Nuclear Weapons

Photo: G20 leaders pose for a group photo at the start of the G20 Osaka Summit, 28 June 2019. Source: Japan’s Public Relations Office.

The G20 Should Have Nuclear Disarmament on Their Agenda

Viewpoint by Herbert Wulf*

DUISBURG, Germany (IDN) – Right now, two critical developments are literally threatening the very existence of humankind: the climate crisis and the possibility of nuclear war. There is a broad consensus when it comes to the severity of climate change, even if there is still absolutely no sign of a solution despite the affirmations by many governments. But at least the climate debate is a lively one, accompanied by countless demonstrations against policies that are damaging to the environment.

Photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov answers to questions in The Great Game show on Channel One Russia on December 22, 2019. Source: Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Russia Urges U.S. to Agree to Extending New START

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – In a series of significant discussions and a special interview with Rossiya Segodnya, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has reiterated Russia’s plea for the extension of the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START). President Vladimir Putin had clearly stated that “Russia is ready to extend it without any preconditions," he said. As for deadlines, Putin had emphasised that "Russia is willing to immediately, as soon as possible, before the year is out, renew this Treaty," he added.

Photo: The second training on Conflict Prevention through Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-proliferation jointly organized by UNODA and the OSCE in May 2019 at Vienna International Centre. Credit: UNODA, Vienna Office.

Youth to The Front for Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his Agenda for Disarmament on May 24, 2018 underlined the need to establish a platform for youth engagement. This would include “a cadre of youth from around the world,” who will work assiduously to promote disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control in their communities.

Engaging with youth groups and community organizations in support of the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals with synergistic linkages to youth, disarmament and non-proliferation education and conflict prevention is the second pillar of the platform for youth engagement.

Photo: Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, briefs the members of the UN Security Council. UN Photo/Rick Bajornas

UN Criticises Iran and USA for Undermining Nuclear Deal

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – The UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA) Rosemary DiCarlo has criticized both Iran and the United States for putting strain on the groundbreaking 2015 deal to monitor Iran’s nuclear programme, which she stressed remains a “cornerstone of international peace and security”.

Photo: More than 100 US-built missiles having the capability to strike Moscow with nuclear warheads were deployed in Italy and Turkey in 1961. In August 1963, the US joined the Soviet Union and United Kingdom in agreeing to ban nuclear explosions in the atmosphere, outer space, or under water, and places significant restrictions on detonating nuclear devices underground. The Limited Test Ban Treaty reflects concerns about the dangers of nuclear fallout. A high-speed “hotline” connecting the leaders of the Soviet and U.S. governments is established to mitigate the risk of accidental warfare. Credit: Wikimedia Commons.

Rising Concern in Russia About Spiralling Arms Race

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Russia is convinced that proliferation risks and threats that are rampant today can be eliminated by the strict observance of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), while respecting and ensuring the balance between its three components: nonproliferation, disarmament and peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The NPT will be reviewed in May 2020 at an international conference at the UN Headquarters in New York. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov considers it crucial that the upcoming conference is held “as non-confrontationally as possible and not repeat the sad experience of the 2015 conference, when in fact, the participants refused to talk to each other and even to listen to each other, and each stated their position independently of what the others were saying”.

Photo: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov with President Vladimir Putin. CC BY 4.0

NPT Review Conference Should Not Repeat the ‘Sad Experience’ of 2015

Viewpoint by Sergey Lavrov

The following are extensive excerpts from Russiaan Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s remarks at the Moscow Nonproliferation Conference on “Foreign Policy Priorities of the Russian Federation in Arms Control and Nonproliferation in the Context of Changes in the Global Security Architecture” Moscow, 8 November 2019.

How to Search a 1000 km2 Area to Look for Evidence of Nuclear Testing?

Photo: The UN membership considered the 2015 Iran deal to be very fair. The Security Council gave it unanimous support. Indeed, the U.S. is now in breach of international law by opting out. Credit: UN Photo.

European Support for the US Has Backed Iran into a Corner

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN) – The Europeans have not done well in countering President Donald Trump’s onslaught on Iran. When Trump unilaterally decided that the U.S. should withdraw from the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, which committed Iran to winding down its nuclear research in return for the West, Russia and China (the latter two were also part of the deal) lifting sanctions which were crippling the Iranian economy, the Europeans huffed and puffed and then did little.

Photo: Twenty-five years since the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize shared by Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres with PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat – who negotiated and signed the Oslo Peace Accords – peace continues to evade the Middle East, Palestine-Israel relations remain tense and a Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) Zone in the region is nowhere in sight. The picture shows Rabin (left) shaking hands with Arafat (right) at the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2001 | Credit: CC BY-SA World Economic Forum.

Middle Eastern States Are Back on The Path to A WMD Free Zone

Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte

The writer is President of Pugwash and former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.

NEW YORK (IDN) – The establishment of a nuclear weapon free zone in the region of the Middle East has been one of the most frustrating undertakings in the field of arms control and non-proliferation at the United Nations. Over the past few decades it has been possible for States in other regions of the globe to successfully negotiate and adopt treaties that establish nuclear weapon free zones that greatly enhance peace and security.

Photo: Former Titan II Missile in its silo, Sahuarita, Arizona. Source: The Titan Missile Museum.

How Nuclear False Warning Could Have Unleashed a Catastrophe

Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball

The writer is Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. The following is the text of his article published in Arms Control Today.

WASHINGTON (IDN) – Forty years ago, on November 9, the U.S. Defense Department detected an imminent nuclear attack against the United States through the early-warning system of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD). U.S. bomber and missile forces went on full alert, and the emergency command post, known as the “doomsday plane,” took to the air.