Sydney Peace Prize, 2007

www.spf.arts.usyd.edu.au/prize.shtml

DrHans Blix,the Swedish diplomat, international human rights lawyer, weapons inspector and disarmament campaigner is the Sydney Peace Prize jury’s unanimous choice as recipient of the 2007 Sydney Peace Prize.. He is honoured for his "principled and courageous opposition to proponents of the war in Iraq, for life long advocacy of humanitarian law and non violence and for leadership of disarmament programs to rid the world of weapons of terror."

Dr Blix will present the 2007 City of Sydney Peace Prize Lecture on 7 November 2007 at the Sydney Town Hall at 6.30pm. Award winning musician Lior will present a musical introduction to the evening.

Director of the Sydney Peace Foundation, Professor Emeritus Stuart Rees, says that the choice of Dr. Blix ‘‘signals a need for an Australian Government to revive the work of the 1996 Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons although, as chair of the WMD Commission, Hans Blix’s interpretation of disarmament ranges from small guns to biological, chemical and nuclear weapons.’’ Rees adds: ‘‘It was impressive that other members of the WMD Commission praised Hans Blix for his personal diplomacy and unique skills as chairman. These qualities enabled the Commission to reach a successful outcome.’’

Former Australian PM, The Honourable Paul Keating* will present the 2007 Sydney Peace Prize to Dr Blix at the Award Ceremony and Gala Dinner at the Great Hall, University of Sydney on 8 November, 7pm.

THE CANBERRA COMMISSION

In 1995 Paul Keating, then PM established the Canberra Commission, a group of seventeen distinguished world figures, to develop ideas and proposals for a concrete and realistic program to achieve a world totally free of nuclear weapons.

Among the Commissioners were: General Butler, former Commander-inChief of the U.S. Strategic Air Command (1991-1992) and the U.S. Strategic Command (1992-94) who was responsible for all the nuclear forces of the American Air Force and Navy; Field Marshall Lord Carver, former Chief of the British Defence Staff (1973-76); Robert McNamara, former American Secretary of Defense under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson; and Joseph Rotblat, President of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, who won the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize for his work on nuclear disarmament.

The Canberra Commission's report stated that, "Nuclear weapons pose an intolerable threat to all humanity and its habitat," and urged the nuclear states to immediately and "unequivocally" commit themselves to eliminating nuclear weapons, as "Such a commitment would propel the process in the most direct and imaginative way."

While getting to zero was the goal, the Commission pointed to a number of practical steps that should be taken immediately, such as taking nuclear forces off alert and removing warheads from delivery vehicles