The Foreign Service Journal, May 2010

M A Y 2 0 1 0 / F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L 11 for the next five to 10 years, shortly be- fore this issue went to press. The re- view, which requires presidential approval of its findings and recom- mendations, will govern the adminis- tration’s approach to nuclear security. On the heels of the New START Treaty signing, the April 12-13 “Global Nuclear Security Summit” inWashing- ton, D.C., drew more than 40 world leaders to discussions focused onmeas- ures to prevent nuclear terrorism with, in particular, a goal to secure all “loose” nuclear materials within the next four years. Partnership for Global Security President Kenneth N. Luongo’s article in the January/February issue of Arms Control magazine outlining the issues before the summit is a useful reference for evaluating the meeting’s outcome. In early May, the Nuclear Non-Pro- liferation Treaty review conference is slated to open at the United Nations. Whether the momentum of the New START Treaty and the embrace of nonproliferation goals by Pres. Obama will help the assembled parties to make significant progress remains to be seen. The 2005 review conference, it may be recalled, was described by the Swedish Weapons of Mass Destruction Com- mission as “the biggest failure in the history of this treaty.” At this writing, an agenda for the meeting has been agreed upon, but there is no agreement on specific rec- ommendations to address the agenda items. However, as the Arms Control Association’s ( www.armscontrol.org ) resource guide on the many proposals for strengthening the NPT shows, there would seem to be ample poten- tial for agreement on the way forward. Meanwhile, grassroots campaigns aimed at building a dynamic popular consensus for nonproliferation have been active around the world. On Jan. 20-22, the Middle Powers Initiative ( www.middlepowers.org ) convened representatives from 20 middle-power governments, along with the U.S., the U.K., and representatives from the U.N. and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Office and the president-elect of the 2010 NPT Review Conference, Ambassador Libran Cabactulan of the Philippines, at the Carter Center in At- lanta for “Atlanta Consultation III: Fulfilling the NPT.” The MPI works with “middle power” governments to encourage and educate the nuclear-weapons states to take immediate practical steps that re- duce nuclear dangers and commence negotiations to eliminate nuclear wea- pons. The campaign is guided by the Initiative’s chairman, Ambassador Henrik Salander of Sweden. On Feb. 2-4, the two-year-old Glo- bal Zero organization ( www.global zero.org ) held a summit in Paris that opened with powerful messages from Pres. Medvedev and Pres. Obama. In his keynote to the 200 eminent inter- national political, military, business, civic, faith and student leaders present, former Secretary of State George Shultz declared that the growing polit- ical support for the goal of a nuclear weapons-free world means that we are “entitled to hope and believe that this is an idea whose time has come.” The group released its “Global Zero Action Plan” outlining a step-by-step strategy to eliminate nuclear weapons, developed over the past year by a com- mission of 23 international leaders. U.S. participants include Ambassadors Thomas Pickering and Richard Burt, former Senator Chuck Hagel and Clin- ton national security adviser Anthony Lake from the U.S. Also active has been the Project on Nuclear Issues at the Center for Secu- rity and International Studies ( www. csis.org ) in Washington, D.C. As we go to press, PONI convened its spring conference inWashington, D.C., bring- ing together young nuclear experts. Formally involving Washington, London and Paris, the project has two primary goals: build and sustain a net- worked community of young nuclear experts from across the nuclear enter- prise; and mobilize the wide-ranging nuclear expertise within its ranks to generate new ideas and further the public debate on all issues concerning nuclear weapons strategy, policy, infra- structure and related topics. Key Successes in U.S. Health Investments Promising findings from the Global Fund’s 2010 Results Report show that American investments in combating health epidemics such as HIV/AIDS, child mortality, tuberculosis and malar- ia have led to saving roughly 3,600 lives daily ( www.theglobalfund.org/en/ ) . The report suggests that other achievements are possible in the future, among them essentially eliminating mother-to-child HIV transmission, ending malaria-related deaths and halving cases of tuberculosis by 2015. The findings were highlighted by ONE, a grassroots campaign and ad- vocacy organization aimed at eliminat- ing poverty and preventable disease ( www.one.org ) . ONE Executive Di- rector Sheila Nix spoke of the “direct relationship” between key investments and saving countless lives from world- wide diseases, noting the responsibil- ity of the United States in continuing to invest and fund the Global Fund, the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief and other programs. The Global Fund, a public/private C Y B E R N O T E S