Disarmament

Photo: Chair Syed Hussin addresses the 2019 NPT PrepCom. Photo: Alicia Sanders-Zakre, Arms Control Association.

Fiddling While the Nuclear Arms Control Architecture Collapses

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf

Just as the senators of Rome fiddled away while the city burned, today’s diplomats seem helpless in averting the total collapse of nuclear arms control thus paving the way for a dangerous new nuclear arms race with increased risks of accidental or deliberate use of nuclear weapons. Tariq Rauf was Alternate Head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) NPT Delegation 2002-2010, and has attended all NPT meetings as an official delegate since 1987 through 2019. Personal views are expressed here.

NEW YORK (IDN) – The third and final session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the 2020 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) fizzled out in disagreements over the pace and extent of nuclear disarmament at United Nations headquarters in New York.

Photo: 2020 NPT Review Conference Chair Argentine Ambassador Rafael Grossi addressing the third PrepCom. IDN-INPS Collage of photos by Alicia Sanders-Zakre, Arms Control Association.

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Review Conference Could Hit a U.S. Roadblock

By Shanta Roy

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Trump Administration, which has been recklessly wielding a wrecking ball against multilateral treaties, will be put to a test next year when the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will be up for review at the 2020 conference scheduled to take place in New York in April-May.

"We have a lot of work to do, especially since next year is the 50th anniversary of the NPT," Malaysian Ambassador Syed Mohamad Hasrin Aidid, who chaired the preparatory committee (PrepCoM) sessions, which concluded May 10, told the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on the sidelines of the PrepCom.

Graphic credit: Coalition for Peace Action

Human Survival Lies in the Balance as the Charade of NPT Diplomacy is Wearing Thin

Viewpoint by Dr Joseph Gerson*

NEW YORK (IDN) – Expectations for the outcome of this year’s NPT Preparatory Committee were low at best. Not surprisingly, given the nuclear powers’ reliance on their genocidal and omnicidal arsenals and pressures building for nuclear weapons proliferation, these expectations were not exceeded. As the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists has warned, humanity is now as close to nuclear apocalypse as it was at the height of the Cold War.

Mayors for Peace Call for a Common Ground on the NPT

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – In anticipation of the review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in 2020 at the United Nations, the Mayors for Peace have in a Joint Appeal called for finding a "common ground on the NPT"; because the global interest embodied in the NPT is in the national interests of all countries and all peoples worldwide.

Photo: Kazakh Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yerzhan Ashikbayev, addressing the opening of the Third Preparatory Session for the 2020 NPT Review Conference. Credit: Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Kazakhstan Calls for Rigorous Implementation of the NPT

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – Kazakhstan, an active supporter of nuclear disarmament and strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime, has reiterated its firm support for the strict and complete compliance by all parties of the provisions of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

This was stressed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yerzhan Ashikbayev, head of the Kazakh delegation at the opening of the Third Preparatory Session for the 2020 NPT Review Conference on April 29, 2019 at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Photo: Group picture of high school students from Russia, Japan and USA who participated in the Critical Issues Forum conference at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Credit: CNS

High School Students' Conference Stimulates Youth Engagement in Nuclear Disarmament

By Masako Toki*

MONTEREY, CA, USA (IDN) – The global nuclear situation appears to be more dangerous than ever, and calls for innovative solutions and involvement of the young people. Much against the widespread belief that high school students are too young to be engaged in resolving issues related to nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation, the 2019 Critical Issues Forum (CIF) conference evidenced that tomorrow's leaders are ready to contribute their share to global peace and security.

Photo: German Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas chairs the Security Council meeting on Non-proliferation and supporting the Non-proliferation Treaty ahead of the 2020 Review Conference. 02 April 2019. United Nations, New York. Photo # 802676. UN Photo/Eskinder Debebe.

UN Eager to Advance Commitment to Nuclear Non-Proliferation

By Jamshed Baruah

NEW YORK (IDN) – Deeply concerned about the erosion of the disarmament and arms control framework that reaped significant post-cold-war-era gains, the United Nations is keen to ensure the continued viability of the landmark Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

With an eye on the fiftieth anniversary of the Treaty’s entry into force and the twenty-fifth celebration of its indefinite extension, the 15-nation Security Council – chaired by Germany’s Foreign Affairs Minister Heiko Maas – convened a high-level meeting at the UN Headquarters on April 2, 2019.

Photo: Dr. Daisaku Ikeda. Credit: Seikyo Shimbun.

Eminent Buddhist Leader Urges Halt to Nuclear Weapons and Killer Robots

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) – In the run-up to the forthcoming round of crucial talks on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, Buddhist philosopher, educator and a staunch advocate of nuclear disarmament, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, has called for easing tensions to halt further escalation of the conflict over nuclear weapons development.

Underlining the importance of the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) from April 29 to May 10, 2019 at UN Headquarters in New York, Dr. Ikeda has urged the need to gather the support of States parties for multilateral efforts toward nuclear disarmament. 2020 will mark the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the accord.

Photo: South African nuclear weapon. Credit: The National Interest.

South Africa a Shining Example of Dismantling Nuclear Arsenal

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the nuclear weapons and fossil fuel divestment campaigns gather steam, their political impact could be as powerful as the divestment campaign against South Africa in the late 20th Century, which was a critical factor in moving the South African government to end apartheid in 1994, anticipates Thies Kätow, researcher for the World Future Council.

There are hardly any signs that such an expectation will be realized and the campaign under way would persuade heavily armed nuclear states to disarm. Yet South Africa remains a shining example of a country that went from developing its own nuclear arsenal to dismantling it and being an outspoken advocate against these weapons of mass destruction.

Image: Reversing the financial interests in fossil fuels and the nuclear arms race. Credit: nuclearweaponsmoney.org

Moving Money for a Nuclear-Free and Eco Friendly World

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA | BASEL (IDN) – While Fridays for Future protests underline a global dissatisfaction with the continuing failure of governments and industry to protect the climate, the setting of the Doomsday Clock hands to 2 minutes to midnight in January 2019 signifies a continuing high risk of a nuclear clash with disastrous consequences for human beings and the planet Earth.

But devastating climate change and the risk of a nuclear war will not be prevented unless the international community tackles the economic and political influence of the fossil fuel and nuclear weapons industries: this is the crux of the message expected to emerge from an international conference organized by the Basel Peace Office and taking place in Basel, Switzerland on April 12-13, 2019.