MEDIA RELEASE: ASIA PACIFIC LEADERS CALL FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

Read the complete statement by clicking the adjacent link to the left.

SEOUL 12 DECEMBER 2011. Over thirty political, diplomatic and military leaders from fourteen Asia Pacific countries – including five former prime ministers and 10 former foreign and defence ministers – have signed a joint statement strongly supporting a nuclear weapons free world, and calling on policymakers to “get serious” about nuclear non- proliferation and disarmament.

The statement (attached) expresses concern that the momentum for worldwide action, generated especially by President Obama’s 2009 Prague speech, is in danger of stalling, warns that the risks associated with nuclear weapons are much more acute than most policymakers accept and most publics are aware, and outlines the policy commitments that need to be made.

Released in Seoul today, the statement is the inaugural step in a planned ongoing advocacy campaign by the Asia Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN), which was established recognising that this region impacts every dimension of the global nuclear agenda, with acute tensions and risks remaining in South Asia and the Korean Peninsula in particular.

The Convenor of the group, former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans, said in launching the statement at a conference in Seoul:

The quest to eliminate nuclear weapons cannot begin to succeed without the determined engagement of policymakers in the Asia Pacific region. We hope that this stellar group of senior, respected and extraordinarily experienced individuals can really help make that happen.