Amb. Nobuyasu Abe

Diplomat

Japan

Ambassador Nobuyasu Abe is a senior fellow with the Project on Managing the Atom at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs. He is the former commissioner of the Japanese Atomic Energy Commission and former director of the Center for the Promotion of Disarmament and Non-Proliferation at Japan Institute of International Affairs. Abe has had a long career of diplomatic service. He has served as consul general at the Japanese consulate in Boston, as ambassador to Austria and Saudi Arabia and as a diplomat for the Japanese government, the United Nations and other international organizations in Washington, Geneva, Tel Aviv, New York, Manila and Bern.

Between 2003 and 2006, he was under-secretary-general of the United Nations for disarmament affairs, and he was also a member of the advisory board to the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament and director-general for arms control and science affairs in Tokyo. Abe has taught international relations and arms control at Sophia and Tokyo Universities and has published numerous papers on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament.

Dr. Sameh Aboul-Enein

Diplomat

Egypt

Dr. Sameh Aboul-Enein is the assistant foreign minister of Egypt for disarmament, international security and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. He also holds several academic positions, including professor of international relations & organisations at the Geneva School of Diplomacy & International Relations, and adjunct assistant professor for Disarmament and Security Studies and senior lecturer at the School of Business at The American University in Cairo. Dr. Aboul-Enein previously served as Egypt’s alternative representative to the Conference on Disarmament and the UN Office at Geneva and participated in the 2005 and 2010 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conferences as an expert delegate.

Dr. Aboul-Enein earned his Ph.D. in international relations and foreign policymaking with a specialization in the Middle East from the American University in London and the University of London. He also holds an M.S. in politics and government of the Middle East from the School of African and Oriental Studies in London. He is an associate fellow in disarmament and security policies from the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, and a member of the UN Group of Governmental Experts on Cybersecurity.

Amb. Zamir Akram

Diplomat

Pakistan

Ambassador Zamir Akram is the former permanent representative of Pakistan to the United Nations office in Geneva. Prior to his appointment, Akram served as additional secretary for foreign affairs in the prime minister’s office and additional secretary for disarmament and arms control. He was Pakistan’s ambassador to Nepal from 2002 to 2005.

A career diplomat, Akram’s foreign postings include Washington, New Delhi, Geneva and Moscow. His posts at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad include director general for South Asia, director for Afghanistan, and selection officer for the Soviet Union. He joined the Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1978.

Rt. Hon. Lloyd Axworthy

Diplomat

Canada

The Right Honorable Lloyd Axworthy is a Canadian politician who served as minister of foreign affairs from 1996 to 2000, and is currently president of the World Federalist Movement-Institute for Global Policy. As foreign minister, he led efforts to create the Ottawa Treaty, the international agreement to ban anti-personnel landmines. After leaving public office, he served as director and CEO of the Liu Institute for Global Issues at the University of British Columbia, and as president and vice-chancellor of the University of Winnipeg until 2014. Axworthy continues to speak and write widely on foreign affairs. In 2015, he was promoted to Companion of the Order of Canada.

Amb. Marcos de Azambuja

Diplomat

Brazil

Ambassador Marcos de Azambuja is a former member of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, which was launched by the Government of Sweden to develop methods for reducing the dangers from weapons of mass destruction. Prior to this, he served as the permanent representative of Brazil to the United Nations and the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. He has also served as ambassador to France and Argentina and as the secretary-general of the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Brazil. He also served as the vice president of the Brazilian Center for International Relations (CEBRI).

In 1998-99, Azambuja was a member of the Tokyo Forum for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament which produced a report on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament, “Facing Nuclear Dangers: An Action Plan for the 21st Century,” which was later submitted to the U.N. secretary-general.

Foreign Min. Sartaj Aziz

Diplomat

Pakistan

Former Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz is the deputy chairman of the Planning Commission of Pakistan. He served as an advisor to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on national security and foreign affairs. He has held important positions in the United Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization, World Food Council and the International Fund for Agricultural Development before starting his political career in 1984, when he joined the Pakistan Federal Cabinet as minister of state for food, agriculture and cooperatives. He was elected senator in 1985, 1988 and again in 1994, and also served as minister of agriculture, minister of finance and minister of foreign affairs. In 1993, he was appointed as secretary general of the Pakistan Muslim League. Aziz was also vice chancellor of Beaconhouse National University in Lahore.

Ambassador K. Shankar Bajpai

Diplomat

India

Ambassador K. Shankar Bajpai was a veteran Indian diplomat and expert in security issues. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1952, serving in Germany, Turkey and Pakistan. He also served as ambassador to Pakistan (1976-1980), China (1980-1982) and the United States (1984-1986), and as secretary of the Ministry of External Affairs from 1982 to 1983. After his retirement from government service in 1986, he was active in academia, working as a professor at the University of California, Stanford University and other institutions. He was also the co-founder and chairman of the Delhi Policy Group, an independent think tank in India.

Bajpai was a member of the Global Zero Commission on Nuclear Risk Reduction and the Global Zero Commission. He passed away on August 30, 2020.

Min. Shlomo Ben-Ami

Diplomat

Israel

Former Foreign Minister Shlomo Ben-Ami currently serves as vice president and co-founder of the Toledo International Centre for Peace. In 1987, Ben-Ami was appointed as Israel’s first ambassador to Spain, where he served until 1991. He also served as the minister of internal security and minister of foreign affairs. Ben-Ami was a member of the board of the International Crisis Group, and also served as senior advisor there. He also served as a board member of the Japanese-Australian Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament.