Nuclear war still possible despite Cold War end

Nuclear war still possible despite Cold War end

Nuclear war remains a possibility despite the ending of the Cold War, according to the one of the organisers of a nuclear arms control conference to be held in Brisbane in October.

The Nuclear Arms Control: Australian and Regional Perspectives Towards 2000 conference will be held at the Marriott Hotel in Brisbane on Friday and Saturday, 29 and 30 October.

The conference is jointly sponsored by the International Relations and Asian Politics Research Unit within the University of Queensland's Government Department, the Department for Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Australian Institute of International Affairs.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer will deliver a keynote address on the need for tighter nuclear arms control throughout the world on October 29 at 9.10am.

Government Department lecturer Dr Marianne Hanson said the nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan in May 1998 had dashed global hopes for a nuclear arms-free future.

"The end of the Cold War saw the United States and Russia move to reduce their nuclear arsenals but this process has stalled. The South Asian tests jolted us into reality but we're also seeing a new range of nations aspiring to nuclear status including Iran, Iraq and North Korea," she said.

"In 1998, North Korea tested a ballistic missile, an act perceived as extremely threatening by the Japanese, South Korean and American governments. These missiles can be easily fitted with nuclear war-heads.

"Before the Indian and Pakistani tests, the global taboo on nuclear testing had been strengthened by the outcry over French testing. Now we are facing the possibility of nuclear arms being used if the war in Kashmir escalates further."

Another key speaker will be Professor Ramesh Thakur from the United Nations University in Tokyo who will stress the importance of a United Nations conference next year scheduled to review nuclear proliferation. Dr Hanson said her presentation would urge the resurrection of the 1996 Canberra Commission report arguing for a phased elimination of nuclear arms.

"This highly respected report, an Australian initiative, could be revived and used to spearhead a fresh effort to rid the world of weapons of mass destruction," Dr Hanson said.

For more information, contact Dr Marianne Hanson (telephone 07 3365 3112).