Anniversary Luxembourg Forum Conference to Discuss Major International Security Issues and Ways to Overcome the Nuclear Crises

On June 4-5, 2012, Berlin will host the anniversary conference of the Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe, which will mark five years since its founding. The conference will discuss crucial issues related to international security, ways to overcome nuclear crises and deadlocks, and how to resolve issues of nuclear arms proliferation and disarmament.

The conference billed as Contemporary Problems of Nuclear Non-proliferation is be attended by influential statespersons and international experts, including, among other, United States Department of State Assistant Secretary Rose Gottemoeller, Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov, IAEA Deputy Director General and Head of the Department of Nuclear Energy Alexander Bychkov, former United States Secretary of Defense William Perry, Luxembourg Forum President Viatcheslav Kantor, Rosatom Director General Sergey Kirienko, Vice President of the Russian Academy of Sciences Nikolay Laverov, former Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Nuclear Threat Initiative Sam Nunn, Director of the East-West Center at the University of Maryland, Academician of the Russian Academy of Science Roald Sagdeev, Chairman of the Munich Security Conference Wolfgang Ischinger, and Adviser to UN Secretary General on Disarmament Matters Adam Rotfeld.

The conference will focus on the current state and perspectives of nuclear arms reduction and limitation, the role of the UN Security Council in promoting non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The experts will discuss the role of the IAEA as the key institution in the sphere of nuclear non-proliferation, as well as the state of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty after the 2010 NPT review conference.

As usual, close attention will be paid to the nuclear problem of Iran and ways to resolve it, ways to overcome the North Korean nuclear crisis, and the situation in Pakistan.

As the outcome, the conference will draft and approve a final document containing expert conclusions and recommendations, which will be circulated to the heads of world powers, the UN Security Council, the CIS leadership, the Collective Security Treaty Organization, NATO, the IAEA and other international agencies.

The Luxembourg Forum’s plans for 2012 include completing an in-depth analysis of existing problems and designing new proposals to overcome deadlock in cooperation on the European missile defence shield, resuming negotiations between Russia and the U.S. on further strategic arms reduction, and starting talks on limitation of non-strategic nuclear weapons. The Forum intends to thoroughly analyze ways to prevent nuclear terrorism.

Since its inception, the Luxembourg Forum has held a number of top-tier events and conferences and achieved important results. The Forum has established close relations and understanding with global political leaders and institutions. Over the five years of its operation, the Forum has become one of the most influential international public organizations dealing with nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. Nearly all the Forum’s experts are world-renowned researchers and experts.

It is important for the Luxembourg Forum experts that their intellectual input in promoting major avenues to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regimes is in demand, and that the Forum’s recommendations not only reach their addressees but also are taken into consideration in practical decision-making. Their assurance is based on feedback received from leading heads of state, leaders of the UN, IAEA, NATO, the EU and other international institutions.

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The International Luxembourg Forum on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe was established pursuant to a decision of the International Conference on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe, held in Luxembourg on May 24-25, 2007. The Forum is one of the largest non-governmental organisations uniting leading world-renowned experts on non-proliferation of nuclear arms, arms reduction and limitation. The Forum is headed by its President, Viatcheslav Kantor, PhD. The principal guiding bodies of the Forum are the International Advisory Council and the Supervisory Council.

The Forum’s priorities are:

· To facilitate the process of arms limitation and reduction and counteract growing threats to the nuclear non-proliferation regime and erosion of the Non-Proliferation Treaty , including the escalating danger of nuclear terrorism and attempts by certain states to gain access to nuclear materials and technologies

· To promote international peace and security through new approaches and provide decision-makers with practical solutions to critical issues of non-proliferation and arms control