Nuclear Weapons

Photo: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Donald Trump at the Singapore Summit on June 12, 2018. Source: @Scavino45 of Dan Scavino Jr., the White House Director of Social Media and Assistant to the President.

Behind North Korea's New Missile Launches in the Midst of Coronavirus Pandemic

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – While the international community has been engrossed in combating the global COVID-19 pandemic, it has been constrained to respond to North Korea's first missile launches this year. The United Nations Security Council convened behind closed doors on March 5 but failed to agree on a resolution.

However, Britain, Germany, France, Estonia and Belgium said in a "joint statement" that they are "deeply concerned by the testing of ballistic missiles by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" (DPRK) on March 1.

Iran Should Demonstrate That Its Nuclear Program Is Peaceful

By Kelsey Davenport and Julia Masterson

This article first appeared on Arms Control Association Website. Kelsey Davenport is director for nonproliferation policy, and Julia Masterson research assistant

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) – International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director-General Rafael Grossi raised concerns earlier in March about Tehran’s failure to cooperate with an agency investigation into possible storage and use of undeclared nuclear materials at three locations in Iran.

Photo: Collage with images from Arms Control Association and the Doomsday clock.

Postpone the NPT Review Conference to 2021 and Convene in Vienna

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf

The writer has attended all nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) meetings since 1987 as a delegate, including as senior adviser to the chair of Main Committee I (nuclear disarmament) in 2015 and to the chair of the 2014 preparatory committee; as alternate head of the International Atomic Energy Agency delegation to the NPT; and as a non-proliferation expert with the Canadian delegation from 1987. Personal views are expressed here.

Photo: Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump meeting during G7 Summit on Osaka on June 28. Credit: Kremlin.ru

Bullish on Trilateral Arms Control and Bearish on New START

By Kingston Reif and Shannon Bugos

While Kingston Reif is director for disarmament and threat reduction policy, Shannon Bugos is research assistant at the Arms Control Association.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – President Donald Trump said recently that he is open to meeting with the other heads of state of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to discuss arms control and will soon put forward a trilateral arms control proposal with Russia and China. But China continues to express its opposition to trilateral talks and has yet to respond to U.S. overtures to begin a bilateral strategic security dialogue.

Photo: NPT Prepcom 2019. Credit: James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS).

Five Nuclear Weapon States Pledge Commitment to NPT

By J C Suresh

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) — Five permanent members (P5) of the UN Security Council – USA, China, France, Russia and Britain – who together possess an overwhelming majority of 13,865 nuclear weapons have pledged "unstinting commitment to preserving and deepening … for future generations" the legacy of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

A joint statement by Foreign Ministers of the five countries on the 50th anniversary of the entering into force of the NPT on March 5, 2020 says "we celebrate the immeasurable contributions this landmark treaty has made to the security and prosperity of the nations and peoples of the world."

Photo: Leymah Gbowee, Nobel Peace laureate, Gloria Steinem, author activist and Carol Jenkins, CEO of the ERA Coalition at the War No More conference Feb 28, 2020 UN and an overview of the conference. Credit: CTAUN/Don Carlson

Committee on Teaching About the UN Demands 'War No More'

By Narin B. Stassis

The writer currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Committee on Teaching About the UN. She is a former Director of Curriculum and Instruction, a lifelong Educator, and holds a Master's degree in International Education from Lesley University.

NEW YORK (IDN) – The United Nations was created with a determination "to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war". As the world body celebrates its 75th anniversary this year, the Committee on Teaching About the United Nations (CTAUN), convened a conference, "War No More", co-sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Korea to the United Nations.

Photo: A view of the sculpture - Good Defeats Evil - on the UN Headquarters grounds, presented to the UN by the Soviet Union on the occasion of the Organization’s 45th anniversary. Credit: UN Photo/Manuel Elias

The Virus of Nuclear Proliferation

Viewpoint by Alice Slater

The writer serves on the Board of 'World Beyond War', and represents the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation at the United Nations.

NEW YORK (IDN) — In an avalanche of reporting we are now assaulted with information about how the world is urgently attempting to batten down the hatches to avoid the possibility of deathly consequences from the broadly publicized outbreak of the coronavirus, causing the possibility of postponing or perhaps downsizing the upcoming five year mandatory Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Photo: Protests after U.S. decision CC BY 4.0to withdraw from JCPOA, around former U.S. embassy, Tehran, on 8 May 2018. CC BY 4.0

Trump's Abandonment of Nuclear Deal with Iran Backfires

By Reinhard Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) — The quarterly report on Iran released by UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), on March 3 has revealed a significant increase in the country's stockpile of enriched uranium since its last report. The stockpile stood at 1,020.9 kg in February, up from 372.3 kg in November 2019, reports Jane's Defence Weekly.

This 648.6 kg increase is raising international concern as it marks a significant breach of the 300 kg stockpile limit imposed on Iran by the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed between Iran and the P5+1— China France, Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States — on July 14, 2015. The nuclear deal was endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231, adopted on July 20, 2015.

Risks and Realities of Extending the UN Arms Embargo on Iran

Viewpoint by Kelsey Davenport and Daryl K. Kimball

This article first appeared as Issue Brief of the Arms Control Association on 5 March 2020. Kelsey Davenport is director for nonproliferation policy, and Daryl G. Kimball, executive director, Arms Control Association.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN) — More than a decade ago, the United States and its partners secured UN Security Council support for a series of resolutions imposing increasingly tough sanctions on Iran as part of an effort to pressure Tehran into multilateral talks to curb its nuclear program and block its pathways to nuclear weapons.

Graphic: Collage of COVID-19 affected countries from World Health Organisation (left) and NPT partner countries from Wikimedia Commons

Relentless Spread of Coronavirus Obliges Postponing the 2020 NPT Review to 2021

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf *

VIENNA (IDN) — As Spring is in the offing, the days are drawing near when representatives of up to 191 countries will convene at a review conference at the United Nations in New York, from 27 April to 22 May, to celebrate 50 years of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) being in force. Coincidentally, this also will be the tenth in a series of quinquennial NPT review conferences. Nonetheless, as at present the COVID-19 virus continues to spread globally, the wise and prudent course would be to postpone the NPT review conference to next year and not risk the health of the participants or contribute to the further propagation of the disease and further strain already stressed health care systems not only in the developed world but especially in developing areas.