Speakers:

• Hon Ms Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador), President of the 73rd UN General Assembly. Member of the World Future Council. Former Ecuador Foreign Minister and Defence Minister.
• Hon Gareth Evans (Australia). Chair, Asia Pacific Leadership Network on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament. Former Foreign Minister.
• Hon Mr Saber Chowdhury MP (Bangladesh), Honorary President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. PNND Co-President
• Hon Ms Jaejung Lee MP, (Korea). PNND Member.
• Mr Roberto Zamora (Costa Rica), Board Member of International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms.
• Ms Leah Bolger (USA). President of World Beyond War. Former Naval Commander and former President of Veterans for Peace.
• Ms Vanda Proskova (Czech Republic), Vice-Chair of PagueVision Institute for Sustainable Security. Co-convenor of Youth Fusion.

Background and Objectives
Armed conflict and nuclear weapons violate peoples’ Right to Life, consume trillions of dollars every year, impact significantly on the climate and impede sustainable development. The United Nations was established in 1945 with the primary goal to ‘save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’. The UN Charter prohibits the threat or use of force in international relations and provides a range of mechanisms for resolving conflicts and achieving security without recourse to war. In addition, the very first resolution of the UN General Assembly, adopted by consensus, establishes the goal of the elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. This session will explore how these objectives of the UN can be achieved, at least by 2045 the 100th anniversary of the UN.