As the inaugural director of the University of Otago’s National Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, Prof Clements (73) also remains proud of his and the centre’s achievements, including in promoting greater gun control.
He became centre director 11 years ago, and held the post for eight and a-half years, before serving as a part-time professor.
Prof Richard Jackson will continue as the centre’s director, and Prof Clements will retire at the end of the month.
Since returning to New Zealand to take up the University of Otago post, Prof Clements had worked for the implementation of a 1997 report on gun control, by Judge Thomas North.
"It is appalling that successive New Zealand governments did not move to ban military-style semi-automatic weapons earlier.
"But the Government’s immediate response to the Christchurch shooting tragedy galvanised political will and now such weapons are banned and legislation is proceeding to register all firearms as well as gun owners," he said.
It was "better late than never" that these two key recommendations from the North Report were finally being put into effect.
Prof Clements and his wife Valerie would remain in Dunedin and he would continue in his role as director of the Toda Peace Institute in Tokyo, Japan, taking part in regular meetings via video link.
He had been diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer, but was remaining positive, walking 10,000 steps a day, and aimed to "live each day to the full".
"It is a bit sobering realising that there is no cure for this but the oncology unit at the hospital is really dedicated to prolonging my life for which I am deeply grateful.
"As my lovely oncologist said when I was talking about how well I felt, ‘You are not ill,
you just have cancer’," he
said in a recent email to friends and colleagues.
"So I intend packing in as much as I can for whatever days, months, years remain to me."
Being inaugural director had been a "pretty amazing" experience, and he was pleased with many of the things that had been achieved, including raising more than $3million to support the centre’s work.
He remained chairman of the Archibald Baxter Memorial Trust, having worked with other trust members for about six years to raise funds for a national memorial to conscientious objectors.
The peace garden and sculpture funds had been successfully raised and the memorial would be built near the intersection of George and Albany Sts.
The memorial had a "very personal meaning" for him because his father, the Rev Leslie Clements, had been a conscientious objector during World War 2.
A New Zealander with a PhD in sociology from Victoria University of Wellington, Prof Clements was foundation director of the Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Queensland, in Brisbane, before taking up his post at the University of Otago.
He had also earlier served as director of the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University at Fairfax, in the United States.
"My vision was to develop the best Peace and Conflict Studies Centre in the Asia-Pacific Region and I think we succeeded in that aspiration," he said.
He had wanted a centre that focused on theory, research and practice; the centre had succeeded in the " theory, teaching and research side of things" but the practice programme needed further development.
He paid tribute to "wonderful benefactors and colleagues" and praised centre managers Ann Hassan and Rosemary McBryde.
Over the years, the centre had attracted some outstanding staff members and "many wonderful students" from throughout the world.
"At one stage, we had 21 PhD students from 19 different countries," he said.
Prof Clements was awarded the New Zealand Peace Foundation’s 2014 Peacemaker Award, and he has also served as Secretary-general of the International Peace Research Association.