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Simulated Negotiations on a Nuclear Weapons Convention Report issued for the Third Biennial Report of the UN Secretary-General on "Disarmament and Non-proliferation Education" by Richard Beecroft, Regina Hagen, and Stephanie Petrasch

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Simulated Negotiations on a Nuclear Weapons Convention

Report issued for the Third Biennial Report of the UN Secretary-General on "Disarmament and Non-proliferation Education" by Richard Beecroft, Regina Hagen, and Stephanie Petrasch

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Summary

During the first week of the second Prepatory Committee meeting for the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference (NPT PrepCom,) which was held 28 April 28 - 9 May, 2008 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, a simulation was organized by the European youth network Ban All Nukes generation (BANg) and the International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation (INESAP) with support from Technische Universität Darmstadt and several other organizations.

On Saturday, 3 May, 36 students with various disciplinary backgrounds held a model negotia-tion on a Nuclear Weapons Convention (NWC). The simulation was based on a fictitious but realistic scenario that would convince the international community that bold steps towards a nuclear-weapons-free world must be taken. The students who participated in the model nego-tiations had, together with 40 other students, not only prepared well for their visit to Geneva and observed the first week of the NPT PrepCom but also discussed the proposed NWC with high-ranking diplomats of the countries they were representing in the simulation.

This field trip to Geneva turned into an impressive learning experience for the students of BANg and the universities of Darmstadt and Hamburg and also had repercussions on the PrepCom as such, as it directed many formal and informal discussions towards the idea of a NWC and the aim of abolishing all nuclear weapons. The diplomats were impressed by the seriousness and reflective attitude with which “the next generation” was willing to work on this issue.

Report

Project Sponsors

The simulation game was developed by a number of institutions and organizations. BANg (Ban All Nukes generation) initiated the project. The International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation (INESAP) and the Interdisciplinary Working Group Science, Technology and Security (IANUS) of Technische Universität Darmstadt provided organiza-tional and scientific support and the required expertise to operate within the UN system. The Center for Interdisciplinary Study Programs (CISP) of the Technische Universität Darmstadt developed a didactical and methodological concept for the simulation. In addition, a concept to introduce students to the topic – both in a study course at Darmstadt university and during the field trip in Geneva – was prepared. In the course of this development, the cooperation was extended to Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF), Pressehütte Mutlangen, Carl-Friedrich von Weizsäcker Centre for Science and Peace Research of the University of Hamburg, and the International School of Geneva, where the actual simulation took place. Project Goals

At the outset, BANg – the group that initiated the simulation – simply wished to introduce an interesting action element into the week-long activities for their young (17-25 years old) field trip participants. The involvement of other co-sponsors – which included opening the event

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for participation of university students and setting up a university course –, resulted in the definition of the following goals for the project:

(1) raise awareness amongst students for the dangers of nuclear armaments, let them see “dip-lomats at work” in the UN environment, make them aware of the structural difficulties of the NPT (three pillars of the “deal”, discriminatory nature of the treaty, lack of timelines and en-forcement mechanisms, etc.), and introduce them to a new and creative proposal (the NWC);

(2) demonstrate to the diplomats attending the PrepCom the amazing commitment of the younger generation who are both asking for a solution for these urgent matters and willing to spend considerable energy discussing a possible alternative, namely the proposed NWC;

(3) test the existing model NWC1 with respect to its feasibility in negotiations.

To combine these different aims in one project, it was decided to bring the activities of the young people right into the middle of the NPT PrepCom.

Project Phase: Preparation

Before their stay in Geneva, the students prepared themselves in seminars or workshops orga-nized by their home institutions, covering various aspects of nuclear weapons, nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament, and the model Nuclear Weapons Convention. Two docu-ments, an “Instructional Guide” and a “Research Guide,” supported the individual and group preparation and ensured a common information level on the matters to be discussed (e.g. Country Files, suggestions on writing a Position Paper) and on the simulation game (e.g. sce-nario, Rules of Procedure). To facilitate co-operation and sharing of information, an e-Learning platform was set up at Technische Universität Darmstadt to support the student groups. This also helped the students to form 13 country delegations before they met face to face in Geneva. The student delega-tions represented Brazil, China, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Iran, Israel, Libya, Malaysia, Russia, South Africa, and the United States of America. Project Phase: Research in Geneva

Two days before the PrepCom started, all participants of the simulation game met in Geneva. Together with about 40 other young people, they found accommodation in a nuclear bunker close to the Palais des Nations. On the next day, an obligatory seminar day was held for all participants, the first time for the simulation delegations to meet in person. Here, the students got further background information by renown experts on the UN disarmament machinery (Patricia Lewis, UNIDIR), disarmament negotiations (Joseph Goldblat, GIPRI), and the mod-el Nuclear Weapons Convention (Alyn Ware, IALANA). To prepare for their own model conference, the students followed the proceedings of the PrepCom and researched the positions of the countries they represented. Diplomats from ele-ven of the 13 simulated countries met with the students and made an effort to help them make their position as realistic as possible. In addition, renown experts from various countries and NGOS were available on demand to answer questions on country positions or technical is-sues. 1 Model Nuclear Weapons Convention. Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Testing, Production, Stockpiling, Transfer, Use and Threat of Use of Nuclear Weapons and on Their Elimination, April 2007; introduced to the UN General Assembly by Costa Rica and Malaysia on December 17, 2007; UN document A/62/650. See also: M. Datan, F. Hill, J. Schef-fran, A. Ware, Securing Our Survival – The Case for a Nuclear Weapons Convention, IPPNW, IALANA, INESAP, Cam-bridge 2007; www.inesap.org/books/securing_our_survival.htm.

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During the days at the UN conference and the evenings in the bunker, alliances were formed, strategies discussed, and numerous working and position papers drafted. Every day, the whole group met for an hour to discuss formal and informal topics concerning the simulation, to prepare for the model conference, and to answer any open questions. Project Phase: Simulation

On 3 May 2008, the model conference took place. The student delegates had adopted the style of diplomats, from their formal suits and dresses to their diplomatic manner of speech. Re-placing Chile’s Ambassador Alfredo Labbé, who had volunteered to preside over the model conference but had fallen severely ill, Prof. Tilman Ruff, a member of the official Australian delegation to the PrepCom, and Xanthe Hall from IPPNW Germany chaired the simulation. The agenda foresaw discussion of Articles I (General Obligations) and IV (Phases for Imple-mentation) of the model NWC. In the beginning, Position Papers were introduced by all thirteen delegations, setting the course for a conference that had to deal not only with an ambitious agenda, strict Rules of Procedure, and a very limited time frame (10:00–18:00), but also with huge differences in interests and opinions. Due to the limited time frame of the negotiations, however, agreement could only be reached on Article I of the model NWC. Impact: Students and BANg Participants

Analysis of the evaluation forms filled in by all simulation participants shows that most par-ticipants thought that they have learnt a lot about nuclear weapons, the NPT, the NWC, and about the difficulties of international diplomacy (“informal caucuses have a much larger im-pact than the formal debate”). They found the project very demanding, especially the scena-rio, the comprehensive Rules of Procedure, and the time pressure for both preparation and simulation. In spite of this the overall feedback was very good. One student who studies In-ternational Studies/Peace and Conflict Research mentioned that she never heard about nuclear weapons before. Many students noted with utter amazement that nuclear weapons are not a major issue either in civil society or in university courses.

Several of the Darmstadt students have shown interest in following up on the issues, with one planning to write her master thesis at IANUS, others now working with IANUS as student assistants or participating on the public lecture program of IANUS.

Impact: Diplomats

Many diplomats attending the NPT PrepCom gave very positive feedback and encouraged further activities in this direction. As a result of the meetings of eleven countries with “their” students, discussions among diplomats, official mentioning of the simulation at PrepCom ses-sions (a German diplomat, e.g., apologized for the absence of several delegation members from a session by explaining that his colleagues meet with students preparing for the simula-tion), and the visibility of the several dozen simulation participants on the corridors and in the UN Cyberspace area, the proposed model Nuclear Weapons Convention gained exceptional visibility at the PrepCom and beyond. After the PrepCom, diplomats of additional countries agreed to meet with civil society to discuss the model Nuclear Weapons Convention, ordered more books with the model NWC text, etc.

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Outlook

After the project evaluation, the project sponsors decided to plan a follow up simulation for next year’s NPT PrepCom in New York.

The cooperation between BANg, INESAP, and Technische Universität Darmstadt will be continued to plan and coordinate the next simulation. In order to internationalize the project, further partnerships will have to be established with NGOs and universities worldwide. The aim is to help integrating courses in different academic programs and to strengthen the discus-sion on this issue in academic teaching. The interdisciplinary quality of the course, which is prerequisite to address matters of nuclear disarmament, will profit from a wider intercultural perspective which shall be achieved in the next project phase.

To facilitate international project teaching, teaching materials and a common e-Learning plat-form for all participants must be developed, based on materials developed for this first simula-tion. Thus, a common knowledge base and an intense discourse on the topic can be estab-lished.

As regards the NGOs, they will use this and future simulations to identify major issues, stum-bling blocks and forthcoming ideas in future deliberations on the model NWC, thereby com-bining academic studies and political action in civil society.

Project Documentation

The simulation has or will be documented as follows:

One-hour radio show in Radio Darmstadt (in German) http://www.inesap.org/prepcom08/RADAR_2008-05-15_STD-18.mp3

Project announcement in News in Review #1, April 28, 2008 Project report in News in Review, Final Edition www.reachingcriticalwill.org

Documentation of field trip by Pressehütte Mutlangen (to be used in future educational projects; in German) http://www.pressehuette.de/freiraum/FreiRaum_2_Beilage.pdf

Forthcoming:

Documentation of the simulation game (“Lessons Learned” for organization of future si-mulations; in English; forthcoming by Pressehütte Mutlangen)

Assessment of the simulation game (forthcoming by Pressehütte Mutlangen)