Disarmament

Photo: Opening session of the 2015 NPT Review Conference. Credit: UN photo/Loey Felipe

The NPT – From Promise to Reality

Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte

The writer is Ambassador, former High Representative of the United Nations for Disarmament Affairs and current President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs

NEW YORK (IDN) — “How can we—the non-nuclear-weapon States—be expected to enter into an interminable obligation to remain non-nuclear if the nuclear-weapon States are engaged in an interminable nuclear escalation?” (Alva Myrdal, Head of the Swedish delegation at the ENDC – Final verbatim record of the 363rd Meeting of the Conference of the 18-Nation Disarmament Committee, February 1968. ENDC/PV.363, 4-12)

Photo: Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.

Gorbachev's Legacy After 30 Years of the Soviet Union's Disintegration

By Andrei Grachev

A Russian historian, political analyst and journalist, Dr Andrei Grachev, was the adviser for Mikhail Gorbachev and official Spokesman of the President of the USSR until his resignation in December 1991. InDepthNews is re-publishing this article courtesy of Other News. Original link > https://www.other-news.info/2021/03/the-time-of-gorbachev

MOSCOW (IDN) — Two books were published practically simultaneously in Great Britain and France to commemorate the forthcoming 30th anniversary of the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Photo: A possible scenario after a 10-kiloton nuclear detonation centered on Arnhem in the Netherlands. Credit: Dennis van Zuijlekom/Flickr

Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons: The Role of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands

Viewpoint by Moritz Kütt, Jan Hoekema and Tom Sauer *

The English version of this article was first published in The Toda Peace Institute's Global Outlook on February 28, 2021.**

TOKYO (IDN) — On January 22, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force. The new agreement also called the Nuclear Ban Treaty, prohibits member states from developing, producing, testing, and stockpiling nuclear weapons. It similarly restricts the use and the threat of use of these weapons.

The treaty has 54 member states; 32 more have signed the treaty. Additional states are expected to join. The treaty puts into law a prohibition of a substantial threat to the planet: the use of nuclear weapons in warfare that has catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences.

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 for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) established the "75 Words for Disarmament Youth Challenge", which was launched on August 12 International Youth Day and closed on September 26, the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

Photo: SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. Credit: Seikyo Shimbun

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 members in 192 countries and territories around the world. SGI President is Daisaku Ikeda, a Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder and educator.

Photo: President Barack Obama signs the New START (treaty) in the Oval Office, Feb. 2, 2011 - with Vice President Joe Biden on the extreme right. Credit: Chuck Kennedy (official White House photograph)

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 START) until 2026, just two days before it was set to expire.

Image: World with nuclear weapons/ World free of nuclear weapons, Michael P., Poland, Art for Peace. Credit: Portside

UN Treaty Paves the Way for a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World

Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte

The writer is President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. Former United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.

NEW YORK (IDN) – The entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on January 22 prompted many comments from different quarters on the importance and significance of this new addition to positive international law. In accordance with its Article 15.1 the Treaty entered into force 90 days after the deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification. So far, 86 states signed and 52 have already ratified it.

Photo: ICAN campaigners protest in Sydney, Australia on 22 January.

Global Buddhist Network Heralds Entry into Force of Nuclear Ban Treaty

Viewpoint by Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada

Following is the text of a press release President Harada welcoming the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on January 22, 2021.

TOKYO (IDN) – Together with the members of the Soka Gakkai worldwide, I wholeheartedly welcome the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on January 22, 2021. The entry into force of the TPNW heralds the start of the end of the nuclear era and marks a significant step forward toward the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

Photo: The remains of the Prefectural Industry Promotion Building, after the dropping of the atomic bomb, in Hiroshima, Japan. This site was later preserved as a monument. UN Photo/DB

The Nuclear Ban Is Here. Now What?

Viewpoint by Alyn Ware

The author is Director of the World Future Council Peace and Disarmament Program. He is also the International Representative of the Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace.

PRAGUE (IDN) – January 22 was a historic day for the global campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons, with the entry-into-force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). According to promoters of the TPNW, nuclear weapons "are now illegal under international law".

Image: (left) Kumi Nakazato (Nara, Japan); (right) Nadia Anthouli (Athens, Greece). Credit: UN Office of Disarmament Affairs: Posters for Peace.

Nuclear Weapons Are Now Banned, Prohibited, Outlawed!

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf

The writer is the former Head of Verification and Security Policy at the International Atomic Energy Agency and was a member of the Group of Eminent Persons for Substantive Advancement of Nuclear Disarmament established by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

VIENNA (IDN) – As the day broke today, 22 January 2021, a new era dawned in which nuclear weapons now are prohibited – finally banned – 75 years after the invention and use of nuclear weapons.