Nuclear Weapons and Nationalism: An Incendiary Mix
By Andrew Lichterman*
OAKLAND, California (IDN) — Seventy-seven years ago, the United Nations General Assembly passed its first resolution. The subject the governments represented there thought important enough to be first on their agenda was the establishment of a commission to develop proposals for the control of atomic energy and “for the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction.” [2023-01-26]
Should South Korea Go Nuclear?
By Rebecca Johnson
Dr Rebecca Eleanor Johnson is the Executive Director of the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy (AIDD).
LONDON (IDN) — In just the few weeks between the West’s New Year and the East’s Year of the Rabbit South Korea’s President Yoon Suk-yeol has been making some very worrying remarks about getting nuclear weapons.
On 2 January 2023, Yoon reportedly called for the Republic of [South] Korea to have a greater role in managing nuclear weapons. [2023-01-22]
South Korea Vows to Go Nuclear Amid Growing Threats from North
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — As nuclear tensions continue to spread across the Korean Peninsula, South Korea has for the first time declared “nuclear weapons as a policy option”,—triggering the threat of a potentially new nuclear power looming in the horizon. [2023-01-19]
The Ukraine War Should Alert Us to The Need to Ban Nuclear Weapons
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — In the year 2000, President Vladimir Putin, having just won his first election, made his own contribution to solving the nuclear weapons imbroglio. He said in a speech that Moscow was prepared to drastically reduce its stockpile of nuclear missiles. Putin's call was not just for further cuts than the US suggested ceiling of 2,500 for each side but for reductions far below Moscow's previous target of 1,500. (At present, Russia has around 6,000 warheads and the US 5,400.) [2023-01-15-29] CHINESE | HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SWEDISH
US Must Offer a Nuclear Deal That Iran Cannot Afford to Decline
Viewpoint by Jonathan Power*
LUND, Sweden (IDN) — The policies of Iran’s government are not set in stone, as critics interminably suggest. In early December Iran’s prosecutor-general was reported as saying that the morality police were being disbanded. Clearly, two months of demonstrations, led mainly by women, and now with open support by Iran’s football World Cup team while competing in Qatar, have made some in the government have a big think about its long-term policies. [2023-01-12-28] ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | KOREAN | RUSSIAN
The Decline & Fall of Nuclear Disarmament in 2022
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — As a politically and militarily tense 2022 came to an inglorious end, nuclear threats kept hitting the front pages of newspapers with monotonous regularity last year.
The rising tensions were triggered primarily by threats from Russia, the continuous military rhetoric spilling out of North Korea and Iran's unwillingness to give up its nuclear option—and its increasingly close relationship with two of the world’s major nuclear powers, Russia and China. [2023-01-04-27] FRENCH | ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SPANISH
UN Takes to New Ways to Promote Nuclear Disarmament
By Jaya Ramachandran
GENEVA (IDN) — UN Secretary-General António Guterres announced on 24 May 2018 his Agenda for Disarmament, which outlines a set of practical measures across the entire range of disarmament issues, including weapons of mass destruction, conventional arms and future weapon technologies.
Action 1 for "Securing Our Common Future," the title of the Agenda, aims to "facilitate dialogue for nuclear disarmament". It underlines that disarmament and non-proliferation remain indispensable tools for the creation of a secure environment favourable to human development, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. [2023-01-04-26] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | INDONESIAN
Is the Iran Nuclear Deal Dead or Alive?
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS (IDN) — U.S. President Joe Biden's off-the-cuff remark, describing the nuclear deal with Iran as "dead", has led to widespread speculation about the future of the landmark agreement—and of the potential emergence of new nuclear powers in the horizon.
"It is dead, but we're not going to announce it," Biden said before adding, "long story".
Biden's quote was on a video circulating on social media filmed during an election event in November—and disclosed in December. [2022-12-30-25] ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | TURKISH
The Dismal State of Nuclear Disarmament
Viewpoint by Jacqueline Cabasso
The writer is the Executive Director of the Western States Legal Foundation.
OAKLAND, California (IDN) — The year 2022 has been a nightmare for nuclear disarmament. The year started out with a mildly reassuring Joint Statement by the five original nuclear-armed states, issued on January 3, 2022, declaring: “The People’s Republic of China, the French Republic, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the United States of America consider the avoidance of war between Nuclear-Weapon States and the reduction of strategic risks as our foremost responsibilities. We affirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” [2022-12-25-24] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | THAI
The G20 & Beyond: Nuclear Threats vs. a Growing Norm Against Nukes
By Alyn Ware
The writer is the Director of the Basel Peace Office, Global Coordinator of the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, and Peace and Disarmament Program Director of the World Future Council.
PRAGUE | WELLINGTON (IDN) — In January 2022, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists set the Doomsday Clock to 100 Seconds to Midnight, indicating the high level of existential risk to humanity from climate change, nuclear policies, rising nationalism and international tensions that could erupt into armed conflict. [2022-12-15-23] ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | NORWEGIAN
