Day 3 and 4 NPT - Rev. Com.

After day 4 of this remarkable experience I have learned so much and know I will be a better advocate for nuclear disarmament. I have come to appreciate even more our role at the grassroots level in the process of change. The official process is a slow and tedious one. The major nuclear players namely the U.S. and Russia are carefully scripted in their responses staying to the letter of their State Secretaries. They are constantly challenged and pushed by the non-aligned, non-weapons states and indeed the international grassroots community who insist on action to accompany the rhetoric. We will not be saved by good intentions alone.

Each morning has been initiated by an off the record meeting with varied ambassadors from Ireland, Egypt, and the U.S. Beyond the experience, the connections made this week have been the remarkable. I will work to continue building these relationships.

One of the better meetings of the week was put on today jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament (PNND). The representatives of these groups are made up of elected volunteer members of Parliaments around the world. They truly represent the "grassroots" of governments around the world. Their presentation today introduced by the U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon informed us of the nations who have adopted a Nuclear Weapons Convention. This "Convention" similar to the "Landmine Convention" would establish a comprehensive framework for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons by an agreed date and ensure that a world free of nuclear weapons is maintained.

The NGO community is strongly supportive of this NWC. Tomorrow Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams champion of the Landmine Convention will address the conference. Having met and heard her previously, I can attest she will be an forceful and significant voice in our work at this critical time.