Author: amela

Common Security Diplomacy to Resolve U.S.-North Korean Crisis

Joseph Gerson*

President Trump’s off the cuff and extremely dangerous and outrageous threat to devastate North Korea with “fire and fury… unlike the world has ever seen” is bringing us to the brink of the unthinkable. There is no military solution to the dangers posed by North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.  We need to do all that we can to bring reason and bear with Common Security diplomacy that could bring these two nuclear powers back from the brink and to establish the basis for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.
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2017 World Conference against A and H Bombs, Nagasaki – Closing Plenary

Lisa Clark
Co-President, International Peace Bureau

OHAYO GOZAIMASU

This was my first time at the World Conference. Let me thank Gensuikyo for having allowed me to enjoy this extraordinary experience. The International Peace Bureau (IPB) is dedicated to the vision of a world without war.

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Remembering what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Seventy two years ago the United States dropped two atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The humanitarian and environmental consequences were catastrophic. Since then the peace movement fights against nuclear weapons and just recently, on July 7th it got a strong reason to celebrate – the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty was adopted at the UN in New York.

Read the whole statement here

The Nuclear Ban Treaty

John Burroughs
Lawyers Commitee on Nuclear Policy

 
Amb. Nozipho Mxakato-Diseko of South Africa, which played an important role in the negotiations.UN Webcast, March 28, 2017.
Approved on July 7 by a vote of 122 to 1 (Netherlands, the only NATO state to participate), with one abstention (Singapore), the nuclear ban treaty will open for signature on September 20 at the United Nations and will enter into force when 50 states have signed and ratified it.

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Key Issues in Negotiations for a Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty

By John Burroughs
Arms Control Today, June 2017

The outlines of a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading to their total elimination, emerged in late March during the first week of negotiations among diplomats representing about 130 governments. During a second session, to take place from June 15 to July 7 at the United Nations, a text will be negotiated, based on the May 22 draft by the president of the negotiating conference, Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gómez of Costa Rica. She aims for conference approval of a text by the end of that session.

Read the whole article here

The Ban Treaty – Next Steps: Sign and Ratify

Dear friends of peace,

Dear colleagues,

A historical document was adopted by 122 states at the UN on July 7th: the treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons.

For many years we have been working for and promoted such a treaty. As the South-African Ambassador said, we faced through the last years “an incredible amount of pressure”, we were accused of being “irrealistic” and divisive, but this treaty had to be achieved as a “moral duty”. Continue reading “The Ban Treaty – Next Steps: Sign and Ratify”

G20 in Hamburg – pathetic

One day after and some rest one may finally ask the question what did the summit achieve for whom politically?

This is the attempt approaching the reality of the G20 summit. It will name the deeply undemocratic and aggressive behavior of the police, the impressive and courageous protest, and the outstanding demonstration of the 76,000 as well as the condemnable actions of the criminal mob. We will learn how many provocateurs were involved. An independent commission is highly needed. Continue reading “G20 in Hamburg – pathetic”

CISP Kazakhstan: The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

On July 7, 2017 the text of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was approved at the UN Headquarters in New York City during the final session of negotiations on the development of a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination  (hereinafter – the Conference, negotiations).

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Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty adopted

History has been written.

The legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination has been adopted at the United Nations today. 122 countries voted for the treaty, the Netherlands voted against, Singapore abstained.

Civil society participation was so huge that another room had to be found for everybody to be able to listen to the conference. In the final session of the conference, the president of the Conference Ambassador Whyte asked if there is a consensus on the adoption of the treaty. The answer was standing ovations. Nevertheless, the Netherlands asked for voting.

The text of the treaty is available here: http://www.undocs.org/en/a/conf.229/2017/L.3/Rev.1

The conference may be followed on the conference website: https://www.un.org/disarmament/ptnw/

Voting Results: https://s3.amazonaws.com/unoda-web/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/A.Conf_.229.2017.L.3.Rev_.1.pdf

Pictures from the conference: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lucaswirl/albums/72157685879330596

In the following discussion (which is still on) delegates express the urgency of putting the treaty into force and achieve nuclear weapons abolition. Many states highlight the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and the crime against humanity of nuclear weapons.

A more extensive report will follow.