We welcome the reiteration of the Reagan-Gorbachev and Biden-Putin statements by the five leading nuclear weapons states that nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. Some have expressed the belief that this may contribute to serious nuclear disarmament negotiations and agreements among five of the nine nuclear powers. Such initiatives and agreements would be welcome and contribute to international security and human survival.
At the same time, we note that these same leaders are spending billions to upgrade and in some cases expand their genocidal nuclear arsenals. They are recklessly engaged in provocative military operations in which accidents or miscalculations could trigger nuclear holocausts.
We concur with U.N. Secretary General Guterres’ statement that “the only way to eliminate all nuclear risks is to eliminate all nuclear weapons”.. For the sake of humanity’s future, we must do all that we can to eliminate the existential threats posed by nuclear weapons and the climate emergency.
- We join with our partners in the Peace & Planet international network, in which the International Peace Bureau play a leading role which, following the P-5 statement called for: Immediate fulfillment of their Article VI obligations and past agreements to abolish nuclear weapons by the nuclear-armed states participating in the 2021 NPT Review Conference.
- Commencement of negotiations between Russia and the U.S. for deep reductions in their nuclear arsenals, to be joined at the earliest possible date by the other nuclear-armed states to achieve the global elimination of nuclear weapons.
- A halt in the development and deployment of all new nuclear weapons and delivery systems
- Significant reduction in spending for nuclear weapons and related systems, including dual use “missile defenses” and hypersonic weapons, and increased spending to address the climate crisis and other urgent human needs through national and international just conversion plans and ambitions.
- Support, signing and ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
- An end to nuclear sharing.
- Pursuit of settlement of conflicts through diplomacy and peaceful means based on the UN Charter and established international law and rules.
- Negotiations to fulfill the promise of the creation of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and other Weapons of Mass Destruction.
- Common Security diplomacy to reduce military tensions and to create an environment more conducive to nuclear disarmament negotiations.
We recognize that few if any of these steps will be taken without committed action and advocacy by civil society. It is past time to educate, advocate, organize, protest, and survive.
