The Italian Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Ambassador Leonardo Bencini, has been nominated for the “Person(s) of the Year” award by one of the most influential and prestigious non-governmental organizations in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, the Arms Control Association.
Ambassador Bencini has been recognized for presiding over the Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention in December 2022, which concluded with the adoption of a consensus Final Document. The positive outcome was far from assured, given the serious deterioration of the global security and arms control architecture resulting from the Russian aggression against Ukraine. This success reaffirms Italy’s prominent role and its capacity for dialogue in major multilateral disarmament forums. Other distinguished contenders for the recognition include Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, film director of “Oppenheimer”, Christopher Nolan and Japanese Prime Minister Kishida. Voting will take place between December 8 and January 11, 2024.
For more information: ArmsControl.org/ACPOY
