Nuclear Weapons

Photo: Secretary-General António Guterres (fourth from left) and Tijjani Muhammad-Bande (left), President of the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly, attend the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. Credit: UN Photo/Rick Bajornas. 26 September 2019.

UN Chief Warns of Nuclear Disarmament Going Reverse

By Shanta Roy

NEW YORK (IDN) – As the United Nations commemorated its annual International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons September 26, Secretary-General António Guterres underlined two political realities facing the world community.

Firstly, not only has progress on nuclear disarmament come to a halt, but “it is going in reverse,” he warned. Secondly, relations between nuclear-armed States are mired in mistrust while dangerous rhetoric about the utility of nuclear weapons is on the rise, he noted.

Photo: Group photo at the signature and ratification ceremony of the treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Credit: UN.

12 States Join the Nuclear Ban Treaty at Signature Ceremony

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN | UNODA) – For the second year in a row, the “core group” of States supporting the Treaty for Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) convened a signature and ratification ceremony on the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, September 26.

At the ceremony, Botswana, Dominica, Grenada, Lesotho, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Tanzania and Zambia signed the Treaty; Bangladesh, Kiribati and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic deposited their instruments of ratification. Maldives and Trinidad and Tobago both signed and ratified.

Photo: U.S. President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron at a joint press conference at the G7 summit in Biarritz, France. Credit: G7 France,

A New Iran Deal French Proposal on Hold as Tensions Mount

Viewpoint by Daryl G. Kimball and Julia Masterson

The following are extensive extracts from an that analysis first appeared on the website of Arms Control Association (ACA) on September 24. Daryl G. Kimball is ACA Executive Director and Julia Masterson research assistant.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) – The latest attempt by European powers to salvage the 2015 Iran nuclear deal hit a roadblock this month when the Trump Administration hesitated to engage in a French-sponsored initiative. In August, French President Emmanuel Macron offered a proposal before world leaders at the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France for a $15 billion line of credit to Tehran in exchange for its full compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Photo: Local residents in Kaliningrad at "Immortal regiment", carrying portraits of their ancestors who fought in World War II, on Victory Day in Kaliningrad, 9 May 2017. CC BY-SA 4.0

Military Confrontation with Russia in Kaliningrad Is Dangerous

Viewpoint by Jonathan Power

LUND, Sweden (IDN-INPS) – “What idiocy”, exclaims Jack Matlock on Facebook. Matlock is one of my “Facebook Friends” because I judge his knowledge of Russia as second to none, having been under President Ronald Reagan the White House’s senior advisor on the Soviet Union and, later, his ambassador to Moscow.

The object of his ire is based on a Newsday article earlier this month. (The Russian, nation-wide, NTV channel carried the same story in a broadcast on September 23.)

Photo: Karipbek Kuyukov is an artist and nuclear non-proliferation activist born without arms as a result of his parents exposure to radiation from nuclear weapons testing. He has devoted his life and art to making sure that no one else suffers the devastating effects of nuclear weapons testing. Credit: CTBTO.

Nuclear Free World Concerns Everyone – Learning from Karipbek Kuyukov

By Ilya Kursenko *

MOSCOW (IDN) – Nuclear weapons do not seem to cause as much concern to people today as these did to our parents who grew up during the Cold War with the awareness of the fragility of peace. But when one understands what arms race implies or meets those who have been its victims, one realises that the horrors of the previous century should not be perpetrated in the age we are living.

Photo: Protest in Reykjavik organised by peace, LGBTQ and women’s groups during U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence on September 4, 2019. Credit: Lowana Veal | IDN-INPS.

Concerns About Military Build-up in Iceland

By Lowana Veal

REYKJAVIK (IDN) – It was widely believed that the U.S. military left Iceland in 2006 when they abandoned the base adjoining Iceland’s international airport at Keflavik on the southwest tip of the island.

But recent developments, in particular the visit of U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence to Iceland in early September and perhaps a previous visit of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in February 2019, reveal other motives.

Photo: CTBTO Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo addressing UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on 9 September 2019 to commemorate and promote the International Day against Nuclear Tests (29 August). Credit: CTBTO

Special UN Meeting Calls for Entry into Force of Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – Ten years ago, on December 2, 2009, the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly declared August 29 the International Day against Nuclear Tests by unanimously adopting resolution 64/35. The resolution was initiated by the Republic of Kazakhstan, together with a large number of sponsors and cosponsors with a view to commemorating the closure of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test site on August 29, 1991.

Photo: Officials examine a radionuclide detector stationed on the roof of the Vienna International Centre, home of CTBTO headquarters. Russia has deployed seven such detectors on its territory as part of the CTBTO's monitoring system, but some stopped transmitting information after a Russian weapons accident on August 8. Credit: CTBTO

Russian Weapons Accident Raises Nuclear Concerns

By Greg Webb

The writer is editor of Arms Control Today, the Arms Control Association’s flagship publication.

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN-INPS) – An accidental explosion on Russia’s White Sea coast has triggered questions about the Kremlin’s strategic weapons development efforts and concerns that Russia may have shut down sensors to deny information to international observers.

The August 8 incident began with a blast at a military test site near Severodvinsk, where Russia tests missile systems. Conflicting media reports and a lack of official Russian information have led to extensive speculation about the weapon that exploded.

Photo credit: U.S: National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Continuing Upsurge in Costs of U.S. Nuclear Warheads

Viewpoint by Kingston Reif

The writer is the Director for Disarmament and Threat Reduction Policy at the Arms Control Association. This article was first published in Arms Control Today (ACT).

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN | Arms Control Association) – The estimated cost of sustaining U.S. nuclear warheads and their supporting infrastructure continues to rise, according to the Energy Department’s latest annual report on the Stockpile Stewardship and Management Plan.

UN Denies Endorsement of India in Nuclear Suppliers Group

By Shanta Roy

NEW YORK (IDN) – India, Pakistan and Israel, three countries armed with nuclear weapons, are not recognized as nuclear weapon states by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) – a “privilege” bestowed only on the world’s five major nuclear powers: the U.S., UK, Russia, France and China, which are also members of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)

But in a report titled “António Guterres backs India’s coveted NSG membership”, the New Delhi-based Economic Times said “India has received a shot in the arm for its civil nuclear program from the UN, with Secretary-General António Guterres announcing support for Delhi’s NSG membership in his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi” (on August 25).