Nuclear Abolition

A Nuclear-Armed European Union? A Proposal Under Fire

By Thalif Deen
The continued veiled threats from Russia, warning of nuclear attacks on Ukraine, have prompted some politicians in Europe to visualize a nuclear-armed European Union (EU).

A Russian Veto Threatens to Trigger a Nuclear Arms Race in Outer Space

By Thalif Deen
When the 15-member UN Security Council failed last month to adopt its first-ever resolution on outer space—co-sponsored by the US and Japan—the Russian veto led to speculation whether this was a precursor for a future nuclear arms race in the skies above. The vetoed resolution was expected to “affirm the obligation of all States parties to fully comply with the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, including not to place in orbit around the Earth any objects carrying nuclear weapons or any other kinds of weapons of mass destruction, install such weapons on celestial bodies or station such weapons in outer space in any other manner.”

When the Man Who Built the Bombs Met the Man Who Dropped the Bombs…

By Thalif Deen
The award-winning Hollywood movie Oppenheimer portrays the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, who helped create the atomic bomb, which claimed the lives of an estimated 140,000 to 226,000 people and devastated the two Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.

Ahead of UN Summit of the Future, Mobilizing Youth for Change

By Katsuhiro Asagiri
In a significant precursor to the United Nations Summit of the Future slated for September, the "Future Action Festival" convened at Tokyo's National Stadium on March 24, drawing a crowd of approximately 66,000 attendees and reaching over half a million viewers via live streaming. The event, a collaborative effort by youth and citizen groups, aimed to foster a deeper understanding and proactive stance among young people on nuclear disarmament and climate change solutions.

World’s Nuke Arsenal Declines Haltingly While Modernisation Rises Rapidly

By Thalif Deen
The world’s stockpile of nuclear weapons, held by nine states, just got a little smaller.

Failure of Review Conference Brings World Close to Nuclear Cataclysm, Warn Activists

By Thalif Deen
After nearly four weeks of negotiations, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference ended in a predictable outcome: a text overwhelmingly reflecting the views and interests of the nuclear-armed states and some of their nuclear-dependent allies.

Q&A: Nuclear Disarmament a Non-Starter, “But I Would Love to Be Proven Wrong”

By Thalif Deen
Albert Einstein, the internationally-renowned physicist who developed the theory of relativity, once famously remarked: “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.”

Faith-Based Organisations Warn of Impending Nuclear Disaster

By Thalif Deen
As the month-long review conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) continued into its second week, a coalition of some 50 faith-based organisations (FBOs), anti-nuclear peace activists and civil society organisations (CSOs) was assigned an unenviable task: a brief three-minute presentation warning the world of the disastrous humanitarian consequences of a nuclear attack.

Q&A: Comprehensive Ban on Nuclear Testing, a ‘Stepping Stone’ to a Nuke-Free World

By Kanya D'Almeida
With the four-week-long review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) underway at the United Nations, hopes and frustrations are running equally high, as a binding political agreement on the biggest threat to humanity hangs in the balance.

As Nuke Talks Begin, U.N. Chief Warns of Dangerous Return to Cold War Mentalities

By Thalif Deen
Against the backdrop of a new Cold War between the United States and Russia, two of the world’s major nuclear powers, the United Nations is once again playing host to a four-week-long international review conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Opinion: Challenging the Nuclear Powers’ Extremism

By Joseph Gerson
On the eve of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference five years ago, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned that governments alone will not rid the world of the specter of nuclear annihilation.

U.N. Warns of Growing Divide Between Nuclear Haves and Have-Nots

By Thalif Deen
As she prepared to leave office after more than three years, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane painted a dismal picture of a conflicted world: it is “not the best of times for disarmament.”

Opinion: A Legally-Binding Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons

By Ray Acheson
Five years after the adoption of the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) Action Plan in 2010, compliance with commitments related to nuclear disarmament lags far behind those related to non-proliferation or the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

Three Minutes Away from Doomsday

By Leila Lemghalef
Unchecked climate change and the nuclear arms race have propelled the minute hand of the Doomsday Clock forward two minutes closer to midnight, from its 2012 placement of five minutes to midnight.

Nuclear States Face Barrage of Criticism in Vienna

By Jamshed Baruah
Sarcastic laughter erupted when a civil society representative expressed his “admiration for the delegate of the United States, who with one insensitive, ill-timed, inappropriate and diplomatically inept intervention” had “managed to dispel the considerable goodwill the U.S. had garnered by its decision to participate” in Vienna Conference on Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons.

U.N. Urged to Ban Nuke Strikes Against Cities

By Roger Hamilton-Martin
Civil society groups are urging the U.N. General Assembly to pass a resolution declaring nuclear strikes on cities to be a clear-cut violation of international humanitarian law.

Hiroshima, Nagasaki Cast Shadow Over Nuclear Conference in Vienna

By Thalif Deen
When Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was at Harvard University early this week to pick up the 'Humanitarian of the Year' award, his thoughts transcended the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts, to the Austrian capital of Vienna which will be the venue of a key international conference on nuclear weapons next week.

OPINION: A Plea for Banning Nuke Tests and Nuclear Weapons

By Lassina Zerbo
December 1938 was a decisive month in human history: In Germany, the scientists Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann discovered that when bombarded with neutrons, the atomic nucleus of uranium would split.

OPINION: Humanitarian Impact of Nukes Calls For Concerted Action

By Daisaku Ikeda
As we approach the 70th anniversary next year of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there are growing calls to place the humanitarian consequences of their use at the heart of deliberations about nuclear weapons.

IPS Honours Crusader for Nuclear Abolition

By Roger Hamilton-Martin
Jayantha Dhanapala was awarded the IPS International Achievement Award for Nuclear Disarmament Monday at the United Nations in New York.

OPINION: The Clock Is Ticking for Nuclear Disarmament

By Jayantha Dhanapala
A nuclear weapon-free world can and must happen in my lifetime. This may seem a bold and wildly Pollyannaish statement for me to make after a lifetime of work in peace and disarmament.
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