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    Programme of events

    Towards Zero: Britain’s role in furthering nuclear non-proliferation and multilateral approaches to disarmament

    09:00, 3 Dec 2009
    RUSI, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2ET
    Link to map: multimap

    About the event:

    On 3 December 2009 RUSI, partnered with the UN Association of the UK (UNA-UK) and the British American Security Information Council (BASIC), hosted a high-profile conference on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.

    Focusing on Britain's role in furthering nuclear non-proliferation and multilateral disarmament, the 'Towards Zero' conference provided a forum for a number of proposed methods and measures on furthering the UK's leading role in the growing nuclear disarmament movement. The conference featured ideas from a number of prominent academics, international policy experts and governmental figures, such as the US Special Representative for North Korea policy, Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, Advisor to the UK Prime Minister on Nuclear Non-proliferation, Baroness Williams of Crosby, RUSI's Professor Malcolm Chalmers,  and Director-General of Defence and Intelligence for the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Mariot Leslie.

    Identifying a number of actions that various UK institutions should urgently take, Baroness Williams called for experts to engage with the 'immediate politics of the issue', especially by establishing the common ground between the major political parties 'before the next general election'.  Reaffirming the UK's commitment to the ultimate goal of complete global nuclear disarmament, Mariot Leslie also noted the importance of organisations such as the newly formed cross-party Parliamentary 'Top Level Group' on multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation.

    Chair of the Defence Select Committee, James Arbuthnot MP, spoke on the UK's contribution, stating that 'we have a role to play in argument and posture', but describing the government's 2006 white paper on the 'The Future of the United Kingdom's Nuclear Deterrent' an 'inadequate discussion of deterrence'. Chair of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, Mike Gapes MP, called for a 'greater European contribution' to the 2010 NPT Review Conference, stressing that whilst the UK's contributions to disarmament were good, more must be done to further collective progress amongst nuclear weapon states, especially the US and Russia.

    CONFERENCE AGENDA

    Session 1: What is Britain's role? >> click here to listen to this session >>

    Introduction - Professor Michael Clarke, Director, Royal United Services Institute

    Chair: Lord Hannay of Chiswick, Chair, United Nations Association of the UK

    James Arbuthnot MP, Chair, Defence Select Committee

    Mike Gapes MP, Chair, Foreign Affairs Select Committee

    Session 2: The international context >> click here to listen to this session >>

    Chair: Professor Malcolm Chalmers, Royal United Services Institute

    Mariot Leslie, Director-General, Defence and Intelligence, FCO

    Baroness Williams of Crosby,Advisor to the Prime Minister on Nuclear Proliferation

    Session 3: A US perspective

    Chair: Paul Ingram, Executive Director, British American Security Information Council

    Ambassador Stephen Bosworth, US Special Representative for North Korea Policy

    Mark Fitzpatrick, Senior Fellow, International Institute for Strategic Studies

    Session 4: Building trust and confidence >> click here to listen to this session >>

    Chair: Professor Nick Wheeler, University of Wales, Aberystwyth

    Professor John Simpson, Director, Mountbatten Centre for International Studies

    Ambassador Alyson Bailes, Visiting Professor, University of Iceland

    Closing remarks - Lord Hannay of Chiswick, Chair, United Nations Association of the UK

    Event manager: Event Office, +44(0)20 7747 2600

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