The report of the Blix Commission, formally known as
The Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission,
translated in 9 languages, is now available in French.
 
http://www.editions-harmattan.fr/index.asp?navig=catalogue&obj=livre&no=31164

(232.2 KB pdf available)

Chaired by Hans Blix, the WMD Commission, made up of international experts, identified new desirable and achievable directions for international cooperation and presented realistic proposals aimed at the greatest possible reduction of the dangers of WMDs. These comprised both short-term and long-term approaches aiming at preventing the further spread of weapons as well as seeking their reduction and elimination. The scope of the investigation is comprehensive and includes nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological weapons as well as means of delivering them.    The Commission Report is a concise overview and analysis of critical issues which are at the core of arms control and disarmament and that the world had sidestepped for too many years. Indeed almost all the 60 critical recommendations proposed are still to be implemented. Publication in a French translation underlines both the Commission’s message and its relevance for present policy decisions.    This book is a most welcome addition to the global debate about the future of nuclear weapons since it gives access to the exact text for the first time to Francophone readers. The literature in French on arms control and disarmament ir quite limited as perhaps reflects the limited nature of public debate in France itself.    This version includes also an analysis of the evolution of the French deterrent by Venance Journé, a physicist, and researcher on French nuclear history. After recalling the first stages of the making of the French deterrent and the Franco-Israeli collaboration, Journé discusses how the changes in the international context and the nuclear proliferation has led to a reassessment of French nuclear policy and to a modernization of the forces. Broadly summarized, French forces have now been made more flexible to encompass a wider range of circumstances and have been adapted for use in limited missions. Journé argues that the burden of the proof of the utility of nuclear weapons lies now in the hands of their proponents, and that the only way to face the nuclear danger is a universal non-discriminatory convention to abolish nuclear weapons. Finally she calls for opening a wide debate in France since discordant voices have in the past always been ignored and that the public is not aware of the realities of the French nuclear policy and hardware.   Funding for this unique French edition was provided by a Belgium foundation, the Pôle Bernheim Paix et Citoyenneté of the Free University in Brussels.