The International Conference on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe was held in Luxembourg on May 24-25, 2007.
The Conference was attended by world leading experts, all present to address the issue of nuclear non-proliferation over the last decade.
Leading and most authoritative experts from 14 nations participated, including Mohamed El Baradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Sergey Kirienko, Head of the Russian Federal Agency for Atomic Energy, former Prime Minister of the Russian Federation; Rolf Ekeus , High Commissioner on National Minorities, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; Nikolay Laverov , Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences; William Perry , Member of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission (WMDC), Professor (Stanford University), former US Secretary of Defense; HANS BLIX Chairman, WMDC, former IAEA Director General.
Greetings to the participants were sent by Russian President Vladimir Putin , Deputy Prime Minister of the State of Israel Avigdor Liberman , Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affaires of the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg Jean Asselborn.
The Conference have received wide coverage by leading media outlets around the world, including AP, AFP, BBC, CNN, DPA, EuroNews, Reuters, Time, The Independent, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Russian news agencies ITAR-TASS, Interfax, RBC, newspapers ÇRossiyskaya Gazeta, ÇKommersant, ÇVedomosti, ÇIzvestia, ÇMoskovskie novosti, Nezavisimaya gazet and many others.
The Luxembourg forum was a scientific and practical gathering. Conference participants discussed new challenges and threats to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and its regime, as well as the outlook for its development as the regime’s supporting framework; the threat of nuclear terrorism; the issue of control over nuclear technologies and possible ways of international cooperation in this area; enhancement of the IAEA safeguards and export control mechanisms; and existing situation in the rogue states and regions (Middle East, Korean Peninsula and South Asia).
The Conference originally differed from many of that kind, as it was aimed at formulating specific proposals and recommendations on dealing with the nuclear security issue. Scientists and experts prepared the conclusive document of the Conference – the Declaration. It contains the Road Map – proposals to avoid collapse of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, as well as a number of initiatives to resolve nuclear issues. The declaration will be circulated to world leaders and prominent politicians and to influential international organizations.
One of main results of the Conference was the decision to create a permanent Luxembourg forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe with an executive body and expert council should be founded. 43 experts has joined the Forum, putting their signatures on the Declaration. The Forum activity will contribute to the Declaration Implementation by organizing conferences, workshops, working groups meetings. Leaders of Great Powers, UN Secretary General, leadership of NATO, OSCE, CSTO, Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other authoritative organizations will be provided for the outcomes of the Luxembourg Forum meetings.
The Luxembourg Conference substantially differs from other forums dealing with the non-proliferation issues, as it was initially aimed at gaining certain practical outcomes. Conference Participants prepared the culminating document – the Declaration containing proposals to prevent the collapse of the nuclear weapons non-proliferation regime and offers a set of practical steps to strengthen it.
The outcomes of the Luxembourg Conference and its Declaration were presented in Moscow on Tuesday, December 18, 2007.
The declaration was presented by a group of experts, including Hans Blix , Chairman of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission and former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (via videoconference between Moscow and Stockholm); Rolf Ekeus , Board Chairman of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute and former High Commissioner on National Minorities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe; Viatcheslav Kantor , Chairman of the Organizing Committee of the Luxembourg Conference and President of the European Jewish Congress and Russian Jewish Congress; Uzi Arad , founding head of the Institute for Policy and Strategy and Adviser to the Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee; Vladimir Dvorkin , Principal Researcher of the Institute for World Economy and International Relations at the Russian Academy of Sciences, Professor, retired Major General; and Sergey Oznobishchev , Director of the Institute for Strategic Assessments and Professor of the Moscow State Institute for International Relations at the Russian Ministry of Interior.
Viatcheslav Kantor announced the opening of a permanent Luxembourg Forum, explaining that the Forum’s program envisages regular workshops and conferences on the most current and pressing issues associated with nuclear weapons proliferation. The next Forum workshop will discuss the Iranian nuclear crisis.
“The establishment of the Luxemburg Forum and associated institutes will help formulate constructive decisions based on the experts’ proposals. The declaration is a roadmap on this issue. Those who disagree with it will have to confront the unanimous position of the expert global community rather than opinions of individual countries,” noted Kantor .
The Supervisory Board of the Luxembourg Forum includes high-level participants of the Luxembourg conference, in particular Hans Blix , Rolf Ekeus , Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Academician Nikolai Laverov and former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Perry . The following prominent politicians have tentatively agreed to join the Supervisory Board: former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger , Co-Chairman of the Nuclear Threat Initiative Sam Nunn and former Secretary of the Russian Federation Security Council and former Russian Foreign Affairs Minister Igor Ivanov .
During the discussion, Vladimir Dvorkin highlighted a growing concern in regard to the Iranian crisis. He stated that the recent U.S. intelligence report on the Iranian nuclear program gives rise to many questions. “It shows that Iran’s reporting to the IAEA was even more misleading than we used to think, since it had been developing its nuclear weapons prior to 2003. We need to understand what the words stating that Iran discontinued nuclear weapons research really mean. Perhaps the research has been completed.” He also stated that if the crisis is not resolved, more severe incremental sanctions must be taken against Iran.
