A nuclear-weapon-free southern hemisphere?

We’ve decided to set up a small working group of NGO representatives interested in working to secure the entry into force of the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty. We met yesterday with representatives from African states to discuss way to encourage countries which haven’t yet done so to ratify. Our goal is to secure three more ratifications, and therefore entry into force, in time for the next summit of the African Union, which will take place in January. It has been a long time since there were any victories of this kind, so it would provide much-needed momentum for the anti-nuclear movement. The entire southern hemisphere would be a nuclear-weapon-free zone.

Returning to the International Court of Justice

There have been discussions here in Geneva about the possibility of returning to the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on the meaning of “good faith” in the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Parties are required to enter into good faith negotiations for disarmament, and this obligation might even extend to the countries outside the treaty – India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. This question must be clarified. Even if the court were unwilling to say that the obligation required countries to immediately commence negotiations leading to a nuclear weapons convention, it would at least say that the nuclear weapons states should be doing much more than they are currently doing.

Simulated debate for nuclear weapons convention

The Ban All Nukes Generation organised a mock debate for a nuclear weapons convention. About 50 students were involved. It was a really interesting session, and the various states represented in the discussions did manage to agree on quite a few things, which was reassuring. Tilman Ruff, who chairs the Australian section of ICAN, was in charge of the session. There have been discussions about holding similar mock debates around the world. Most of the diplomats at the Non-Proliferation Treaty meeting were aware that this event was taking place.

Nuclear-weapon-free, my cup of tea

ICAN activists from Norway, Germany, Australia and Sweden held an event called “Nuclear-Weapon-Free – My Cup of Tea” today in Geneva. As well as serving tea and buscuits, we distributed information to passersby, including postcards promoting the formation of a European nuclear-weapon-free zone. We had big banners and people wearing white jumpsuits and juggling yellow balls with radiation symbols.

Several people from ICAN attended a workshop with Dr Kathleen Sullivan on disarmament education. It was a really useful exercise. She asked us to think about how we feel about nuclear weapons and how we can work together for disarmament.

Australia acknowledges need for an NWC

Australia today delivered a statement on nuclear disarmament to the Non-Proliferation Treaty meeting in Geneva. It was much different from statements made in previous years. It even included a reference to the need for a nuclear weapons convention (NWC) for the first time ever. This is something which disarmament experts have described as quite significant. The reference is a cautious one, but using those words in this forum is rare. The only other countries so far to have mentioned an NWC at the meeting have been Costa Rica, Malaysia and Iran.

The statement read: “Australia under a new Government is fully committed to realizing a world free from nuclear weapons … A world free of nuclear weapons will require carefully calibrated steps that buttress international peace and security. Every state, whether holding nuclear weapons or not, must play a part in realizing that world. And at an appropriate time, the international community will likely need to consider complementary legal frameworks, including a possible nuclear weapons convention, for the eventual abolition of nuclear weapons.”

Australia welcomed reductions made by the nuclear weapon states in the size of their arsenals but said that “the international community, Australia included, remains hungry for further, irreversible reductions and greater transparency from states holding nuclear weapons. Concurrent with their warhead reductions, nuclear weapon states need to confirm a reduced role for their nuclear weapons in national security policies.”

It concluded with these words: “We are making progress towards realising the vision of a world free from nuclear weapons, albeit neither as fast nor as consistently as we would wish. Yet one thing is for certain – that without a renewed global commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation … the vision will remain little more than that. Australia is ready to join such a renewed commitment.”

The momentum of ICAN grows internationally

It has been little over a year since ICAN was launched, and much progress has been made since then. Active national campaigns have emerged in many countries, mainly European, and today a small number of us met in Geneva to share our ideas and enthusiasm for ICAN, in hopes of building on the momentum already generated.

Tilman Ruff, from Australia, commenced discussions by describing his vision for the campaign as a vehicle that would allow different groups with their own specific agendas to work together for the ultimate goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world. That goal, he argued, is best achieved through a nuclear weapons convention (NWC).

I provided an update of the Australian campaign, drawing particular attention to the new Government’s pre-election commitment to “lead the international agenda for a nuclear weapons convention”, and I spoke of the materials we have produced – a foldout, mini-magazine, DVD and education booklet – which have been designed so that they can be distributed internationally.

Various people from the United Kingdom informed the group that an ICAN working group had been set up there. Its focus is on generating parliamentary support for an NWC and opposition to the renewal of Trident. ICAN in the UK has produced a four-page summary of the model NWC and intends to produce an even briefer summary for use by the general public.

ICAN has begun to take greater prominence in France, where meetings were held in 20 cities or towns to discuss the model NWC. The Mouvement de la Paix organized a meeting with parliamentarians to explain and promote the model NWC, and under the ICAN banner it intends to launch a postcard campaign urging French President Nicolas Sarkozy to support an NWC.

A very strong national campaign was launched in Norway with a petition containing the faces of 100 prominent people – artists, former political leaders, musicians and authors – who support an NWC. ICAN in Norway persuaded the Foreign Ministry to translate the model NWC into Norwegian and to host an international conference on a vision for a nuclear-weapon-free world. This conference was attended by several nuclear-armed states.

ICAN in Sweden has begun to translate some of the English campaign materials into Swedish, and medical student activists have held Target X demonstrations and “Nuclear-Weapon-Free – My Cup of Tea” events to generate support for an NWC.

A representative from the Netherlands expressed hope that ICAN would become central to the campaign for nuclear disarmament in her country, and spoke of an effort to persuade former Dutch leaders to sign on to a statement similar to the one made in the Wall Street Journal by former US leaders George Schultz, Henry Kissinger and others.

Alyn Ware, who was involved in drafting the model NWC, provided some advice for promoting the draft treaty to parliamentarians and diplomats. He said that the focus should not simply be on those who oppose it or are unsure about it, but efforts must also be made to ensure that those who support it are doing so actively. He argued that the NWC is far from being a “pie in the sky” idea, especially given it now has support from China, India, Pakistan and North Korea.

For those who argue that an NWC is premature, or that a step-by-step approach to nuclear disarmament is to be preferred, we should point out that the General Assembly resolution relating to the NWC merely calls for “negotiations leading to a nuclear weapons convention”. Therefore, there is no good reason for states to oppose it. He said that the NWC would not weaken the Non-Proliferation Treaty – it would rather be a way of implementing Article VI.

When will states heed civil society's call?

One of the most positive things about the current Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty meeting, which is being held in Geneva for the next two weeks, has been that almost all non-government organisations (NGOs) present have focused on the need for a nuclear weapons convention (NWC). It is central to everything that’s happening here. The national delegations will have to take heed to our call sooner or later!

A group of 50 German students is here to take part in simulated negotiations for an NWC. During the week, they will meet with ambassadors from the nuclear weapon states to ask questions about their stance on the NWC. Sadly, this might be more of an educational experience for the delegates than for the students, who seem to know a great deal about the Model NWC.

Patricia Lewis, the director of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, spoke to the students on Sunday about ways to advance the idea. She raised the possibility of a group of experts set up by the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly to look into the feasibility of an NWC.

We could put pressure on a government or several governments to set up an Ottawa- or Oslo-style process for an NWC – that is, a process which occurs outside the existing disarmament machinery, she suggested. She expected that one or more of the nuclear-armed states would be interested in participating in such a process from the outset, if only to ‘keep an eye on things’

Another option would be for the NPT to set up a committee to look specifically at the NWC in the lead up to the 2010 Review Conference, but a major problem with this approach is that it would exclude India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea unless they acceded to the NPT as non-nuclear weapon states. The Conference on Disarmament could also promote an NWC – although she concluded that this approach would be less likely than other approaches to gain traction.