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Viewpoint by Jonathan Power
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — War over Ukraine? It mustn’t be. Some of us believed that at the end of the Cold War in 1991 American and Soviet nuclear rockets would be left to rust and rot in their silos. Indeed, we actually saw Ukraine, where the Soviets made most of their rockets and based many, (who says that Ukraine doesn’t have an umbilical relationship with Russia?), deciding to give up its nuclear armoury—for which the world should give more praise than it does.
By Radwan Jakeem
NEW YORK (IDN) — Disarmament advocates working within the Global Council of the Abolition 2000 Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons have called on the five Nuclear-Weapon States Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to follow up the affirmation made by them in their Joint Statement of January 3, 2022, that "a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought". The Abolition 2000 has urged the United States, Russia, the UK, France and China to undertake "genuine action" to change current nuclear-war fighting policies, end the costly and destabilizing nuclear arms race, and eliminate nuclear weapons.
By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK (IDN) — When the world’s five major nuclear powers—the US, UK, China, France and Russia—pledged to prevent nuclear wars and abandon the pursuit of more weapons, their joint statement released January 3 explicitly left out several of the demands from anti-nuclear activists, including an end to the upgrading and enhancing of existing arsenals.
Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte
The writer is President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.
NEW YORK (IDN) — On January 3, the five nuclear-weapon states party to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) issued an important Joint Statement on “preventing nuclear war and avoiding arms races”. Those are certainly part of the objectives of the Treaty, as well as important for achieving another goal: the as yet unfulfilled promise of nuclear disarmament. Turning that obligation into reality is a primary responsibility of the states that developed and maintain nuclear arsenals capable of extinguishing human civilization.
By Radwan Jakeem
NEW YORK (IDN) — The UN Secretary-General António Guterres has welcomed the joint statement by the five nuclear-weapon States on the prevention of nuclear war and avoidance of arms races.
"The Secretary-General appreciates the recognition by the nuclear-weapon States of their need to comply with their bilateral and multilateral nonproliferation, disarmament, and arms control agreements and commitments, including their binding obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons related to nuclear disarmament," the UN Chief's spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said.
Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf*
"The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is an essential pillar of international peace and security, and the heart of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime. Its unique status is based on its near-universal membership, legally-binding obligations on disarmament, verifiable non-proliferation safeguards regime, and commitment to the peaceful use of nuclear energy". UN Secretary-General António Guterres on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the NPT’s opening for signature, 24 May 2018, Geneva.
By Thalif Deen
NEW YORK (IDN)— The United Nations, which has been brought to a virtual standstill because of an upsurge in coronavirus infections in New York City, has been forced to postpone a long-awaited 10th review conference (REVCON) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), scheduled to take place 4-28 January.
Diane Barnes, NGO Liaison Office at the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), was explicit: "There will be no Review Conference in January 2022, in any format".
By Ramesh Jaura
BERLIN | STOCKHOLM (IDN) — The 16-nation Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament has urged the upcoming Tenth Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) from January 4-28, 2022, "to demonstrate political leadership, honour commitments and achievements made under the Treaty, and set ourselves on a decisive path towards a world free of nuclear weapons, in the interest of preserving humanity".
By Ray Acheson
The writer is Director of Reaching Critical Will and Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
NEW YORK (IDN) — During the final day of the Sixth Review Conference of the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW) in Geneva on December 13-17, the constant refrain from the Russian delegation, “our position has not changed”, led to the systematic removal from the document of progress across all remaining substantive issues.
Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf
This article was issued by Toda Peace Institute and is being republished with their permission.
BONN (IDN) — The new German coalition government will not rock the foundations of German foreign and security policy. It wants to remain a reliable partner in the EU and NATO. But it sends an important signal for disarmament and arms control efforts. The 177-page coalition agreement contains the following passage on the TPNW: "In light of the results of the NPT Review Conference and in close consultation with our allies, we will constructively accompany the intention of the treaty as observers (not as members) at the Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons."
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