Tag: Nuclear Weapons

The NPT PrepCom 2023: IPB Side Events

From July 31 to August 3, 2023, the IPB had the pleasure of hosting three hybrid side events during the 2023 NPT Preparatory Committee at the United Nations in Vienna, Austria. These events aimed to foster the understanding of the challenges posed by nuclear weapons in the current political climate and the role of civil society in achieving nuclear disarmament. All three events received in person and online participation and were led by engaging Q&A discussions. 

July 31st, 2023: Nuke Free Europe: Nuclear Sharing and Threats

“Nuke Free Europe: Nuclear Sharing and Other Threats”  took place on July 31st with  speakers Alain Rouy (Mouvement de la Paix, France & IPB vice-President), Ludo de Brabander (Vrede, Belgium), Tom Unterrainer (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, UK), and Marion Küpker (Association of Reconciliation, Germany), moderated by Emily Molinari (IPB, Germany). 

The event was attended by 25 participants in person, as well as 10 who joined on Zoom. Ludo de Brabander opened the session with an introduction to NATO policy and nuclear arms, including perspectives from the Netherlands and Belgium. Alain Rouy followed with a discussion on the dangers of France’s strategic orientation towards military capability strengthening and the disregard demonstrated in President Macron’s announcements regarding nuclear disarmament. Marion Küpker then gave an overview of nuclear sharing in Germany and presented the current campaigns to remove US nuclear weapons from the country. Tom Unterrainer concluded by reflecting on the role of the UK and its relationship with the US, in particular he referred to the stationing of US nuclear weapons and nuclear waste at the Lakenheath airbase, and the risks that nuclear development poses on a national, international and regional level.

This event highlighted the panorama of nuclear sharing within Europe, its ramifications on a global scale, and the imperativeness of nuclear abolition.

On August 2nd, the event “The Role of Nuclear Weapons in a Shifting Geopolitical Landscape” had 10 in person participants and 11 online attendees. The event was moderated by Alessandra Fontanella (IPB, Germany) and commenced with opening remarks by Sérgio Duarte (Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs) on the current geopolitical changes, including the war in Ukraine, China-US competition and the rise of the BRICS.

Kate Hudson (General Secretary of CND, UK) followed with a discussion on the potential positive and negative consequences of these changes on nuclear weapons and the action civil society can take to abolish them. Vanessa Lanteigne (Program Officer for Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament) then explored the current projects and campaigns in nuclear arms control and the negative impact of the growing military & nuclear spending on climate change.  Stephanie Verlaan (Intern at the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs) brought the event to a close by focusing on youth’s pivotal contribution to nuclear disarmament, entwined with its wider implications within the evolving geopolitical landscape.

This event underscored the imperative of understanding the interplay between global shifts and nuclear weaponry by exploring the multifaceted repercussions of contemporary geopolitical changes, fostering a deeper comprehension of the crucial role civil society, ongoing initiatives, and the youth play in shaping the path towards nuclear disarmament within our evolving world order.

Our final event on August 3rd “Technology, Artificial Intelligence, and Nuclear Weapons” sought to draw attention to how newly developed and developing technologies can or already are being used in military strategy and warfare and the dangers they pose to nuclear security.

The event was attended by 15 participants, including representatives from the U.S Department of State and UNODA, and 19 online participants. It was moderated by Alain Rouy (Mouvement de la Paix, France & IPB vice-President). Dr. Michael Klare (Professor Emeritus at Five Colleges and Author) opened with a comprehensive overview on technology, AI and Nuclear weapons. He discussed how the weaponization of AI and other emerging technologies is increasing the risk of nuclear escalation and highlighted the danger of using automated command and control decision making systems with nuclear weapons. Our second speaker Jürgen Altmann (Physicist and Peace researcher at TU Dortmund University, Germany) explored military-technological Revolutions, military research and development, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and potential military applications.  Dr.  Altmann concluded by emphasizing the need for a reinvigoration of nuclear arms control. 

Given the novelty and significance of this discourse, it is crucial to consider the nexus between AI, technology, and nuclear weapons, especially in light of their pivotal relevance in today’s climate.

Visit IPB’s YouTube channel to watch all three side events!

IPB’s Vice President Alain Rouy with Emily Molinari and Alessandra Fontanella

A nuclear weapon-free, peaceful and just world – Solidarity and actions of civil society

Message by Sean Conner, Executive Director, International Peace Bureau (IPB)

2023 World Conference against A and H Bombs

International Meeting – Session III

August 5, 2023

It is fundamentally impossible to have a peaceful and just world without the elimination of all nuclear weapons. The use or threat of use of nuclear arms is a crime against humanity and contrary to international law – the victims of nuclear weapons and testing are the strongest testimony to this fact. We must listen to them and spread their messages the world over – despite their tireless efforts, there are still far too many people who have not heard their firsthand accounts of the horror and destruction of these weapons. Moreover, the mere existence of nuclear weapons hinders efforts to build trust and accountability between nations and prevents true equality on the international stage. Nuclear armed states today can act with impunity and threaten the destruction of our planet to meet their interests at a cost to the rest of the world. Plain and simple, this is terrorism. All while risking war between nuclear-armed states – we know that nuclear deterrence is nothing but a myth – the most dangerous myth.

We must build and expand our coalition to create a wider base and strengthen our actions to pressure global leaders to eliminate these weapons. This is not an issue just for peace activists, but for all activists concerned with the future of our planet and humankind. Furthermore, non-nuclear armed states have a vital role to play in exerting pressure on nuclear-armed states. Activists across the entire world can increase this pressure and encourage our leaders to move away from nuclear destruction and toward a nuclear-free future.

Read the full script below:

Session3-IPB-Sean_ConnerDownload

Monday with Yurii

Let’s start the week with Yurii, debunking myths and providing updates on his case.

“I will not run from my home and my country; if I am sent to prison for pacifism, I will find a way to be useful for peace-loving Ukraine even in prison. I will think, write, and seek ways to contribute to a permanent worldwide dialogue on peace. I will educate fellow inmates about peace and human rights, and I will help them, especially if they are also political prisoners.”

In solidarity with Yurii, please support peace movements in your countries materially. Support Ukrainian peace and human rights activists, as well as his situation, by sharing information and providing funds. Give peace the budget!

As Yurii said today, together, through nonviolent action, scientific knowledge, faith, and hope, we can build a better world where everybody refuses to kill, thereby eliminating wars.

Yurii Sheliazhenko, an IPB Council Member and the Executive Secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, is a legal scholar, journalist, writer, and human rights defender. IPB nominates the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement for the #2024NobelPeacePrize, along with two other organizations (Our House and the Movement of Conscientious Objectors), which focus on the right to conscientious objection.

Watch the full episode here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcWh4F5XCPA

Statements on the G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023

Major economies gathered for the G7 Summit Meeting in Hiroshima, Japan, from May 19 to May 21, 2023. The G7 leaders reaffirmed their support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and their commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation initiatives. But what’s the real deal?

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Kate Hudson, and the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikyo), Yasui Masakazu, issued their perspectives on the G7’s meeting and the current state of nuclear disarmament that we are in now. Their insights will give us the other side of the coin and a closer look at the nuclear issue that we are all facing.

Together, we call for a nuclear-free world—the genuine one.

1. Gensuikyo: Statement on the G7 Hiroshima Summit

We Protest against G7 Leaders for Turning their Backs on the Call of the Hibakusha and the PeopleSeeking the Prohibition and Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

By: Yasui Masakazu, Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikyo) on May 21, 2023

Gensuikyo-Statement-on-G7-May-2023Download

2. G7 hypocrisy in Hiroshima

By: Kate Hudson, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament on May 30, 2023

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Настоятельная необходимость деэскалации для предотвращения ядерной катастрофы

– 27 февраля 2023 года –

Приостановка Россией действия договора СНВ-3 (the New START Treaty) знаменует собой последнюю опасную и безответственную эскалацию ядерных угроз после вторжения на Украину год назад. Быстрое ухудшение дипломатических отношений между Россией и Западом, наряду с усилением военных действий в Украине и прежними ядерными угрозами со стороны России, должно послужить тревожным сигналом для всего мира: мы ближе, чем когда-либо, к ядерному уничтожению.

Незадолго до российского вторжения, в январе 2022 года, лидеры пяти ядерных держав подтвердили то, что мы все знаем как истину: ядерную войну нельзя вести и ее нельзя выиграть. Вместо того чтобы принять это сообщение близко к сердцу, Россия и Запад продолжают полагаться на ядерное сдерживание как на фундаментальную стратегию своей внешней политики, в том числе в качестве щита для своих империалистических авантюр. Обе стороны виновны в подрыве режима контроля над ядерными вооружениями, установленного во время холодной войны — посещение ядерных объектов США в рамках СНВ-3 также было ограничено санкциями против России. Угроза применения ядерного оружия сейчас выше, чем когда-либо в истории со времен кубинского ракетного кризиса.

Международное бюро мира вновь призывает к немедленному прекращению огня в Украине и к участию всех вовлеченных сторон в переговорах, чтобы положить конец насилию и кровопролитию. Мы требуем, чтобы переговоры включали вопросы безопасности украинцев, россиян и западных правительств, чтобы они основывались на общей безопасности и немедленно возобновили действие договора СНВ-3, а также работали над восстановлением дальнейших договоров по контролю над ядерными вооружениями и об установлении доверия, на основе принципов общей безопасности.

Кроме того, Международное бюро мира призывает положить конец дорогостоящей модернизации ядерного оружия — многомиллиардному проекту, который ничего не делает для обеспечения безопасности, — и ко всем странам поддержать Договор о запрещении ядерного оружия (ДЗЯО) во имя безопасного и безъядерного будущего.

Мариенштрассе, 19-20

10117 Берлин, Германия

New-Start-Statement-Russian-1Download

IPB Statement: The Urgent Need for Deescalation to Prevent Nuclear Disaster 

 – 27 February 2023 

Russia’s suspension of the New START Treaty marks the latest in the dangerous and irresponsible escalation of nuclear threats since the invasion of Ukraine one year ago. The rapid deterioration of diplomatic relations between Russia and the West, alongside the intensification of the war in Ukraine and Russia’s previous nuclear threats, must serve as a wake-up call to the world: we are closer than we have ever been to nuclear annihilation. 

Just prior to the Russian invasion, in January 2022, the leaders of the five nuclear-weapon states reiterated what we all know to be true: a nuclear war must not be fought and cannot be won. Instead of taking this message to heart, Russia and the West continue to rely on nuclear deterrence as a fundamental strategy for their foreign policies, including as a shield for their imperialist ventures. Both sides are guilty of eroding the nuclear arms control regime established during the Cold War – visits to US nuclear sites under New START were likewise restricted by sanctions against Russia. The threat of the use of nuclear weapons is now higher than at any point in history since the Cuban Missile Crisis. 

The International Peace Bureau calls again for an immediate ceasefire in Ukraine and for all involved parties to engage in negotiations to bring the violence and bloodshed to an end. We demand that negotiations include the security concerns of Ukrainians, Russians, and Western governments to rely on common security and to immediately resume the New START treaty, as well as to work for the re-establishment of further nuclear arms control and trust-building treaties, in line with the principles of common security. 

Furthermore, IPB calls for an end to the expensive modernization of nuclear weapons – a multi-billion dollar project that does nothing to ensure security – and for all nations to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons for a safer, nuclear-free future. 

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You can download the PDF version of this Statement in English here:

statement-New-Start-February-27-2023Download

You can download the PDF version of this Statement in Russian here:

New-Start-Statement-RussianDownload

➡️ Interact with us on social media especially to learn about our latest actions and activities: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.

➡️ Our office is open to reply to any doubts regarding the documents that were above presented. To get in touch with us, e-mail us at info@ipb-office.berlin.

IPB Call to Action – On the First Anniversary of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Let’s Show That There Are Peaceful Alternatives to War

The International Peace Bureau calls on our members worldwide to take action during 24-26 February 2023 in support of peace in Ukraine. The war, which will mark its first anniversary on 24.02.2023, has already cost more than two hundred thousand lives[1] – by conservative estimates – forced millions to flee their homes[2], caused widespread destruction of Ukrainian cities, and strained already fragile supply chains that have made life more difficult for people the world over.

We know that this war is unsustainable – and, worse still, risks escalation that threatens the life and livelihood of people around the world. The nuclear rhetoric of Russia in particular is irresponsible and demonstrates the fragility of this moment. Moreover, the war’s direct and indirect impact on the climate impedes the urgent need for a green transition[3].

There is no easy solution to the war in Ukraine, but the current track we are on is unsustainable. Through global demonstrations for peace, we seek to pressure the two sides to establish a ceasefire and to take steps toward negotiations for long-term peace.

Our calls for peace are not limited to Ukraine – for all conflicts in the world, we implore governments to refuse the logic of confrontation and war, to oppose the nuclear peril, and to commit themselves to disarmament by signing the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. We demand that governments and states act in favor of diplomacy, negotiation, conflict prevention, and the establishment of common security systems[4].

We call for your support and your voices for peace. Please consider joining an existing event during this weekend of action, or planning your own. Together we are stronger, and can show the world that there are alternatives to war and militarization. 

Further resources:

[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/10/us-estimates-200000-military-casualties-all-sides-ukraine-war

[2] https://cream-migration.org/ukraine-detail.htm?article=3573#:~:text=The%20UNHCR%20records%207%2C977%2C980%20refugees,for%20temporary%20protection%20in%20Europe. 

[3] https://www.sgr.org.uk/publications/estimating-military-s-global-greenhouse-gas-emissions

[4] https://commonsecurity.org/

You can download the PDF version of this official statement here:

IPB-Call-to-Action-On-the-First-Anniversary-of-the-Russian-Invasion-of-UkraineDownload

➡️ Click here to read the appeal in French.

➡️ Interact with us on social media especially to learn about our latest actions and activities: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.

➡️ Our office is open to reply to any doubts regarding the documents that were above presented. To get in touch with us, e-mail us at info@ipb-office.berlin.

 90 Seconds to Midnight: A Wake-Up Call for Peace? 

Official Statement – 25/01/2023

On 24 January 2023, The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists officially announced that the Doomsday Clock moved to 90 seconds to midnight – the closest the count has been to global apocalypse in its 78 years of existence, underlining the grim state of the world in 2023. 

This report is a wake-up call to the world; we cannot continue on the path that we have been going. The International Peace Bureau and our global network once again call on all parties involved in the war in Ukraine – including those indirectly involved through weapons transfers and other support – to push for an immediate ceasefire and take good-faith efforts to return to the negotiating table, in order to avoid the unprecedented threats that the war poses for the future of all life on our planet.

The Bulletin references the dangers of escalation in the war in Ukraine – where both parties are entrenched in their positions and Russia has threatened the use of nuclear weapons – alongside the weaponization of nuclear plants, the lack of cooperation on climate change, and the erosion of international norms.

While the war in Ukraine may be the most immediate existential threat we face, the end of the war itself is not enough to push us back from the brink. We urgently need Common Security, including a new peace architecture in Europe to avoid future conflicts.  Furthermore, we need global cooperation to eliminate nuclear weapons through the framework of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). New agreements between nuclear weapons states on reductions of such weapons, an end to their modernization and the nuclear sharing between the US and European countries, and the expansion of Nuclear Weapons Free Zones (NWFZ) could be a starting point toward their elimination.

Importantly, the “Joint Statement of the Leaders of the Five Nuclear-Weapon States” just over a year ago emphasized that a nuclear war can never be won.

Finally, we need urgent global cooperation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to clean energy; we need to cease the alarming use of new militarized like drones and artificial intelligence; and we need global justice, standing together against colonialism, militarism, inequality, and exploitation, to avoid the conflicts of tomorrow. A negation of militarism and a reduction of military spending – which globally amounts to more than 2 trillion US dollars –  in favour of social spending can ensure that we avoid moving any closer to global catastrophe.

The International Peace Bureau will continue to work with our network and partners to push us back from the brink and create a brighter, peaceful future.

You can download the PDF version of this official statement here:

IPB-Statement-90-Seconds-to-MidnightDownload

➡️ Interact with us on social media especially to learn about our latest actions and activities: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.

➡️ Our office is open to reply to any doubts regarding the documents that were above presented. To get in touch with us, e-mail us at info@ipb-office.berlin.

Militarized Japan and the Biden-Kishida Summit Signal Moment in the New Cold War

Article by Joseph Gerson – 11/01/2023

➡️ Read the original article in commondreams.org

Across the Indo-Pacific, as well as in the escalating Ukraine War, humanity stands an accident or miscalculation away from the calamity of nuclear war.

Japan in December adopted a set of three security and defense strategy documents that break from its exclusively self-defense-only stance. Under the new strategies, Japan vows to build up its counterstrike capability with long-range cruise missiles that can reach potential targets in China, double its defense budget within five years, and bolster development of advanced weapons.” —Asahi Shimbun

“U.S. officials have welcomed Japan’s willingness to take on more offensive role, while experts say it could also help widen cooperation with Australia, their main regional defense partner.” —Asahi Shimbun

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida comes to Washington on Friday, January 13. Unlike Japan, his summit with President Joe Biden will not garner much press attention here in the United States, but it marks a signal moment in Japan’s rise in military power and in the implementation of the Biden Administration’s National Security Strategy. The Strategy, which prioritizes Chinese and Russian challenges to the so-called “rules-based order”, a euphemism for U.S. primacy which is rife with contradictions, prioritizes the centrality of alliances to U.S. global power, stating that “our alliances and partnerships around the world are our most important strategic asset.”

The revitalized 70-year-old U.S.-Japan alliance has renewed importance in enforcing U.S. defense of Taiwan and resisting the expansion of Chinese influence across the South China/West Philippine Sea. This Sea is the geopolitically critical expanse of ocean across which 40% of world trade—including Middle East oil which fuels East Asian economies—flows. Similarly, further integration of the Japanese and U.S. economies and technological resources are encompassed by the alliance and seen as essential to the power and wealth of both nations.

Prime Minister Kishida has stated that the summit will be a “very important” opportunity to “demonstrate at home and abroad the further strengthening of the Japan-U.S. alliance.” The alliance is not a new development. In 1952 the Mutual Security Treaty (AMPO in Japanese) was secretly imposed on Japan as a condition for ending the postwar military occupation. Since then, contrary to Japan’s “peace constitution,” the island nation has served as the center of the United States’ hub and spokes Asia-Pacific alliance structure. It reinforced the Cold War containment doctrine in Asia, and in the 21st century it plays a critical role in containing and managing China’s rise and its challenge to U.S. regional hegemony.

➡️ Read the original article in commondreams.org

Continue reading “Militarized Japan and the Biden-Kishida Summit Signal Moment in the New Cold War”

dED appeal to UK Universities – End your Partnerships with the Global Arms Trade and Instead Champion Peace!

Demilitarize Education is working to end the militarization of universities and is building the world’s biggest database of UK universities’ investments and partnerships with the global arms trade. Together in solidarity, we can work to see a world where universities champion peace, not war.

So far, dED has uncovered £619,686,663.57 worth of investments, research funding, and consultancy between arms trade companies and universities – and we’re just getting started! 

We’re reaching out to you to ask for help in signing and sharing our petition, as we build on the national movement to demilitarize our education.

These arms companies – including the likes of BAE Systems, Raytheon, Rolls Royce, and MBDA – involve themselves in universities for research and development, recruitment, and PR purposes. The universities then turn a profit from arms-trade research and investment income. 

But all the while these companies’ activities contribute to enormous carbon emissions, destabilize global relations, and facilitate war crimes by morally bankrupt regimes. That’s why we’re calling on universities to sever their ties to the global war machine, and invest in peace – not war! 

If you are interested in giving your voice to this campaign to demilitarize education, please support dED with the following: 

➡️ Check out their petitions: https://actionstorm.org/petitions/demilitarise-education/

➡️ Visit their website: https://ded1.co/

You can also follow them on Instagram, Facebook, Youtube and Twitter!