987 and Foreign Minister from 1988 to 1996. He has been President of the International Crisis Group since 2000, and chair or member of several global commissions, including the UN Secretary-General's High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change in 2004.
Yoriko Kawaguchi (Japan) (Co-Chair)
Ms Kawaguchi was a MITI Director-General, Managing Director of Suntory Ltd, and then Japan's Environment Minister from 2000 to 2002, and Foreign Minister from 2002 to 2004. She is currently a member of the House of Councillors and Chair of the Liberal Democratic Party Research Commission on Environment.
Ali Alatas (Indonesia)
Mr Alatas was Foreign Minister of Indonesia from 1988 to 1999. He is currently an adviser to and special envoy of the President of the Republic of Indonesia.
Turki Al-Faisal (Saudi Arabia)
HRH Prince Turki was Director General of Intelligence from 1977 to 2001, Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Ireland from 2002 to 2005, and to the United States from 2005 to 2007. He is currently Chairman of the Board of the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic studies in Riyadh.
Alexei Arbatov (Russia)
Dr Arbatov was a member of the Russian Duma and Deputy Chairman of the Duma Defence Committee from 1994 to 2003. He is currently a Scholar-in-residence and Chair of the non-proliferation program at the Carnegie Moscow Center.
Gro Harlem Brundtland (Norway)
Dr Brundtland was Prime Minister of Norway for ten years between 1981 and 1996. She chaired the World Commission on Environment and Development which published the report âEUR~Our Common Future' in 1987, and Director-General of the World Health Organization from 1998 to 2003. She is currently the United Nations Secretary-General's Special Envoy on Climate Change.
Frene Noshir Ginwala (South Africa)
Dr Ginwala was Speaker of South Africa's National Assembly from 1994 to 2004. She is currently Chancellor of the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
François Heisbourg (France)
Mr Heisbourg is Chairman of the International Institute for Strategic Studies and Geneva Centre for Security Policy, and Special Adviser at the Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, and was a member of the French government commission producing the 2008 Defence and National Security White Paper.
Jehangir Karamat (Pakistan)
General (Retired) Karamat was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Chief of Army Staff until 1998 and Pakistan's Ambassador to the United States from 2004 to 2006. He is currently the Director of Spearhead Research.
Brajesh Mishra (India)
Mr Mishra was India's Ambassador in Geneva, Jakarta and New York from 1973 to 1981, and National Security Adviser and Principal Secretary to former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1998 to 2004.
Klaus Naumann (Germany)
General (Retired) Naumann was Chairman of NATO Military Committee from 1996 to 1999 and Chief of the Defence Staff in Germany from 1991 to 1996. He is currently a member of the International Advisory Board of the World Security Network Foundation.
William Perry (United States)
Dr Perry was the U.S. Secretary of Defense from 1994 to 1997. He is currently a professor at Stanford University in the School of Engineering and Institute of International Studies.
Wang Yingfan (China)
Ambassador Wang was China's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2000 to 2003, and Vice-Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chinese National People's Congress from 2003 to 2008.
Shirley Williams (United Kingdom)
Baroness Williams was Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party in the House of Lords from 2001 to 2004. She is currently Professor Emeritus of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and an adviser to Prime Minister Gordon Brown on nuclear proliferation issues.
Ernesto Zedillo (Mexico)
Dr Zedillo was President of Mexico from 1994 to 2000. He is currently Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization, and Professor in the Field of International Economics and Politics at Yale University.