5th Meeting of the Commission, Vienna, 2-4 July 2010 

Joint Statement by Gareth Evans and Yoriko Kawaguchi, Co-Chairs

Media release, 5 July 2010

The International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament held its final meeting in Vienna on 2-4 July 2010 to review progress made in meeting its mandate of re-energizing global efforts towards the goal of eliminating nuclear threats.

The Commission's findings — and recommendations as to how its action agendas for the future, as set out in its December 2009 report, could best be followed through — are set out in the attached Communique.

The Commission recommends the establishment of a Global Centre on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament to focus and encourage the continuing interest of the whole international community — governments and civil society alike — in eliminating nuclear threats once and for all.

The primary role of the Centre would be to publish, and conduct advocacy related to, an annual "report card" evaluating the performance of both nuclear-armed and non-nuclear-armed states, and relevant international organizations, against the action agendas in the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference Final Document and, amongst other sources, the Commission's report.

The other major role of the Centre would be to lead worldwide research aimed at refining and developing a Nuclear Weapons Convention, with the aim of having a robust model available to inform and guide multilateral disarmament negotiations as they gain momentum.

Following the Commission meeting, Co-chairs Gareth Evans and Yoriko Kawaguchi briefed Austria's Foreign Minister Dr Michael Spindelegger, the International Atomic Energy Agency and other key Vienna-based nuclear agencies, including the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization on the outcome of the final Commission meeting.

For detailed background on the Commission, an independent global panel established by the Governments of Australia and Japan, and the full text of its report, see www.icnnd.org.