Nakamitsu Leads UN Disarmament Affairs

Izumi Nakamitsu, who formerly held a key position at the UN Development Programme, took office May 1 as UN undersecretary-general and high representative for disarmament affairs. In a May 4 interview with The Japan Times, she said she will give full support to the negotiations for a nuclear weapons prohibition treaty. There is agreement that such a ban treaty should be fully compatible with the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), she said May 8 in Vienna to a meeting of the preparatory committee for the 2020 NPT Review Conference. She characterized the NPT as the “cornerstone of the international nuclear disarmament regime.” Despite a widespread view that the international community must wait for the proper time to expect progress on disarmament, “part of this argument misses the central role that nuclear arms play in fueling the deterioration of the international security situation,” said Nakamitsu, who holds a master’s degree in foreign service from Georgetown University and a bachelor of law degree from Waseda University in Tokyo.—DANIELLE PRESKITT