Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors:
Since the Conference on Disarmament has not yet been able to adopt a programme of work for over a decade, it is heartening to watch disarmament move forward in other arenas. When it became clear that cluster munitions were not going to be appropriately addressed under the framework of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, the Norwegian government announced it would start a separate process to ban cluster munitions that cause unacceptable harm to civilians, to assist survivors and affected communities, and to ensure clearance of their land - the Oslo Process. The third international conference of the Oslo Process is currently taking place in Wellington, New Zealand. Diplomatic representatives from more than 110 countries are there along with 164 non-governmental organization representatives from 38 countries. The conference will result in a draft treaty text that states will negotiate in Dublin, Ireland from 19–30 May 2008. For more information, see the Cluster Munitions Coalition's newsletter Cluster Ban News and WILPF's information on theconference and cluster munitions.
In peace,
Ray Acheson, Project Associate
1) Discussions on outer space in the Conference on Disarmament
As announced in the 31 January edition of the E-News, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov delivered a presentation to theConference on Disarmament (CD) on 12 February, introducing a joint Russia-China draft treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects. It is the first draft treaty formally introduced to the CD on this issue, though it is based on elements proposed in a working paper to the CD in June 2002 by Russia, China, Viet Nam, Indonesia, Belarus, Zimbabwe, and Syria. Minister Lavrov explained the draft treaty is designed "to eliminate existing lacunas in international space law, create conditions for further exploration and use of space, preserve costly space property, and strengthen general security and arms control."
Reaching Critical Will's CD Report for 12 February provides both an overview and an analysis of the draft text. It also dissects some of the media reaction to the treaty and covers other elements of Minister Lavrov's statement.
Subsequent reports, including that from 19 February, address other outer space issues that CD member states have not yet begun discussing in public sessions, such as the US government's plan to shoot down a failed satellite with a Standard Missile-3, a component of its controversial missile defence system. This incident highlights one of the deficiencies of the draft treaty proposed by Russia and China, which does not address attacks from ground- or sea-based interceptors such as the SM-3. The US government's decision has also evoked criticism from many space security experts, which are outlined in the report.
To see archived CD Reports, go to http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/cd/speeches08/reports.html.
To receive CD Reports in your inbox when they are published (usually twice per week), send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with the subject line "subscribe cdreport".
2) Commission on the Status of Women: events related to disarmament
The 52nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) begins on Monday, 25 February, in New York. CSW is the UN's principal global policy-making body dedicated exclusively to gender equality and the advancement of women. Every year, representatives of member states gather at UN Headquarters to evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards, and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide.
During the conference, hundreds of participating NGO representatives hold many parallel events to educate and advocate. Listed below are two events which focus on militarism, disarmament, and gender equality.
Women, War, and Budgeting for Peace, 6 March 2008
Sponsored by the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom
Location: Church Center at 777 UN Plaza, 8th floor, 11:45 AM - 1:15 PM
This panel will examine the waste of human and economic resources on war and armaments and the implications that military spending has on gender equality and sustainable peace and development. It will feature experts and activists on the issues of military spending, gender financing, and development, including Mary Beth Sullivan of the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space and Frida Berrigan of the New America Foundation. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for more information. CSW accreditation or UN badges are not required for attendance at this event.
The Impact of Guns on Women's Lives, 3 March 2008
Sponsored by the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs and the International Action Network on Small Arms
Location: UNHQ Conference Room 2, 1:15 - 2:45 PM
Speakers:
• Professor Wendy Cukier, Ryerson University, Canada
Context - small arms proliferation.
• Maria Pia Devoto, Asociación para Políticas Públicas, Argentina
Latin America's regional arms control policies - the importance of coordination and implementation.
• Marie Claire Ruhamya, Solidarity of Women of Burhale (SOFEBU), Eastern DRC
The flood of guns in DRC and the Great Lakes region.
• Binalakshmi Nepram - Control Arms Foundation, India
Women taking action to stop gun violence
• Widad Akrawi, Defend International, Iraq/Denmark
Breaking the link between guns and masculinity.
• Daniël Prins, Chief, Conventional Arms Branch, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs
UN action on the illicit trade in small arms from a gender perspective.
3) Update on Iran
On 13 February, a European diplomat told Reuters that the UN Security Council will probably not vote on a third sanctions resolution against Iran's nuclear programme until after the next International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report is released. The unidentified diplomat said "the vote is not specifically tied to the IAEA report, but it just so happens that by the time we get around to voting on it, it will most likely be after the report is out." According to the article, South Africa's Security Council delegation has been pressing the five permanent members to wait for the report: "South Africa and other members of the Non-Aligned Movement say the IAEA's investigation is relevant and want the Council to wait until it has as much information as possible." A US official reportedly said the vote could come any day: "There is nothing holding this up other than trying to get agreement.... As soon as that happens, we will vote." Other diplomats reportedly indicated that "waiting for the IAEA report will help them by ensuring they get a 'yes' vote from South Africa." Diplomats said concerns from Libya and Viet Nam were also holding up the vote. Apparently, Libya, which until recently was the target of UN sanctions, opposes sanctions in general while Viet Nam is unwilling to interfere in other countries' affairs.
The following day, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and other senior French officials met in Paris with Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the IAEA, in an effort to "smooth over" differences between France and the Agency over Iran's nuclear programme. A statement issued by the Élysée Palace after Mr. Sarkozy's meeting with Dr. ElBaradei said that the French president encouraged him to investigate Iran's nuclear activities "at length and with determination." Three French officials familiar with the meetings said that the conversations with Dr. ElBaradei were cordial. ElBaradei reportedly reiterated that Iran would never agree to suspend uranium enrichment and that the world powers must negotiate with Iran with no preconditions.
The New York Times reported, "Much to the frustration of his hosts, he had no specific proposal on how such negotiations could take place, the officials said." One should note that, as Michael Spies of the Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy says,
there have been various offers by Iran to negotiate directly with the United States on a variety of issues of mutual concern, and that the US government, after years of dismissing such offers out of hand, instead opted to engage in talks as part of the EU3+3 process, where it put nothing more concrete than spare aircraft parts on the table in exchange for verifiable suspension of Iran's nuclear fuel cycle program. And of course, the onus is on the parties to the dispute to set the time, place, and conditions for negotiations, not Dr. ElBaradei.
See RCW's Nuclear Iran? page for more updates and background information: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/iran.html
4) WILPF member to deliver the 2008 Bertrand Russell Peace Lectures
Dr. Cynthia Cockburn, longstanding member of WILPF and the IANSA Women's Network, has been honoured with an invitation to give this year's Bertrand Russell Peace Lecture on 3-4 March at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The theme of her lectures is gender as a driving force in war. Her first lecture will be on "Masculinities and militarism," and the second lecture will be on "Gender, power and violence."
The prestigious lecture series was established in 1985, to include eminent speakers who advance the understanding of peace, justice, and human rights, and who combine intellectual insight with passionate personal advocacy. Previous lecturers have included internationally renowned scholars E.P. Thompson, Edward Said, and Noam Chomsky.
Please see www.humanities.mcmaster.ca and www.cynthiacockburn.org for more information.
Thanks to IANSA Women's Network for bringing this news to our attention!
5) Calling for submissions to the News in Review
The News in Review is a daily publication produced during nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Preparatory Committee and Review Conferences. It features analysis of the day's events, feature articles from NGOs around the world, interviews with diplomats and NGO representatives, nuclear facts, announcements, cartoons, a calendar of events, and more. You can access archived News in Review online at http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/npt/nirindex.html.
We encourage you to submit to this year's News in Review. The guidelines are as follows:
Feature articles: In addition to the daily analysis of the proceedings of the PrepCom, the News in Review also contains feature articles that cover a range of nuclear disarmament issues. We welcome submissions from NGO experts around the world, regardless of whether or not you will be in Geneva. Articles should be between 500-1000 words. The deadline for feature submissions is 18 April. Please submit in .doc format and the body of the email. Articles will be attributed to the author and may be edited for length.
Advertising space: You can use the News in Review to publicize an important announcement, event, publication, or project hosted by your organization. NIRs are hand-distributed to all of the delegates at the PrepCom, sent by email to hundreds of subscribers, and are archived on our website.
1/4 page ad: $35
1/2 page ad: $55
full page ad: $125
back page ad: $180
(Run your ad twice and get $10 off. Run your add three times and get $20 off. Run your ad four times and get $30 off.)
Cartoons, photos, artwork, poetry: The News in Review wouldn't be complete without its fill of poignant, satirical, and beautiful artwork. We are accepting all forms of anti-nuclear artwork, to be sent in either a .jpg, .gif, or .pdf file. Photos, paintings, doodles, cartoons, collage, mixed media, and drawings are all welcome.
Submit your ad, article, or artwork by sending:
your organization's name;
contact person;
email address;
phone number;
type of submission (for ads, please specify the size of the ad, dates for it to run, and payment method); and
the submission
to the project associate at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. The deadline for all submissions is 18 April - the earlier the better!
