Media Comment on the Report

Australia

Age National Times Editorial, 16 December

“One striking aspect of the report ... is its unanimity.”

“…no small achievement that officials from the nuclear states of US, Russia, China, Britain, France, India and Pakistan could agree on targets …”

“… the consensus suggests the report … merits its subtitle: A Practical Agenda for Global Policymakers.”

“The report is practical because it is grounded in today’s geopolitical reality, with all its volatility and conflict, but also – significantly – with its renewed taste for cooperation.”

Age, 16 December: Daniel Flitton

Headline: The Bomb Squad

“This was no abstract or academic exercise.”

“The Commission heard testimony from dozens of experts from countries as diverse as Israel and Iran.”

“the final report … covers a raft of nuclear issues …”

Age, 16 December: Malcolm Fraser, Gustav Nossal, Barry Jones Peter Gration, John Sanderson, Tilman Ruff

“This report is particularly important because it comes when, for the first time, an American President is committed to long-term nuclear disarmament.”

“There is much to commend in the Commission’s report.”

Sydney Morning Herald, 16 December: National Editor Mark Davis

“ … report sets out a formula for revitalising the NPT’s grand bargain.”

Gareth Evans and his colleagues … have devised a deft set of recommendations that amount to a practical and realistic agenda rather than an idealistic wishlist.”

[The Prime Minister’s initiative] … could prove to be one of the best decisions of his first term in office.”

Canberra Times, 19 March: Editorial

“The … report combines ambition with a pragmatic view of geopolitical realities.”

“… sets out the case for renewed action succinctly …”

“… it’s a fair question whether Australia needs to take a lead on these issues. The short answer is that it is in our national interest to do so.”

Lowy Interpreter, 8 February: Dougal McInnes

On outreach with diplomats at the United Nations Geneva: “Evans was making the utterly practical point that introspection by those countries with nuclear weapons is the first step. And no matter how small the resulting step, this is progress.”

Japan

Asahi Shimbun, 16 December

“Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada responded positively to the report’s proposal of a no-first-use declaration, saying that it was a significant trend and that the issue should be discussed in detail to determine whether the proposal could be implemented in reality.”

Prime Minister Hatoyama is quoted as saying: “this [the ICNND Report] guidebook will lead the world to peace is now complete, and this is really wonderful.”

Kyodo News, 21 December, Editorial

“… what’s most important is to gradually change the world using this report as a foothold”.

United States

Documentary – ‘Nuclear tipping Point’ featuring ‘The Four Statesmen” – 27 Jan 2010

George Shultz noted: “the support that the Four Statesmen Initiative and other initiatives like the ICNND had generated (was) …‘breathtaking’, but we now need to start dealing with the reality of proliferation.”

Russia

First Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Ivanov at 46th Munich Security Conference, 6 February

[At the outset of his presentation Ivanov acknowledged the work of the Commission]: “Prominent figures and politicians around the world are joining their effort under auspices of such organisations as the Luxembourg Forum and the Evans-Kawaguchi Commission.”

United Kingdom

Financial Times, 22 December: David Gardner

“The … Commission … charts a tactically astute path towards hard-to-achieve goals via hard-to-refuse steps.”

“Its timing as well as design is good, tying in with Barack Obama’s stated goals on disarmament and ahead of crucial summits on the subject in 2010.”

The Guardian, 3 February: Timothy Garton Ash

“A very impressive report …”

Germany

Foreign Minister Dr Guido Westerwelle: press release, 15 December

“I think the Report offers important points for reflection. It sets out waymarks to guide us on the path to a nuclear-weapon-free world.”

Suddeutschezeitung, 6 February: Lead article by Commissioner Gen Klaus Naumann

“The ICNND report is the first and so far the only one which identifies concrete and comprehensive steps on how to create a world without nuclear weapons in a little more than two decades.”

“One should not just lay it aside like all the others.”

“The report leaves no doubt: the vision is achievable without any risk for the security of a single state, provided that the political will of the international community of states as a whole, and especially those in possession of nuclear weapons, exists and endures.”

India

The Hindu, Sandeep Dikshit, 17 Dec 2009:

“India welcomed the report’s advocacy of delegitimising nuclear weapons and suggesting a no-first-use or a modified no-first-use with sources saying: ‘This is in keeping with India’s position’ ”.

The Times of India (Editorial), Ramesh Thakur, 7 Jan 2010

“The report's major strength is that it tackles four critical dichotomous policy choices and helps us navigate our way through them to sensible decisions between the world as it is and as it ought to be.”

“First, marrying realism to idealism, it combines the non-proliferation and disarmament agenda by skilfully integrating minimisation in the short and medium term with elimination in the long but not indefinite term.”

“The report is comprehensive in covering the full spectrum of the nuclear power and weapons agenda on both the energy and security fronts, including the threat of nuclear terrorism.”

Israel

Tel Aviv Haaretz.com, Amir Oren, 10 Jan 2010

“(The report) is proportional, fair, and does not attack Israel or aspire to the unattainable.”

“The most creative idea in the report is this establishment of a parallel structure … – next generation NPT”.

“… acknowledges the dangers facing the Middle East and proposes a reasonable formula for resolving the nuclear concerns , from Tehran to terror.”

Contact details

Address:
ICNND Secretariat, R G Casey Building, John McEwen Crescent, Barton ACT 0221, Australia - Tel: +61 2 6261 1111 - Fax: +61 2 6261 1003 - Email: icnnd@dfat.gov.au

Tokyo Office:
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kasumigaseki 2-2-1 Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-8919 Japan