By Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | NEW DELHI (IDN) — India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi is confronted with an increasing demand to join the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which was adopted in January 2021 by 122 members of the UN General Assembly—a clear majority. The Treaty entered into force after ratification by 50 member-States […]
A Nuclear-Weapons-Free Zone in Middle East Remains a Fantasy
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — A longstanding proposal for a nuclear-weapons-free-zone (NWFZ) in the politically and militarily volatile Middle East has been kicked around the corridors—and committee rooms—of the UN since the 1960s. A joint declaration by Egypt and Iran in 1974 resulted in a General Assembly resolution. But it never reached the […]
Ukraine War Should Prompt Us to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power LUND, Sweden (IDN) — In the year 2000 President Vladimir Putin made his own contribution to solving the nuclear weapons imbroglio. Moscow, he said in a speech, was prepared to drastically reduce its stockpile of nuclear missiles. Putin’s call was not just for further cuts than the U.S. suggested ceiling of […]
Building Security in the Korean Peninsula
Pursue Fresh Diplomatic Approaches Not Military-Nuclear Posturing Viewpoint by Dr Rebecca Johnson LONDON (IDN) — Nuclear fears have been increasing in North-East Asia in recent months. From early November, North Korea ratcheted up its usual sabre rattling with more direct threats, ‘tactical nuclear drills’, apparent preparations for more nuclear tests, and by firing around 25 […]
North Korea Abandons US and Aligns with China and Russia
Viewpoint by Jackie Cabasso The writer is the Executive Director of the Western States Legal Foundation, based in Oakland, California. OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA, USA (IDN) — If our attention wasn’t riveted on the midterm election results and Russia’s continuing nuclear threats in Ukraine, we would be rightly alarmed about rising nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula. […]
No First Use of Nuclear Weapons Policies: A Path to Risk Reduction
Viewpoint by Tomohiko Aishima The writer is the Executive Director of Peace and Global Issues, Soka Gakkai International TOKYO (IDN) — While the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference held this past summer failed to adopt a final document, the fact that the conference saw a repeated debate on reducing the risk of nuclear weapon […]
Ukraine: The Russian Nuke Threat
Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte The writer is a former High Representative of the United Nations for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA), and President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. NEW YORK (IDN) — The conflict between Russia and Ukraine, described by Moscow as a “special military operation”, entered its eighth month without an end in […]
Arms Control at Near-Standstill as Nuclear Threats Escalate
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — Amid growing nuclear threats from Russia and North Korea, the United Nations commemorated Disarmament Week beginning October 24, warning that weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons, continue to be of primary concern, owing to their destructive power and the threat that they pose to humanity. But […]
U.S. Sends Mixed Signals About the Use of Nuclear Weapons
By Daryl G. Kimball The writer has served as the executive director of the Arms Control Association since 2001 and has been a leading nongovernmental advocate for nuclear threat reduction and disarmament since 1989. In November 2021, he was invited to brief the Pentagon’s NPR Working Group. The following was published as Arms Control Association […]
What If Russia Unleashes a Less Deadly Weapon on Ukraine?
By Thalif Deen UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — Russia’s military setbacks in Ukraine have triggered widespread speculation in the US that Russian President Vladimir Putin may unleash his stockpile of “tactical nuclear weapons”, which may be less devastating than the deadly US weapons that destroyed the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki back in August 1945. […]