Pro-nuclear forces want to cancel event aimed at nuclear abolition

From the Basel Peace Office

In less then two months the United Nations General Assembly will decide whether to hold the UN High-Level Conference (Summit) on Nuclear Disarmament, which has been planned for five years, or to yield to the pressure from pro-nuclear forces and cancel the event.

You can help keep the UN on track for nuclear abolition.

1. Sign the Avaaz petition United Nations: Step up for nuclear abolition;
2. Forward the petition to your networks;
3. Send a letter to your government (Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, UN Ambassador).

Background

In 2013, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted a resolution establishing the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, and deciding to hold a series of annual High Level Meetings on Nuclear Disarmament culminating in a High-Level Conference (Summit) in 2018.

In Oct 2017, the UNGA adopted a resolution setting the dates and mandate of the High Level Conference. The resolution was supported by 129 countries, including three nuclear-armed States – China, India and Pakistan — but was opposed by the other nuclear-armed States and most NATO countries.

In March, the UN decided to postpone the summit due to insufficient preparation and due to scheduling difficulties preventing many Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers from attending.

Now, pro-nuclear forces are trying to kill the conference completely. 

They argue that there are already a number of disarmament processes and that we don’t need another one. However, this is just an excuse for inaction.

Limits of other nuclear disarmament processes

Current nuclear disarmament processes include bilateral US-Russia nuclear arms reductions, the North-East Asian peace process, the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review (NPT) Process, and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

None of these by themselves are moving the nuclear-armed States quickly or comprehensively to prohibit the use of nuclear weapons or to achieve nuclear disarmament. All of them could be assisted and supplemented by a UN High-Level Conference.

Value of the UN High Level Conference (Summit)

Among other things, a nuclear disarmament summit could:

• Put pressure on additional governments to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons;
• Encourage nuclear armed and allied States to adopt policies to never use nuclear weapons first;
• Support the peace and disarmament process in North East Asia;
• Protect the Iran deal, which the US has left despite it being the best way to ensure Iran does not aquire nuclear weapons;
• Encourage nuclear armed States to announce the next cuts in their nuclear stockpiles, and agree to a framework to achieve zero nuclear weapons.

Please join us to ensure the UN High-Level Conference takes place.

For more information please see United Nations: Step up for Nuclear Abolition.

Headline photo: Linh Do, Creative Commons/Flickr.

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