By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) — The Nobel laureate International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organizations promoting adherence to and implementation of the United Nations nuclear weapon ban treaty, has been pleading for divestment in nuclear weapons. “The imminent entry-into-force of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear […]
The UK Defies Nuclear Treaties and Strengthens Atomic Arsenal
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) — Within three months of the UK’s complete withdrawal from all institutions of the European Union and from the European Atomic Energy Community on January 31, 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has decided to increase by 40 per cent to 260 the country’s nuclear arsenal to “continue to be the […]
UN Youth4Disarmament Recognized by ‘Billion Acts of Peace’
By Devinder Kumar NEW DELHI (IDN) — Disarmament is at the heart of the collective security system set out in the United Nations Charter, with its goal to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. In commemoration of the United Nation’s 75th anniversaries and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the UN Office […]
Nuclear Modernization Race Continues Despite New START
By J C Suresh TORONTO | WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) — While independent arms control experts around the world heaved a sigh of relief at Joe Biden’s signature decision to extend the New START Treaty with Russia through February 4, 2026, Pentagon officials say it is “just the beginning of a larger discussion with Russia and […]
A Beacon of Hope from A Buddhist Leader in the Face of Crises
Viewpoint by Ramesh Jaura BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) — Like the United Nations, the global community-based Buddhist organisation Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is a beacon of hope to a world shrouded by dark clouds of unprecedented crises. An international association of the Soka Gakkai and an NGO in consultative status with UN ECOSOC, SGI has […]
The United States and Russia: Warmongers and Peacemakers
By Somar Wijayadasa* NEW YORK (IDN) – Just days after the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) that explicitly and unequivocally prohibits the use of nuclear weapons entered into force on January 22, 2021 – a remarkable victory for humanity – the United States and Russia extended their Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New […]
Faith-Based Communities Greet the Global Ban on Nuclear Weapons
By Caroline Mwanga NEW YORK (IDN) – Rejecting the existential threat to humanity that nuclear weapons pose, a wide coalition of faith-based communities from around the world has hailed the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the first international treaty to comprehensively ban nuclear weapons. Over 160 organizations endorsed a joint interfaith […]
Watchdog Indicates Barriers to UN Ban on Nuclear Weapons
By Jamshed Baruah GENEVA (IDN) – Most of the world’s states can become a party to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and comply with the Treaty without making any changes to their existing policies and practices, says Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor (NWBM). But 42 states around the world currently engage […]
75 Years On The First UN General Assembly Resolution
Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte The author is Ambassador, President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. NEW YORK (IDN) – Seventy-five years ago, in January 1946, the United Nations General Assembly met for the first time after the signature of the Charter. Its first resolution was […]
The Nuclear Weapon States Urged to Advance Disarmament
By Bernhard Schell AMMAN (IDN) – The upcoming Review Conference (postponed to August 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is expected to be characterised by deep divisions among the nuclear-weapon states (NWS), and between them and the non-nuclear-weapon states (NNWS), which are deeply disappointed with the lack of progress […]