The Australian Government is nominating Dr Robert Floyd as Australia's candidate for Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive-Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty (CTBTO).
The CTBTO is playing a critical role in achieving an end to nuclear weapons testing worldwide, and a global ban on all nuclear explosions. Australia has strongly advocated for this ban since the 1980s and, in 1996, spearheaded the adoption of a resolution to establish the CTBTO.
The Treaty, supported by the CTBTO, is one of the best-subscribed arms control treaties in the world with 184 State Signatories. Australia hosts 22 monitoring stations and a laboratory as part of the Treaty's International Monitoring System (IMS) network to monitor the globe for explosive nuclear testing - the third largest number of facilities in the world.
Dr Floyd is currently the Director-General of the Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO), which implements Australia's treaty obligations relating to weapons of mass destruction. Dr Floyd is a passionate advocate for advancing non-proliferation and arms control, having held numerous leadership roles across these fields.
A successful candidature would build on Australia's continuing commitment to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, and would be the first appointment from the Indo-Pacific, a region that was the scene of so much nuclear weapons testing in the past.
I look forward to working with Dr Floyd to support his candidacy for the position of Executive Secretary.