Lord
Ashdown of Norton-sub-Hamdon Delivers Annual Rotblat Lecture at the
Guardian Hay Literary Festival
"Ashdown's
Third Law"
On 25 May,
Paddy Ashdown, leading British politician and international diplomat,
delivered this year's Rotblat Lecture
to a packed audience at the Hay Literary Festival. Ashdown served as
leader of the Liberal Democrats (1988-1999) and
international High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina (2002-2006),
among his many important roles..
"If
we want a more ordered world at a time of great instability,
we are going to have to provide a space at the top tables for nations
that do not share
our culture, our history, our world view or even our values."
British Pugwash
and the WMD Awareness Programme
co-sponsored this talk.
It was chaired by journalist Rosie Boycott, and introduced by BPG Chair
John Finney.
A summary
of the talk is available on the Guardian Comment is Free website. Click
here.
The full text is available on the WMD Awareness Programme site here.
An article about the talk, "Paddy’s plan for better Parliament
– cull MPs and elect the Lords" from WalesOnline, 26 May 2009,
is available here.
   
Prospects for Dialogue in the
Middle East
On 30 April 2009,
British Pugwash sponsored a discussion meeting featuring:
Paolo Cotta-Ramusino, Pugwash Secretary General; Andreas Persbo,
Senior Researcher, VERTIC;
Nomi Bar-Yaacov, Middle East Expert; and Rosemary Hollis, Director,
Olive Tree Programme. Paolo and Andreas discussed,
"Improving Relations between Iran and the West: recent Pugwash
experience." and
Nomi and Rosemary addressed, "Prospects for Peace in the Middle
East, post-Gaza and the Israeli election."
(Download
a PDF flyer here)
Andreas Persbo,
"Safeguards in Iran: Prospects and Challenges." For a PDF
file of the presentation, please click here.
JOSEPH
ROTBLAT CENTENTARY
The Pugwash
Conferences on Science and World Affairs and the British Pugwash Pugwash
Group
hosted
in London on 9 December 2008 the European premiere of
The
Strangest Dream
a new film
about Jo Rotblat, Pugwash, and nuclear weapons, produced by the National
Film Board of Canada.
The film was
followed by a Q&A with director Eric Bednarski, producer Kent Martin,
and Pugwash president Jayantha Dhanapala.
Special thanks
to the National Film Board of Canada. Organised in cooperation with the
WMD Awareness Programme.
For more information
about the film, click here.
    
Photos (left to right):
Pugwash President Jayantha Dhanapala with Dr Patricia Lindop, former Assistant
Secretary General of Pugwash. Eric Bednarski, Director of The Strangest
Dream. Kent Martin, Producer of The Strangest Dream, Jayantha Dhanapala,
Eric Bednarski, and British Pugwash Chair John Finney. Pugwash Executive
Director Jeffrey Boutwell. Pugwash Secretary General Paolo Cotta-Ramusino.
Please
click here for more photos.
With special
thanks to Dr Abbas Al-Hussaini for some of these photos.
JOSEPH ROTBLAT
CENTENARY
Progressing the nuclear disarmament
agenda
Policy, diplomacy and science
10 December 2008
This seminar explored concrete suggestions for creating
and developing the political and technical environments
conducive to the eventual attainment of a nuclear weapons free world.
As achieving this end was the major focus of
Professor Joseph Rotblat’s life’s work, this workshop was a highly appropriate
way in which to honour the centenary of his birth.
Click
here for agenda and presentations
NATO Advanced Research Workshop
The Role of Independent
Scientists
in WMD Threat Assessment
13 – 16 November 2008
Zagreb, Croatia
Final
Agenda
Co-Directors Prof.
John Finney (London) & Prof.
Ivo Slaus (Zagreb)
Organized in cooperation with British
Pugwash, Croatian Pugwash,
and the Institute for International Relations
(IMO)
Sessions Addressed:
- Scientists and Policy Formation on CBRN Weapons: Current
Structures
- How Threat Assessment Affects Policy (with recent examples)
- Chemical Weapons
- Biological Weapons
- Nuclear Threats
- Ballistic Missiles
- The Relevance of WMD Threat Assessment for South-Eastern
Europe and the Caucasus
- The Way Forward: Breaking the Threat-Counter Threat Cycle
Principal Speakers Included:
- Mile Aleksoski, Balkan Security Forum
- Kirill Babievsky, Russian Academy of
Sciences
- Noha Bakr, American University in Cairo
- Don Clagett, US Department of State,
former OPCW
- Avner Cohen, Former Senior Fellow, United
States Institute of Peace
- Michael Crowley, Bradford
University, Non-Lethal Weapons Research Project
- Annegrete Falter, Federation of German
Scientists
- John Finney, Professor of Physics, University
College London
- Geoffrey Forden, MIT, Science, Technology
and Society Program
- David Friedman, (Col, ret.) Institute
for National Security Studies, Tel Aviv
- Richard Garwin, IBM Fellow Emeritus,
consultant to the U.S. government on military technology
and arms control (audio presentation)
- Srdjan Gligorijevic, International and
Security Affairs Center, Serbia
- Sir Brian Heap, European Academies Science
Advisory Council; Royal Society
- Jo Husbands, Senior Project Director,
National Academy of Sciences
- Venance Journe, National Scientific Research
Council, Paris
- Gabriele Kraatz-Wadsack, Chief, WMD Branch,
UN Office of Disarmament Affairs
- Robert Lovsin, Science Policy Research
Unit, University of Sussex
- Zvonimir Mahecic, (Col, ret.) Security
and Defence Analyst, IMO
- Jiri Matousek, Former Chairman, OPCW
Scientific Advisory Panel
- Götz Neuneck, Project Leader, Institute
for Peace Research and Security Policy
- Mohamed Kadry Said, (Maj Gen, ret) Al-Ahram
Center for Political and Strategic Studies
- Ivo Slaus, Emeritus Professor, Rudjer
Boskovic Institute, former Member of Parliament
- Geoffrey L. Smith, Chair, Dept of Virology,
Imperial College London; Royal Society
- Mladen Stanicic, Director, Institute
for International Relations
- Ralf Trapp, Independent Consultant, former
OPCW
- Col. Tomislav Vibovec, RACVIAC Center
for Security Cooperation
- Houston G. Wood III, Professor of Mechanical
and Aerospace Engineering, University of Virginia
The Importance: There are many levels on which the
scientific advice given to decision makers influences not just military
and defence strategies and force postures, but also affects broader
foreign policy. Yet many countries do not appear to take full advantage
of the independent scientific expertise available on these topics. It
is crucial to ensure structures are in place to foster a sound scientific
basis for policy formation.
The Need: This ARW explored ways in which to ensure
that NATO, Partner, and Mediterranean Dialogue countries are maximising
the scientific resources available to them, and highlighted ways in
which they can take better advantage of the role of independent scientists
in threat assessment. Participants in the ARW were leading scientists
representing a broad geographical balance, who shared their insights
and perspectives in advising governments in various capacities.
Please contact us at pugwash@mac.com if you would
like more information.
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 (PDF
of presentation available)
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
  
 
Cambridge
Student Pugwash Garden Party for Jayantha Dhanapala, 12 June 2008
Back
Row: Chris Taylor (webmaster), Jonathan Edge (treasurer), unidentified,
Michael Hoffmann (chair 2006-7), Jayantha Dhanapala (Pugwash President),
Robert Hinde (advisor, deputy-chair British Pugwash), Mark Rosin (chair
2008-9). Front: Carl Scheffler, Katie Taylor (committee 2007-8 and 2008-9),
Kate Marvel (chair 2007-8), Sarah Hopkins (committee 2007-8 and 2008-9).
 
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.
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
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