Nuclear Weapons

Photo: Chair Syed Hussin addresses the 2019 NPT PrepCom. Credit: 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.

Photo: Press Briefing by Syed Hasrin Syed Hussin (right), Chair of the Third Preparatory Committee for the 2020 NPT Review Conference, on May 10, 2019 at the UN Headquarters in New York. Credit: Katsuhiro Asagiri | IDN-INPS

Malaysian Diplomat Shows Courage on Way to Landmark NPT Review Conference

Viewpoint by Ray Acheson

This article first appeared as Editorial in NPT News in Review, Vol. 16, No. 7 on May 10, 2019. The writer is the Director of Reaching Critical Will – the disarmament programme of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). She represents WILPF on several coalition steering groups, including the 2017 Nobel Laureate International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). Ray is a 2018 UN Women Metro-NY "Champion of Change". – The Editor

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Standing up to bullies is always hard. It takes courage and resilience. Ambassador Syed Hussin of Malaysia and his team demonstrated this in spades. They listened to vehement criticisms from nuclear-armed states for the revised draft recommendations.

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: Iran has warned that if the other 2015 nuclear deal signatories fail to deliver sanctions relief, it will resume construction on the unfinished Arak nuclear reactor. The picture shows IR-40 (Arak) Reactor in 2012. CC BY-SA 3.0

Experts Exhort Nuclear Deal Signatories to Help Iran

By Jamshed Baruah

NEW YORK (IDN) – The Arms Control Association (ACA), a Washington-based nonpartisan organization, has warned that Iran’s "threat to violate" the landmark 2015 nuclear deal is "a very worrisome but predictable response" to U.S. President Donald Trump's "dangerous decision" to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) one year ago.

The Washington-based organization said: "The Trump administration’s systematic campaign to deny Iran any benefits from the agreement has driven the leadership in Tehran to take these retaliatory steps."

Photo: Emily Welty of World Council of Churches (WCC) reading the joint statement on behalf of the group, 'Faith Communities Concerned about Nuclear Weapons'. Credit: religionnews.com

Faith Communities Sound a Clarion Call for Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – Heed the voices of the world’s hibakusha, survivors of atomic bombings, by unequivocally recommitting to achieving a world without nuclear weapons, by supporting the signing and ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

Fifty-three groups and individuals of diverse faiths have joined forces to sound a clarion call to States parties also to actively assist victims and remediate contaminated environments and to engage in international cooperation and assistance to affected communities.

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.