Pugwash UK

MEETINGS

The Role of Independent Scientists in Assessing the Threat of WMD

an upcoming NATO Advanced Research Workshop

co-directed by Professor John Finney (Chair, British Pugwash) and Professor Ivo Slaus (Chair, Croatian Pugwash).

Zagreb, Croatia, 11-16 November 2008.

More information will be available soon.

Evidence-based policy or policy-based evidence?
Nuclear weapons decision-making in Europe

Euroscience Open Forum, Barcelona, July 19, 14:30 - 18:00

Organisers:
John Finney, University College London / British Pugwash Group
Carol Naughton, WMD Awareness Programme
Georges Parisot, French Pugwash

Panelists:
Sir David King (Chair), Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, UK

Ana Maria Gomes, European Parliament, Belgium, (PDF of presentation available)

Bruno Tertrais, Fondation pour la Recherche Stratégique, France, (PDF of presentation available)

Steve Fetter, University of Maryland, United States, (PDF of presentation available)

James Acton, King's College London, UK (Presentation to be available soon)

The session discussed the way in which scientific and technical considerations are used in nuclear weapons decision-making in Europe, and contrasted it with the situation in the US. It explored ways of improving the openness of nuclear weapons decision making processes to ensure they are healthy and robust, and not biased by narrower commercial or political considerations. Speakers reviewed (a) the processes involved in making the recent UK decision to renew its Trident nuclear weapons system, (b) French plans to modernise its nuclear weapons systems, (c) US planning to develop a new warhead, and (d) thoughts on the ways in which these very different national approaches interact on an international level in the wider European context, especially during times of policy formation.

One important topic discussed, prompted by a question posed by BPG Chair John Finney, was the need for JASON type advisory bodies in the UK and France.

This panel was featured in "No Need for U.S. Nukes In Europe, Observers Say," by Chris Schneidmiller
Global Security Newswire, 21 July 2008

A full transcript of the panel will be available soon.

For more information see the ESOF 2008 website.

Special Keynote Address and Reception

The Urgency of Disarmament

Pugwash President Jayantha Dhanapala

Monday 13 June, 5.15 pm, co-sponsored by the Centre for International Studies and Diplomacy, SOAS and British Pugwash, Brunei Gallery, SOAS

Please see the SOAS website for a transcript of the talk.

A Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone

SOAS/British Pugwash Public Conference, Tuesday, 17th June, 9:30 - 1:00, SOAS.

Speakers included:

HE Dr Hussain Al-Shahristani, Minister for Oil, State of Iraq
HE Wael Al-Assad, Director of Disarmament and Multilateral Affairs, League of Arab States
HE Dr Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the IAEA
HE Dr Sami Khiyami, Ambassador of Syria to the Court of St James
Mr Simon Manley, Director of Defence and Strategic Threats, UK FCO
Dr Wolfgang Rudischhauser, Office of the EU Special Representative on Non-Proliferation
Professor Paolo Cotta-Ramusino (Secretary General, Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs)
Sara Eriksen (Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI)

Please see the follwing article for a summary of the June London events:

"Pugwash President Jayantha Dhanapala Visits London, British Pugwash and SOAS Co-Host Public Events
on Disarmament and a Possible WMDFZ in the Middle East," Report by Poul-Erik Christiansen, CISD, SOAS and
Sandra Ionno Butcher, London Pugwash Office

Annual Joseph Rotblat Memorial Lecture

Phillippe Sands, Professor of Law and Director of the Centre on International Courts and Tribunals, Faculty of Law, UCL, gave this year’s Joseph Rotblat memorial lecture at the Guardian Hay Festival on 1st June, co-sponsored by British Pugwash and the WMD Awareness Programme. Jon Snow chaired the session, and BPG Deputy ChairRobert Hinde introduced the lecture.

See the Festival website for more information.

Special Double-Session Meeting
Launching the Joseph Rotblat Centenary Year

featuring
Prof. Sir John Sulston, Nobel Laureate ("Genetic Equity and Global Medicine," PDF of presentation available)
Prof. Alistair Hay, Chemical & Biological Weapons Expert ("Multiple Uses of Chemicals, What to Choose?" PDF of presentation available)
John Ainslie, Nuclear Weapons Expert ("Trident Replacement, the Practical Implications," PDF of presentation available, 5MB)

Tuesday 8 April 2008
University College London, Gower Street, WC1

Agenda:
12:45 – 13:45 – Special British Pugwash AGM (members only), commemorating the centenary of Jo Rotblat’s birth (Wilkins Garden Room, UCL)
14:00 – 16:30 – Workshop: ‘Trident Replacement: The Practical Implications’
John Ainslie Chair: Prof. John Finney (Chadwick Lecture Theatre, UCL)
16:30 – 17:00 – Tea break
17:00 – 19:00 – ‘The Responsible Application of Science’ Chair: Prof. Robert Hinde (Chadwick Lecture Theatre, UCL)
‘Genetic Equity and Global Medicine’ Prof. Sir John Sulston, Welcome Trust Sanger Unit
‘Multiple Uses of Chemicals, What to Choose?’ Prof. Alistair Hay, OBE, Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Leeds

For a copy of the full flyer in PDF format, please click here: British Pugwash Flyer, 8 April 2008.

Science, Politics and Ethics: Are they compatible?

Wednesday, 28 November 2007 at 5:00 pm

Gustave Tuck Lecture Theatre (Wilkins Building), University College London
Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT.

Speaker: Rt. Hon. Tony Benn

Chair: Professor Robert Hinde CBE FRS FBA

It is a central purpose of Pugwash to communicate with governments about ethical issues that arise from professional scientific activity. As few scientists are very experienced in the arts of high politics, such communication can prove problematic – as indeed it is with the topical concern over the future of Trident. There can be no-one better qualified than Tony Benn to illuminate this scene for us from a lifetime of political experience. Before the lecture, please join us at 4.30pm in the North Cloister for tea and an informal celebration of 2 new books by members of Pugwash. There will be brief comments and a book signing.

Speaker Profile:
Tony Benn is a radical national politician and tireless peace campaigner. Many of the policies he has championed have entered the statute books. Born in 1925, the son and grandson of MPs, he retired from the House of Commons in May 2001 after 50 years in parliament to ‘devote more time to politics.’ He is the longest serving Labour MP in the history of the party and, following his valedictory speech in the Commons, a Tory backbencher commended him to fellow MPs as the UK’s “greatest living parliamentarian.” He served as a Cabinet Minister in the Wilson and Callaghan governments; was Chairman of the party from 1971-72; and is a member of the Transport and General Workers Union, the National Union of Journalists and an honorary member of the National Union of Mineworkers. He has kept a daily diary since 1940, creating a priceless political archive, and he is the author of a number of books as well as a broadcaster and speaker, giving regular lecture tours. His wife, Caroline Benn, an educationalist and the author of the biography of Keir Hardie, with whom he had four children, died in 2000. Hilary Benn, his son and Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, and his granddaughter, Emily Benn, have followed him into politics.

Books:
This year has seen the publication of two new books by members of British Pugwash. Both are in hardback and are relevant to the title of Tony Benn’s lecture.

The first of these, published earlier this year, is a tribute to the life of Professor Sir Joseph Rotblat, outstanding scientist and campaigner for peace, with many contributions from fellow scientists, diplomats, colleagues, family and friends: Joseph Rotblat: Visionary for Peace, published by Wiley Press and edited by Reiner Braun, Robert Hinde, David Krieger, Harry Kroto, and Sally Milne.
The second, published last month, is: Bending the Rules: Morality in the Modern World – From Relationships to Politics and War by Robert Hinde, Chair of British Pugwash and an eminent biologist and psychologist. Oxford University Press describe his book as “a new approach to morality based on combining an evolutionary approach with observations on how people actually behave to show that morality is more subtle than it appears.”

2007 Joseph Rotblat Memorial Lecture

David Attenborough gave this year’s Joseph Rotblat Memorial Lecture June 2nd at the Guardian Hay Literary Festival, organised by the Weapons of Mass Destruction Awareness Programme. Jon Snow once again chaired the session. Robert Hinde, Chair of British Pugwash, gave an introduction to the event and to Sir David Attenborough. For more information (and a link to the audio from the event) go to: http://www.comeclean.org.uk/articles.php?articleID=284.

AGM and Public discussion meeting

Thursday 10th of May 2007,
Garwood Lecture Theatre, South Wing, University College London, Gower Street, WC1

3.30 - 4.30 pm AGM
4.30 - 5.00 pm Tea and biscuits
5.00 pm Speaker: Lord Roper

Developments in NATO and the EU

Overview. The twenty first century has begun with rather more European countries using military force than might have been expected at the end of the Cold War. In most cases these forces have operated as part of a NATO or an EU operation: the exception being the operation from 2003 in Iraq.

NATO was not designed for wars of choice, and as has been apparent in Afghanistan different member states take different views as to how their forces should be deployed. The European Union has tried to combine military means with police and civilian peace building activities. In both cases there have been difficulties in generating adequate forces for the varied tasks. What lessons can be learnt from these developments?

Speaker Profile. Lord Roper was the Liberal Democrat Chief Whip in the House of Lords until May 2005 and is a Professorial Fellow at the Institute for German Studies of the University of Birmingham. He was, from April 1990 until September 1995, the first director of the Institute for Security Studies of Western European Union in Paris. As John Roper, he was a member of the House of Commons from 1970 to 1983, an Opposition spokesman on defence (1979-81) and Chief Whip of the Social Democratic Party from 1981 to 1983. From 1983 to 1989 he was a senior member of staff of the Royal Institute of International Affairs (Chatham House) and edited its journal International Affair

Trident Replacement: A Critical View from Scotland
31st January 2007, British Institute of Radiology, London

PROFESSOR SIR JOSEPH ROTBLAT KCMG, CBE, D.Sc., FRS.
Nobel Peace Laureate
A memorial event to honour the life of Sir Joseph Rotblat was held at the Royal Society, London, on Friday, 09 December 2005, followed by a reception.
Joseph Rotblat Memorial Booklet

WHAT IS TRIDENT FOR?
The Implausible Tasks - The Opportunity Costs - The Perils of Riding Pillion
4th October 2005, The British Institute of Radiology, London W1
Speaker: Professor Michael MccGwire, Cdr. RN, OBE
Chair: Prof. Robert Hinde, FRS FBA

IAEA's Role in Technical Co-operation: Impact on Non-Proliferation and the NPT
29th April 2005, University College London.
Speaker: Mr David Fischer, Consultant on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Safeguards; and formerly Assistant Director-General for External Relations, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Chair: Prof. Robert Hinde, FRS FBA

The Future of the NPT in relation to the NPT Review Conference in May 2005

24th February 2005, The British Institute of Radiology, London
Speakers:

Senator Douglas Roche, O.C., Chairman, Middle Powers Initiative
Alyn Ware, Global Coordinator, Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament

Chair: Prof. Robert Hinde CBE FRS

Weaponisation of Space

Friday, 10 December 2004, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London
Speakers:

Prof. Bhupendra Jasani, Department of War Studies, King's College London
Space Weapons for Defence or Offence?

Joelien Pretorius, Centre for International Studies, Cambridge University
Is Today’s Military Transformation Predetermining the Weaponisation of Space?

Prof. Dan Plesch, Department of Politics and Sociology, Birkbeck College
Missile Defence in Europe: A Short-cut to Anti-satellite Capability

Chair: Prof. Robert Hinde CBE FRS

NATO's Science for Peace Programme: The Ambassadors' Missed Opportunity

Tuesday, 9th November 2004, The British Institute of Radiology, London
Speaker: Sir Brian Heap CBE FRS, UK Representative NATO Science Committee, former Master St. Edmund's College Cambridge

NATO as an orgnaisation has three uneven pillars of activity; military, political and scientific. The NATO Science programme initiated about 50 years ago promoted collaboration in science among NATO countries and achieved great success. After the Cold War and events of 9/11, the emerging role for NATO in the 21st century has focussed increasingly on the first two pillars to the detriment of the third. This paper will argue that unique opportunities to use science and technology for peace have been disregarded by the NATO nations.

Chair: Prof Robert Hinde CBE FRS

Global Security in the 21st Century
Thursday, 23rd September 2004, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B

Chair: Dr Caroline Lucas, MEP

Introduction: Professor Sir Joseph Rotblat FRS, Nobel Peace Laureate

Speaker: President Mikhail Gorbachev

A report is available on the website of the WMD Awareness Programme.

Sponsoring organizations: Abolition 2000, Atomic Mirror, BASIC, CND, Greenpeace UK, MEDACT, MAW, ORG, Pax Christi, Quaker Peace Social Witness UK, SPUK, Youth and Student CND, World Court Project.

Eliminating Weapons of Mass Destruction

Wed., 8th September 2004, 9.30am, University of Exeter
British Pugwash session at the British Association 2004 Festival of Science
Speakers: Prof Alastair W M Hay (biological weapons), Prof Julian Perry Robinson (chemical weapons), Dr Christopher J H Watson (nuclear weapons)
Chair: Dr R S Pease

Joint session with SGR ('The Ethics of Military Science and Technology', Dr S Parkinson). The theme of the Festival was 'The Responsibility of Being a Scientist', and details, including summaries of presentations, can be found at www.the-ba.net.

Developing Dialogue with Nuclear Weapons Policy Makers

5th May 2004, 6pm, University College London
Speaker: Scilla Elworthy

Britain and Unconventional Terrorism

10th December 2003, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London
Speakers:

Biological Terrorism
Professor Harry Smith
Chairman Royal Society Working Group on Biological Weapons

Chemical Terrorism
Professor Julian Perry Robinson
Co-Director, Harvard/Sussex Programme on Chemical/Biological Warfare

Nuclear Terrorism
Dr Christopher Watson
Senior Adviser on Nuclear Matters with an especial interest in Russia's Cold War Legacy

Chairman: Professor Robert Hinde, Chairman British Pugwash

For the purposes of this discussion 'conventional' terrorism involves the use of traditional high explosives such as Semtex or TNT -- sadly, Britain has extensive experience of such attacks. This meeting though concentrates on the possibility that in the future we may be subjected to 'unconventional' terrorism, that is to say the employment by terrorists of devices incorporating biological, chemical or nuclear materials. Indeed it is considered by many that our participation in the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars has increased the probability that we will be subject to such attacks. What motivates terrorists and their choice of weapons is a large subject and, while discussion of such aspects will not be excluded, attention will be focused on the biology, chemistry and physics of the weapons, their design and the relative threats they represent. There will be ample time for contributions from the floor, questions and discussion.

Causes of War -- Role of the Media

14th October 2003, 2.15pm, 36 Portland Place (British Institute of Radiology), London W1
Speaker: Robert Fox
Chair: Robert Hinde, FRS
Robert Fox is well known as a leading and influential journalist, and is a Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Defence Studies, King's College, London.

The object of the meeting is to open up for discussion issues including:
- What are the relationships between "public opinion", media attitudes, and government actions?
- What drives media attitudes? And do they have hidden agenda (eg links with arms lobbies)?
- How independent are "independent" media (eg BBC, Guardian)? And how effectively do government control them?
- How relevant & informative are recent examples, such as Iraq, and the Falklands?
- How do national patterns differ, eg between US, UK, and "Old Europe"?

The Future of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
3 April 2003, Imperial College London
Speaker: Professor John Simpson

John Simpson, Founding Director of the Mountbatten Centre at the University of Southampton, is a leading authority on nuclear non-proliferation. He has served as a consultant to the UK Ministry of Defence and a member of the UN Secretary-General's Advisory Board for Disarmament Matters and is Co-founder and Programme Director of the Programme for Promoting Nuclear Non-Proliferation.

Pugwash Workshop on No First Use of Nuclear Weapons
International Perspectives on Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear Doctrines; Papers by Gen. Pan Zhenqiang, Yuri Federov, Kanti Bajpai, Lawrence Freedman, and other participants at the Pugwash Workshop on No First Use of Nuclear Weapons, London, UK, 15-17 November 2002.
Pugwash Meeting No. 279
Meeting Report, by Tom Milne
Participants
Papers

What Future for Arms Control?
Pugwash Symposium at The Royal Society,
London, 14 November 2002.
Speakers:
Steven Miller (USA), Director, International Security Program, Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard University.

Hugh Beach (UK), Formerly Master General of Ordnance, British Armed Forces; Director, Council for Arms Control.

Alexander Nikitin (Russia), Director, Centre for Political and International Studies, Moscow.

Report by Jack Harris: "What Future for Arms Control?" (The Silent Spring).
Letter by Nick Kollerstrom

British Nuclear Weapons - Where Next?
A "Pugwash Session" at the annual meeting of The British Association for the Advancement of Science.
Speakers included:
General Sir Hugh Beach: Eliminating British Nuclear Weapons

Professor Sir Joseph Rotblat: Social Responsibility of Scientists: the Pugwash Conferences.

Chair: Dr Sebastian Pease.

5th September 2001, University of Glasgow.

The Answer to Global Warming: A Plague of Windmills or Nuclear Proliferation?
17th December, 2001, at The Royal Society, London.
Speakers:
Dr. John Hassard - Combating Global Warming - The New Cold War

Prof. Jack Harris - Nuclear Power and Weapons Proliferation (Paper)

Prof. Dennis Anderson - Nuclear Power: what's wrong with the alternatives?

Synopsis:
Fossilised fuel is a much more concentrated form of energy than renewables and the replacement of the latter by the former has been the engine of change leading to the industrial revolution of the past 250 years. Nuclear power is a million times more concentrated still and, within the sweep of history, might be expected gradually to take over from fossilised fuel. This is not happening - in much of the industrial world, particularly in North America and most of Western Europe, nuclear power is unpopular and there is a virtual moratorium on new reactor construction.

Two new factors have have entered the equation - the rising price of natural gas and global warming. There seems to be general agreement that we should reduce the burning of fossilised fuels. Many argue for a large-scale deployment of renewables, but others suggest they cannot fill the huge gap which would be left by the withdrawal of the use of fossilised fuel. Who is right?

Nuclear Power, which like renewables does not emit greenhouse gases, becomes more attractive but it must be acknowledged that a 'civil' nuclear power programme is an excellent cover for a state to undertake a clandestine nuclear weapons programme. On the other hand, within stable states and responsible governments, a continuing and expanding civil nuclear power programme provides a market for the world's stockpiles of plutonium and highly enriched uranium, made redundant by disarmament programmes. In this sense an expansion of nuclear power might assist the disarmament process. Where does the balance lie? The purpose of the meeting is to explore this important question.

About the speakers:
John Hassard is Reader in Physics at Imperial College, London.

Dennis Anderson was formerly Energy and Industry Advisor to The World bank, and Chief Economist of Shell. Currently he is Director of the Centre for Energy Policy and Technology, and Professor of Energy and Environmental Studies at Imperial College, London.

Jack Harris is a Royal Society 'Esso' Gold Medallist for his work on the nuclear fuel cycle and is a member of the Executive of British Pugwash. He is Editor of Interdisciplinary Science Reviews.

Nuclear Weapons: Britain's Commitment to Disarm
26th April 2001, London.
Discussion opened by Dr Michael Clarke (Director, Centre for Defence Studies, London)

Return of Star Wars: A Threat to Peace?
8th December 2000, London
Speakers:
Air Marshal Sir Timothy Garden (UK)
Professor Richard Garwin (USA)
Dr Alexander Konovalov (Russia)

The Effects of Low-Level Radiation
18th April 2000, London
Speakers:

Dr Roger Clarke (Chairman, ICRP)
Dr Douglas Holdstock

Report by Peter Nicholls

Preventing Chemical and Biological Warfare: Is it Possible?
3rd December ,1999, London
Speakers:
Mr Paul Shulte (Ministry of Defence)
Mr Ioan Tudor (OPCW)
Dr Malcom Dando (Peace Studies, Bradford)

Precision Weapons - A Contribution to Peace?
29th October, 1999, Oxford
Speakers:
Prof Trevor Taylor (RMC Shrivenham)
Mr Frank Blackaby

Indian and Pakistani Nuclear Weapons: Where Next?
19th April, 1999, London
Speakers:
Mr H S Puri (Indian High Commission),
Commodore J A Khan (Pakistan H C)

Tridentosauros
5th April 1998, Edinburgh
Speakers:
Field Marshal Lord Carver
Robert McNamara
Malcom Rifkind
Dr R S Pease

"The Elimination of Nuclear Weapons"
A Public Meeting at the Royal Society
in Honor of the 90th Birthday of Sir Joseph Rotblat: London,
7 November 1998

John Holdren's Speech in honor of the occasion