Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

There are many different things that can be done to get a step closer to global disarmament. To reach disarmament we need to work on several different levels ­ and no matter which level you find that you can contribute to it is all part of a larger picture. Have a look at the model of change on page 2 of this fact sheet. Here we will shortly describe some of the steps in more detail.

The final step to reach global disarmament is to have a Nuclear Weapons Convention similar to the existing conventions for the abolition of chemical and biological weapons. IPPNW has drafted such a Nuclear Weapons Convention together with other NGO's and it has been widely circulated in the UN.

Obviously the people who ultimately need to make a decision to change are the decision-makers. Steps they can take towards disarmament includes:

• Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZ) that as a minimum prohibit the stationing, testing, use and development of nuclear weapons inside a particular geographic region. There are 4 regional NWFZ established by treaty, namely Latin America and the Caribbean, South Pacific, South East Asia and Africa. In addition to that there are treaties prohibiting nuclear weapons in outer space and Antarctica. Austria and Mongolia have made their countries nuclear weapon free through domestic legislation.
• Taking nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert through de-alerting, which would decrease the risk of accidental nuclear launch tremendously. Nuclear weapons can be de-alerted by storing warheads separately from delivery systems, removing guidance systems of missiles or blocking land-based missile silo covers. There are several other methods described elsewhere.
• Strengthening existing disarmament treaties like the Comprehensive test Ban Treaty and the Non-Proliferation Treaty. See more about treaties on the NWIP Fact Sheet about treaties.
• We need to think differently if we want to achieve disarmament. The world today is based on a security concept of secrecy, competition and short-term solutions. If we truly want the world to change we must think in terms of responsibility, sustainability, interdependence and long-term solutions. Dr. Hans Levander describes this with his concepts of "Old" and "New" security.
• We need to strengthen the already existing international organisations like the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency. If states unilaterally go to war disrespecting such international forums and don't ratify the treaties needed to enable the UN and the IAEA to take on their responsibilities, they will never be able to make a change.
• Finally it is more and more urgent to safeguard existing nuclear arsenals, fissile material and nuclear energy structures. The current state of security increases the risk of accidental or unauthorized launch as well as it makes the structures prone to attack by terrorist, sabotage and theft. In the recent years the US has invested a lot of money in safeguarding Russian nuclear arsenals, but security is still insufficient and the threat of nuclear terrorism very real.

The current decision-makers are generally not very positive toward the idea of global disarmament, so we need to find ways of influencing their thinking and advocating for our cause. A number of NGO initiatives seek to do so and a couple of them shall be described here.

The New Agenda Coalition is a Coalition of eight Middle Powers who are advocating for disarmament in the United Nations. The New Agenda Coalition is supported by an NGO coalition called the Middle Powers Initiative, that develops materials and through the NGO members advocate for disarmament.

The Mayors for Peace is an initiative started by Mayors from Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Mayors for Peace is a network of cities that trancends national borders in solidarity of cities towards the total abolition of nuclear weapons.

Dialogues with Decision-Makers were started in the 60s by the Oxford Research Group (ORG). ORG has described a useful method to undertake dialogues and the goal is to influence decision-makers through a long-term process of regular communication and exchange of views. IPPNW physicians from Europe, South Asia and North America meet regularly with decision-makers from nuclear weapon states and trans-national organisations like NATO and have done so since the early 80s.

A key way to influence decision-makers is through public opinion. Activists have influenced public opinion for centuries and many many methods exist to do so. Here is an obvious role for you to play as a social responsible university student by joining our efforts in disarmament education, public campaigns, media campaigns, writings and presentation of our view in as many forums as possible. The Nuclear Weapons Inheritance Project counts itself in the category of projects educating the public through trainings and advocacy.

There are many other things that should be done. The Model of Change can give you inspiration for further study of steps toward disarmament.