GENEVA, 8 MAY 2008. The Australian government has raised several important issues which could help advance the abolition of nuclear weapons, during meetings on the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty this week.

MAPW Vice-President Dr Tilman Ruff, attending as an NGOi representative on the official delegation, believes that this position has allowed NGO input to be considered in the drafting of Australian government statements. This is the first time in that Australia has had NGO representatives on an NPTi delegation.

MAPW is pleased to see that official Australian government statements to this meeting have raised three important issues highlighted by MAPW and other concerned community organisations: 

• The possibility of a Nuclear Weapons Convention has now been raised officially by Australia.
• Australia welcomed the efforts of African states "to bring into force Pelindaba (African nuclear weapons free zone) treaty; and to practical cooperation among "existing nuclear weapons free zones in the Southern Hemisphere." 
• MAPW has been strongly advocating for medical isotopes not to be sourced from highly enriched uranium, which can be used for bombs. An Australian statement has now raised this issue: "We encourage States to work towards the minimisation of highly enriched uranium (HEUi) in civil applications, including radiopharmaceutical production."

Tim Wright, observing the meeting on behalf of ICANi, reports that NGOs will establish a working group to advance an African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, which needs countries which haven’t yet done so to ratify the Treaty in order to bring it into force. This would be a key step towards a nuclear weapons free southern hemisphere. Read ICAN's Geneva Blog