As 2022 drew to a close and Dr Robert Floyd prepared to host his family for what he hoped would be a white Christmas in Vienna, he was holding out for a gift more ambitious than most.
As Executive Secretary of the international Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), which seeks to curb the proliferation of deadly nuclear weapons, the UNE alumnus was hoping to get a commitment from one more sovereign state to end nuclear testing.
2022 was concluding well. During the 25th anniversary year of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), six new states had ratified it, bringing to 176 the number of countries that had endorsed a nuclear-free future. Before calendars flipped over to 2023, Robert was eager to make it seven.
“There’s been great progress in 2022, but there is one more ratification we are hoping to receive before the new year comes in,” Robert had said. “In most years, either zero or just one country ratify the treaty. In 2023, I think it could be another six or seven. There is momentum building to strengthen this international stand.”
For the CTBT to come into force, 44 states listed in Annex 2 must all ratify it. Eight are still holding out – the United States, China, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Israel, Iran and North Korea. But this respected diplomat is optimistic the tide is turning.
“I am confident that by the end of 2023 there may be as few as four countries outside of that eight from Annex 2 that will have not yet ratified the treaty,”
“I am confident that by the end of 2023 there may be as few as four countries outside of that eight from Annex 2 that will have not yet ratified the treaty,” Robert said. “That puts the focus very squarely on the eight Annex 2 states to join with the rest of the world to see this treaty enter into force.”
Even so, Robert believes the CTBT is already a great success. “Before 1996, when the treaty was established, there had been over 2,000 nuclear tests conducted in the five preceding decades. Since 1996, there have been less than a dozen, and this century just one country – North Korea – has done any testing. The international norm against testing is really, really strong.
“This is because of the strength of our International Monitoring System – the network of 337 stations around the world that monitor for signs of nuclear testing anytime, anywhere. Yes, I want to see the treaty enter into force but it is already providing a significant peace and security dividend to the world.”
Robert’s election in May 2021 to the esteemed position of Executive Secretary – becoming the first person from the Asia-Pacific to lead the CTBTO – followed two decades as a biological scientist with CSIRO, senior appointments to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet following the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States, and an 11-year term as Director General of the Australian Safeguards and Non-proliferation Office (ASNO).
Whether working on compliance with international weapons of mass destruction treaties, counter-terrorism policy, economic growth in Africa or agricultural biosecurity, Robert said the problem-solving skills he developed during his Bachelor of Science and Honours degree at UNE, where he lived in Duval College, have proven “foundational”.
“My interest in biological sciences started at a very young age,” Robert said. “At the age of 12, I told my father I wanted to be a research zoologist and to work for CSIRO. He told me I would need to get a PhD and then I might get a job, so I went and did my undergraduate studies at UNE, got a PhD from Griffith University and started with CSIRO the Monday after I submitted my thesis. My first published scientific paper was on work I did at school, on the breeding biology of wedge-tailed shearwaters.
It wasn’t until further down the track that I appreciated the importance of being trained in problem-solving at UNE using the scientific method of evidence collection and evaluation. This way of thinking was foundational.
“It wasn’t until further down the track that I appreciated the importance of being trained in problem-solving at UNE using the scientific method of evidence collection and evaluation. This way of thinking was foundational. When in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, I led a multi-disciplinary taskforce to develop policy options for managing irregular arrivals of people by boat. It was so evident that each person approached problem solving in a different way, depending on their area of academic training.”
Robert’s remit at that time saw him operate at the interface of science and policy, and to serve three Prime Ministers. “I was like a translator,” he said. “I was parachuted into the pressure cooker of government, where evidence is used to inform policy options, strategy and political decision-making. It led to me being appointed Director General of ASNO, which looks after all Australia’s international treaty obligations regarding the control of weapons of mass destruction. My career went through a transition I could never have foretold.”
Leading the strongly technical CTBTO today, with all its diplomatic and political sensitivities, is “a noble cause” for Robert.
“We don’t have to look around the world too much at the moment to realise we are in a precarious position as a species,” he said. “When we hear of countries threatening to use nuclear weapons, planning to test them or enriching large amounts of uranium, this is all cause for significant concern.
“No sooner had the dust settled in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 than the international community was looking at how it could ensure that this kind of horrendous damage would never happen again. I am very pleased to do whatever I can in my role to make this world a better and safer place for my children and grandchildren and the generations to come.
“My goal is to establish this treaty and its verification system against nuclear testing. That’s one fundamental step towards a world without nuclear weapons and yes, I do think that’s achievable.”
“My goal is to establish this treaty and its verification system against nuclear testing. That’s one fundamental step towards a world without nuclear weapons and yes, I do think that’s achievable.”
The gravity of the situation was brought home to Robert when he visited a small island state in early 2022 to witness its Prime Minister announcing his decision to ratify the CTBT. “He sat back and said to me ‘you know, Executive Secretary, if any country chose to invade us, there is nothing we could do to protect ourselves. But there is one thing that can protect us. It’s the international, rules-based order’. For him and his nation, the rules-based order protects their very existence.”
Hailing from a nation that has known the serious impact of nuclear testing on the environment and human health has further amplified the significance of Robert’s role. “We have seen the devastating effect of nuclear testing,” he said. “Nuclear science and energy can be used for powerful, wonderful, peaceful purposes – like producing radio-active pharmaceuticals to detect and treat cancers – but that same technology and understanding can be used for purposes that can also be terribly destructive. A world without nuclear weapons would be a better world, so the ultimate challenge is nuclear disarmament. That is an ever-so-important goal for us to remain focussed on.”
For the record, on 21 January Solomon Islands ratified the CTBT, becoming the 177th State to do so.
