Disarmament

UN Youth4Disarmament Recognized by 'Billion Acts of Peace'

By Devinder Kumar

Note: This is a revised version of the article with the headline Youth4Disarmament's Billion Acts of Peace

NEW DELHI (IDN) — Disarmament is at the heart of the collective security system set out in the United Nations Charter, with its goal to "save succeeding generations from the scourge of war". In commemoration of the United Nation's 75th anniversaries and the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA) established the "75 Words for Disarmament Youth Challenge", which was launched on August 12 International Youth Day and closed on September 26, the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

Photo: SGI President Daisaku Ikeda. Credit: Seikyo Shimbun

A Beacon of Hope from A Buddhist Leader in the Face of Crises

Viewpoint by Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | TOKYO (IDN) — Like the United Nations, the global community-based Buddhist organisation Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is a beacon of hope to a world shrouded by dark clouds of unprecedented crises. An international association of the Soka Gakkai and an NGO in consultative status with UN ECOSOC, SGI has members in 192 countries and territories around the world. SGI President is Daisaku Ikeda, a Buddhist philosopher, peacebuilder and educator.

Photo: President Barack Obama signs the New START (treaty) in the Oval Office, Feb. 2, 2011 - with Vice President Joe Biden on the extreme right. Credit: Chuck Kennedy (official White House photograph)

The United States and Russia: Warmongers and Peacemakers

By Somar Wijayadasa*

NEW YORK (IDN) – Just days after the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) that explicitly and unequivocally prohibits the use of nuclear weapons entered into force on January 22, 2021 – a remarkable victory for humanity – the United States and Russia extended their Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) until 2026, just two days before it was set to expire.

Image: World with nuclear weapons/ World free of nuclear weapons, Michael P., Poland, Art for Peace. Credit: Portside

UN Treaty Paves the Way for a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World

Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte

The writer is President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs. Former United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.

NEW YORK (IDN) – The entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on January 22 prompted many comments from different quarters on the importance and significance of this new addition to positive international law. In accordance with its Article 15.1 the Treaty entered into force 90 days after the deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification. So far, 86 states signed and 52 have already ratified it.

Photo: ICAN campaigners protest in Sydney, Australia on 22 January.

Global Buddhist Network Heralds Entry into Force of Nuclear Ban Treaty

Viewpoint by Soka Gakkai President Minoru Harada

Following is the text of a press release President Harada welcoming the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on January 22, 2021.

TOKYO (IDN) – Together with the members of the Soka Gakkai worldwide, I wholeheartedly welcome the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on January 22, 2021. The entry into force of the TPNW heralds the start of the end of the nuclear era and marks a significant step forward toward the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

Photo: The remains of the Prefectural Industry Promotion Building, after the dropping of the atomic bomb, in Hiroshima, Japan. This site was later preserved as a monument. UN Photo/DB

The Nuclear Ban Is Here. Now What?

Viewpoint by Alyn Ware

The author is Director of the World Future Council Peace and Disarmament Program. He is also the International Representative of the Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace.

PRAGUE (IDN) – January 22 was a historic day for the global campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons, with the entry-into-force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). According to promoters of the TPNW, nuclear weapons "are now illegal under international law".

Image: (left) Kumi Nakazato (Nara, Japan); (right) Nadia Anthouli (Athens, Greece). Credit: UN Office of Disarmament Affairs: Posters for Peace.

Nuclear Weapons Are Now Banned, Prohibited, Outlawed!

Viewpoint by Tariq Rauf

The writer is the former Head of Verification and Security Policy at the International Atomic Energy Agency and was a member of the Group of Eminent Persons for Substantive Advancement of Nuclear Disarmament established by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan.

VIENNA (IDN) – As the day broke today, 22 January 2021, a new era dawned in which nuclear weapons now are prohibited – finally banned – 75 years after the invention and use of nuclear weapons.

Image credit: Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor

Watchdog Indicates Barriers to UN Ban on Nuclear Weapons

By Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – Most of the world’s states can become a party to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and comply with the Treaty without making any changes to their existing policies and practices, says Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor (NWBM). But 42 states around the world currently engage in conduct that is not compatible with the new ban on nuclear weapons. In fact, Europe stands out as the region with the most states that act in conflict with the UN Treaty.

Photo: Methodist Central Hall, London, the location of the first meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in 1946. Source: Wikimedia Commons

75 Years On The First UN General Assembly Resolution

Viewpoint by Sergio Duarte

The author is Ambassador, President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.

NEW YORK (IDN) – Seventy-five years ago, in January 1946, the United Nations General Assembly met for the first time after the signature of the Charter. Its first resolution was adopted on the 24th of that month. The developments mentioned and commented below come to mind as we recall the outcome of that inaugural session of the Assembly.

Photo: A test of a U.S. thermonuclear weapon (hydrogen bomb) at Enewetak atoll in the Marshall Islands, November 1, 1952. U.S. Air Force

The Nuclear Weapon States Urged to Advance Disarmament

By Bernhard Schell

AMMAN (IDN) – The upcoming Review Conference (postponed to August 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic) of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is expected to be characterised by deep divisions among the nuclear-weapon states (NWS), and between them and the non-nuclear-weapon states (NNWS), which are deeply disappointed with the lack of progress towards nuclear disarmament despite commitments laid down in the NPT and made at past NPT review conferences.