Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs

Thinkers' Lodge, Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Canada; site of the first Pugwash conference in 1957.

The Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs is an armed conflict and to seek solutions to global security threats. It was founded in 1957 by Joseph Rotblat and Bertrand Russell in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Canada, following the release of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto in 1955.

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Rotblat and the Pugwash Conference won jointly the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 for their efforts on nuclear disarmament.^{[1][note 1]} International Student/Young Pugwash groups have existed since founder Cyrus Eaton's death in 1979.

Origin of the Pugwash Conferences

The Russell-Einstein Manifesto, released July 9, 1955, called for a conference for scientists to assess the dangers of weapons of mass destruction (then only considered to be nuclear weapons). Cyrus Eaton, an industrialist and philanthropist, offered on July 13 to finance and host the conference in the town of his birth, Pugwash, Nova Scotia. This was not taken up at the time because a meeting was planned for India, at the invitation of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. With the outbreak of the Suez Crisis the Indian conference was postponed. Aristotle Onassis offered to finance a meeting in Monaco instead, but this was rejected. Eaton's former invitation was taken up.

The first conference was held at what became known as Thinkers' Lodge^[2] in July 1957 in Pugwash, Nova Scotia. Twenty-two scientists attended the first conference:

• seven from the USA (David F. Cavers, Paul Doty, Hermann J. Muller, Eugene Rabinowitch, Walter Selove, Leó Szilárd, Victor F. Weisskopf)
• three from the Soviet Union (Alexander M. Kuzin (Александр М. Кузин), Dmitri V. Skobeltzyn, Alexander V. Topchiev (Александр В. Топчиев))
• three from Japan (Iwao Ogawa, Shinichiro Tomonaga, Hideki Yukawa)
• two from the UK (Cecil F. Powell, Joseph Rotblat)
• two from Canada (Brock Chisholm, John S. Foster)
• one each from Australia (Mark L. E. Oliphant), Austria (Hans Thirring), China (Chou Pei-Yuan), France (Antoine M. B. Lacassagne) and Poland (Marian Danysz).

Cyrus Eaton, Eric Burhop, Ruth Adams, Anne Kinder Jones, and Vladimir Pavlichenko also were present. Many others were unable to attend, including co-founder Bertrand Russell, for health reasons.

Organizational structure

Cyrus Eaton - financier of Pugwash Conferences

Pugwash's "main objective is the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical and biological) and of war as a social institution to settle international disputes. To that extent, peaceful resolution of conflicts through dialogue and mutual understanding is an essential part of Pugwash activities, that is particularly relevant when and where nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction are deployed or could be used."^[3]

"The various Pugwash activities (general conferences, workshops, study groups, consultations and special projects) provide a channel of communication between scientists, scholars, and individuals experienced in government, diplomacy, and the military for in-depth discussion and analysis of the problems and opportunities at the intersection of science and world affairs. To ensure a free and frank exchange of views, conducive to the emergence of original ideas and an effective communication between different or antagonistic governments, countries and groups, Pugwash meetings as a rule are held in private. This is the main modus operandi of Pugwash. In addition to influencing governments by the transmission of the results of these discussions and meetings, Pugwash also may seek to make an impact on the scientific community and on public opinion through the holding of special types of meetings and through its publications."^[3]

Officers include the president and secretary-general. Formal governance is provided by the Pugwash Council, which serves for five years. There is also an executive committee that assists the secretary-general. Jayantha Dhanapala is the current president. Paolo Cotta-Ramusino is the current Secretary General.

The four Pugwash offices, in Rome (international secretariat), London, Geneva, and Washington D.C., provide support for Pugwash activities and serve as liaisons to the United Nations and other international organizations.

There are approximately fifty national Pugwash groups, organized as independent entities and often supported or administered by national academies of science.

The International Student/Young Pugwash groups works with, but are independent from, the international Pugwash group.

Contributions to international security

Pugwash encounter and tour held at the National Accelerator Laboratory, now Fermilab, September 12, 1970, left to right: Norman Ramsey, Francis Perrin, Robert R. Wilson

During the front conference for the Soviet Union, whose agents often managed to weaken Pugwash critique of USSR and instead concentrate on blaming the United States and the West.^[7] In 1980, the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence received a report that the Pugwash Conference was used by Soviet delegates to promote Soviet propaganda. Joseph Rotblat said in his 1998 Bertrand Russell Peace Lecture that there were a few participants in the conferences from the Soviet Union "who were obviously sent to push the party line, but the majority were genuine scientists and behaved as such".^[8]

Following the end of the Cold War, the traditional Pugwash focus on decreasing the salience of nuclear weapons and promoting a world free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction addresses the following issue areas:^[9]

• Nuclear stability, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation: 1. Traditional Nuclear Disarmament, US-Russia nuclear disarmament, nuclear weapons in Europe; 2. Nuclear weapons and nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, Israeli nuclear weapons, Iranian nuclear program, proposal for a Middle Eastern zone free of weapons of mass destruction, Arab attitudes towards nuclear weapons and nuclear proliferation; 3. India and Pakistan nuclear relations, the effects of US India nuclear deal; 4. North Korea.

• Regional security in regions where nuclear weapons exist or risks of nuclear proliferation are significant: 1. Middle East—general issues, the impact of the Palestinian problem and its relevance in the Arab world, the consequences of the so-called Arab spring and the growth of the Islamic movements and parties, Arab-Iranian, Arab-Israeli and Iran-Israeli relations; 2. South-Central Asia—traditional antagonism between India and Pakistan, the role of terrorist attacks in the worsening of such antagonism, US-Pakistani relations in general. The role of radical movements in Pakistan, reconciliation and peace in Afghanistan, talking to the Taliban (is it possible and how should be done?), Pakistani-Afghan relations.

The Pugwash movement has also been concerned with environmental issues and as a result of its 1988 meeting in Dagomys it issued the Dagomys Declaration on Environmental Degradation (see the External link Dagomys Declaration on Environmental Degradation below).

Nobel Peace Prize

In 1995, fifty years after the bombing of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and forty years after the signing of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, the Pugwash Conferences and Joseph Rotblat were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize jointly

"for their efforts to diminish the part played by nuclear arms in international politics and, in the longer run, to eliminate such arms".

The Norwegian Nobel committee hoped that awarding the prize to Rotblat and Pugwash would

"encourage world leaders to intensify their efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons".

In his acceptance speech, Rotblat quoted a key phrase from the Manifesto:

"Remember your humanity".

International Foundation for Science

From the 1965 Pugwash conference came a recommendation to establish the International Foundation for Science "in order to address the stultifying conditions under which younger faculty members in the universities of developing countries were attempting to do research".^[10] The organization gives grants to early-career scientists in low-income countries for work on local water resources and biology.^[10]

Secretaries General

• Joseph Rotblat 1957 -1973
• Bernard Feld 1973-1978
• Martin Kaplan 1978-1989
• Francesco Calogero 1989-1997
• George Rathjens 1997-2002
• Paolo Cotta-Ramusino 2002-

Pugwash Presidents

^[11]

• Earl (Bertrand) Russell, 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature, a founder of the movement, was its natural head in its initial years. The formal office of the presidency was established at the Quinquennial Conference in Ronneby, in 1967. The president's role was to "preside over the Annual Pugwash Conferences and, in addition, between Conferences, to offer his counsel and advice to the members of the Continuing Committee and the Secretary-General, and thereby assist them in the execution of the activities of the Movement."
• Sir John Cockcroft, joint recipient of the 1951 Nobel Prize in Physics for pioneering work on the transmutation of atomic nuclei by artificially accelerated atomic particles, was elected as the first president in 1967, though he died suddenly ten days later.
• Lord Florey, who shared the 1945 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for extraction of penicillin, was then invited to become president, though he also died within weeks. At that point the Continuing Committee decided to have a rotating presidency for a term of one year, to have that office held by a distinguished person in the country where the annual conference would be held each year.
• Francis Perrin (1968), had worked with Frederic Joliot's team to establish in 1939 the possibility of nuclear chain reactions and nuclear energy production.
• Mikhail Millionshchikov (1969), an eminent physicist who later became Speaker of the Russian Parliament.
• Eugene Rabinowitch (1970), American biophysicist who worked on the Manhattan Project and was co-author with Leo Szilard of the Franck Report and co-founder in 1945 of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. In September 1970, the Continuing Committee switched back to the initial idea of a permanent office of president, with a five year term.
• Hannes Alfvén (1970 - 1975), recipient of the 1970 Nobel in Physics for work on his theory of magnetohydrodynamics.
• Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (1976 - 1988), recipient of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her determinations by X-ray techniques of the structures of important biochemical substances.^[12]
• Sir Joseph Rotblat (1988 - 1997), physicist, one of the founders of the Pugwash Movement, co-recipient of the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize.
• Sir Michael Atiyah (1997 - 2002), a mathematician, was awarded the 1966 Fields Medal, for his work in developing K-theory.
• Prof. M.S. Swaminathan (2002 - 2007), agricultural scientist, one of the pioneers of the Green Revolution and recipient of the World Food Prize and the UNESCO Gandhi Prize.
• "Amb. Jayantha Dhanapla" (2002-), former Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs at the United Nations (1998-2003), and former Ambassador of Sri Lanka to the US (1995–97) and to the UN Office in Geneva (1984–87)

Pugwashites

Pugwash does not have formal membership. All participants take part in their individual capacities and not as representatives of any organization, institution or government. Anyone who has attended a meeting is considered a "Pugwashite". There are more than 3,500 "Pugwashites" worldwide.

Pugwash Council for the 2007-2012 Quinquennium

• Amb. Jayantha Dhanapala (President), former UN Under-Secretary-General
• Prof. Paolo Cotta-Ramusino (Secretary General), Professor of Theoretical Physics, University of Milano (Italy)
• Amb. (ret.) Ochieng Adala, former Perm Rep of Kenya to the United Nations in New York.
• Amb. Sergey Batsanov, Director, Geneva Pugwash, former Rep of the USSR/Russia to CD
• Dr. Adele Buckley, fmr VP of Tech, Ontario Centre for Enviro Tech Advancement.
• Prof. Francesco Calogero (Fmr Sec Gen), Prof, Theoretical Physics, Univ of Rome "La Sapienza".
• Dr. Lynn Eden, Center for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford Univ.
• Prof. John Finney, Emeritus Prof of Physics, University College London.
• Prof. Galia Golan-Gild, Professor of Govt, Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya, Israel.
• Prof. Karen Hallberg, Prof of Physics, Fellow, Argentine Natl Council, Science & Tech
• Dr. Peter Jones, fmr sr Policy Advisor, Sec & Intell Secretariat, Ottawa (PM's Department).
• Gen. (ret.) Dr. Mohamed Kadry Said, Head of the Military Studies Unit, Al-Ahram Center
• Dr. Mustafa Kibaroglu, Chair of the International Relations, Okan University Tuzla, Turkey
• Mr. Cliff Kupchan, Director of Europe and Asia of the Eurasia Group, Washington, DC
• Mr. Sverre Lodgaard, former Director, Norwegian Institute of International Affairs
• Prof. Saideh Lotfian (Council Chair), Assoc Prof, Political Science, University of Tehran.
• Dr. Riad Malki, Min. of Foreign Affairs, Min. of Information, Palestinian Natl Authority.
• Amb. Miguel Marin-Bosch, former Deputy Foreign Minister of Mexico.
• Gen. (ret.) Talat Masood, former Secretary, Defence Production Division, MOD
• Prof. Amitabh Mattoo Professor of International Relations and Member, National Knowledge Commission
• Dr. Steven Miller (Chair of Executive Committee), International Security Program of the Belfer Center, Harvard University
• Prof. Götz Neuneck, Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH), Hamburg.
• Dr. Alexander Nikitin, Director of the Center for Political and International Studies
• Mr. Niu Qiang, Secretary General, Chinese People's Assoc for Peace and Disarmament
• Gen. Pan Zhengqiang, Deputy Chair, China Foundation of International Studies
• Acad. Yuri Ryzhov, President, International Engineering University, Moscow
• Prof. Ivo Slaus, former Member of the Croatian Parliament
• Dr. Mark Byung-Moon Suh, Chair, Corea Trust Fund
• Prof. Takao Takahara, Professor of International Politics and Peace Research, Faculty of International Studies, Meiji Gakuin University, Japan
• Dr. Bob van der Zwaan, Senior Scientific Researcher, Energy Research Center of The Netherlands

Other Examples of Current and Former Pugwashites

Legacy

As the birthplace of the Pugwash movement, the Thinkers' Lodge was designated a National Historic Site of Canada in 2008.^[13]

See also

Notes

References

External links

• Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs
• Russian Pugwash Committee
• Canadian Pugwash Group
• April 2007 Youtube video of Canadian Pugwash on YouTube
• The First Pugwash Conference.
• The Nobel Peace Prize, 1995.
• Profile of Joseph Rotblat
• The Early Days of Pugwash, by Joseph Rotblat in Physics Today, June 2001.
• Pugwash And The International Treaties On Chemical And Biological Warfare, by J.P. Perry Robinson.
• Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (Rome, through 1996 only)
• The Dagomys Declaration on Environmental Degradation.
• J. Rotblat, Scientists in the Quest for Peace: A history of the Pugwash Conferences, MIT Press,1972.

Laureates of the Nobel Peace Prize 1901–1925 1901 Henry Dunant / Frédéric Passy 1902 Élie Ducommun / Charles Gobat 1903 Randal Cremer 1904 Institut de Droit International 1905 Bertha von Suttner 1906 Theodore Roosevelt 1907 Ernesto Moneta / Louis Renault 1908 Klas Arnoldson / Fredrik Bajer 1909 A. M. F. Beernaert / Paul Estournelles de Constant 1910 International Peace Bureau 1911 Tobias Asser / Alfred Fried 1912 Elihu Root 1913 Henri La Fontaine 1914 1915 1916 1917 International Committee of the Red Cross 1918 1919 Woodrow Wilson 1920 Léon Bourgeois 1921 Hjalmar Branting / Christian Lange 1922 Fridtjof Nansen 1923 1924 1925 Austen Chamberlain / Charles Dawes 1926–1950 1926 Aristide Briand / Gustav Stresemann 1927 Ferdinand Buisson / Ludwig Quidde 1928 1929 Frank B. Kellogg 1930 Nathan Söderblom 1931 Jane Addams / Nicholas Butler 1932 1933 Norman Angell 1934 Arthur Henderson 1935 Carl von Ossietzky 1936 Carlos Saavedra Lamas 1937 Robert Cecil 1938 Nansen International Office for Refugees 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 International Committee of the Red Cross 1945 Cordell Hull 1946 Emily Balch / John Mott 1947 Friends Service Council / American Friends Service Committee 1948 1949 John Boyd Orr 1950 Ralph Bunche 1951–1975 1951 Léon Jouhaux 1952 Albert Schweitzer 1953 George Marshall 1954 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 1955 1956 1957 Lester B. Pearson 1958 Georges Pire 1959 Philip Noel-Baker 1960 Albert Lutuli 1961 Dag Hammarskjöld 1962 Linus Pauling 1963 International Committee of the Red Cross / League of Red Cross Societies 1964 Martin Luther King, Jr. 1965 UNICEF 1966 1967 1968 René Cassin 1969 International Labour Organization 1970 Norman Borlaug 1971 Willy Brandt 1972 1973 Lê Đức Thọ (declined award) / Henry Kissinger 1974 Seán MacBride / Eisaku Satō 1975 Andrei Sakharov 1976–2000 1976 Betty Williams / Mairead Corrigan 1977 Amnesty International 1978 Anwar Sadat / Menachem Begin 1979 Mother Teresa 1980 Adolfo Pérez Esquivel 1981 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees 1982 Alva Myrdal / Alfonso García Robles 1983 Lech Wałęsa 1984 Desmond Tutu 1985 International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War 1986 Elie Wiesel 1987 Óscar Arias 1988 UN Peacekeeping Forces 1989 Tenzin Gyatso (14th Dalai Lama) 1990 Mikhail Gorbachev 1991 Aung San Suu Kyi 1992 Rigoberta Menchú 1993 Nelson Mandela / F. W. de Klerk 1994 Shimon Peres / Yitzhak Rabin / Yasser Arafat 1995 Pugwash Conferences / Joseph Rotblat 1996 Carlos Belo / José Ramos-Horta 1997 International Campaign to Ban Landmines / Jody Williams 1998 John Hume / David Trimble 1999 Médecins Sans Frontières 2000 Kim Dae-jung 2001–present 2001 Kofi Annan / United Nations 2002 Jimmy Carter 2003 Shirin Ebadi 2004 Wangari Maathai 2005 International Atomic Energy Agency / Mohamed ElBaradei 2006 Grameen Bank / Muhammad Yunus 2007 Al Gore / Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2008 Martti Ahtisaari 2009 Barack Obama 2010 Liu Xiaobo 2011 Ellen Johnson Sirleaf / Leymah Gbowee / Tawakkol Karman 2012 European Union Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons 2014 Kailash Satyarthi / Malala Yousafzai