"The Power of Parliamentarians in Abolishing Nuclear Weapons"

Address by The Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C. at the Climbing the Mountain: Legislators collaborating on bilateral, plurilateral and global measures towards a secure nuclear-weapons-free world Parliamentary Conference and Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) Annual Assembly held in Washington, DC, February 25-27, 2014

This Parliamentary Assembly brought together legislators from across the political spectrum and from around the world in order to facilitate dialogue, enhance understanding and build parliamentary engagement in practical measures to advance nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and achieve a nuclear-weapons free world.  The conference particularly focused on engagement between US legislators and legislators from key countries where progress is required to build cooperative security, phase-out the reliance on nuclear weapons and establish the framework for a secure nuclear-weapons-free world.

The events were hosted by Honorary Chair US Senator Ed Markey, Co-President of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, organised by Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND) and the Fredrick Ebert Foundation, and supported by The Simons Foundation and the Kazakhstan Embassy to the United States.

Please visit The International News Magazine for a complete transcript of remarks made by The Hon. Douglas Roche.

The Hon. Douglas Roche is a former Canadian Senator, parliamentarian, diplomat and author, and one of The Simons Foundation's Peace Leaders.