In June, we are delighted to welcome two new members to our network:

• Mary Wareham (New Zealand), former Deputy Director of the Crisis, Conflict and Arms Division at Human Rights Watch, founding coordinator of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, and a leading voice on humanitarian disarmament, including the Mine Ban Treaty and Convention on Cluster Munitions; and
• Alson Kelen (Marshall Islands), a Bikinian cultural elder and master navigator whose advocacy draws on the Marshall Islands’ lived experience of nuclear testing. He is co-founder and Director of Waan Aelōň in Majel.

The APLN is working hard to expand our network across the Asia Pacific region, improve engagement and diversity on gender, race, age, and nationality. We recognise that we have much work to do but are working hard to do better. The wealth of expertise and experience of our newest network members increase APLN’s reach and engagement with governments across the region, increasing its policy impact and effectiveness.

The APLN network is comprised of political, military, diplomatic and thought leaders who work to address the security challenges in the Asia-Pacific region with a particular focus on nuclear non-proliferation, risk reduction and disarmament. APLN members contribute to security policy debates through writing articles, papers, and group statements, engaging in direct discussions with regional governments, and debating the issues in public and private events.