Basel Declaration on human rights and trans-generational crimes resulting from nuclear weapons and nuclear energy

The participants in the international conference Human Rights, Future Generations and Crimes in the Nuclear Age, held in Basel from September 14-17, 2017, affirm that the risks and impacts of nuclear weapons, depleted uranium weapons and nuclear energy, which are both transnational and trans-generational, constitute a violation of human rights, a transgression of international humanitarian and environmental law, and a crime against future generations. Continue reading “Basel Declaration on human rights and trans-generational crimes resulting from nuclear weapons and nuclear energy”

Appeal for a diplomatic solution in North East Asia

The Abolition 2000 members and affiliated networks listed below, representing peace and disarmament organisations from around the world, call on the United States and North Korea to step back from the brink of war in North East Asia, and instead adopt a diplomatic approach to prevent war .

We call for the immediate commencement of negotiations to prevent a military conflict from erupting, and to resolve the underlying conflicts. Such negotiations should take place both bilaterally and through a renewed Six-Party  framework involving China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States.

The escalating tensions and threat of military conflict over North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities

makes a diplomatic solution of vital importance and the highest priority. The increasing risk of war – and possibly even the use of nuclear weapons by miscalculation, accident, or intent – is frightening.

More than three million citizens of Korea, China, USA and other countries lost their lives in the Korean War from 1950-1953. Should a war erupt again, the loss of lives could be considerably worse, especially if nuclear weapons are used. Indeed, a nuclear conflict erupting in Korea could engulf the entire world in a nuclear  catastrophe that would end civilization as we know it.

In supporting diplomacy rather than war, we:

  1. Oppose any pre-emptive use of force by any of the parties, which would be counter-productive and likely lead to nuclear war;
  2. Call on all parties to refrain from militaristic rhetoric and provocative military exercises;
  3. Encourage China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States to consider the phased and comprehensive approach for a North-East Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone with a 3+3 arrangement*, which already has cross-party support in Japan and South Korea and interest from the North Korean government;
  4. Encourage China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States to also consider options and modalities for turning the 1953 Armistice Agreement into a formal end to the 1950-1953 Korean War;
  5. Welcome the call of the UN Secretary-General for a resumption of Six-Party talks and his offer to assist in negotiations;
  6. Welcome also the offer of the European Union to assist in diplomatic negotiations, as they did successfully in the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program;
  7. Call on the United Nations Security Council to prioritise a diplomatic solution to the conflict.

Read the appeal with signatories here

Tony de Brum, former Marshall Islands foreign minister, died on August 22, 2017

Tony de Brum, beloved nuclear disarmament and climate change hero, has died at his home in Majuro, following a long illness. Tony’s unwavering passion and commitment, his warmth and humanity will be sorely missed. Tony was one of a kind. Our hearts go out to his family. Read more about Tony’s life and accomplishments below.

Obituary: Tony de Brum, Marshallese climate and anti-nuclear crusader http://www.climatechangenews.com/2017/08/22/tony-de-brum-marshallese-climate-anti-nuclear-crusader-dies-aged-72/

 Former Marshall Islands minister, Nobel nominee Tony de Brum dies http://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2017/08/22/former-marshall-islands-minister-nobel-nominee-tony-de-brum-dies/588769001/

Speech by John Burroughs at rally at Livermore Laboratory in 2016 with focus on the Marshall Islands http://www.trivalleycares.org/new/J.Burroughs_Speech_Aug9_2016.pdf

Award ceremony of the Arms Control Person of the Year award 2017 to Tony de Brum / Republic of Marshall Islands https://www.armscontrol.org/ArmsControl17

Washington Post: Tony de Brum, global voice for fighting climate change, dies https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/tony-de-brum-global-voice-for-fighting-climate-change-dies/2017/08/22/f331761c-87a5-11e7-96a7-d178cf3524eb_story.html?utm_term=.6628e3f9550a

New York Times: Tony de Brum, Voice of Pacific Islands on Climate Change, Dies at 72 https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/22/world/tony-de-brum-dead-climate-change-advocate.html?_r=0

Letter to Mrs de Brum by IALANA Germany

Dear Mrs de Brum,

On behalf of the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms Germany, it is with a heavy heart that I must send our deepest condolences to you, your family and the people of the Marshall Islands.

Whoever had the fortune and privilege to meet and to know your husband would always be deeply moved by his representation of the Marshall Islands. He displayed great political courage, clarity and fortitude while always remaining warm-hearted and poetic.

When he spoke, one experienced and understood the destiny of the entire Marshall Islands and all its people. The speech he gave in front of the International Court of Justice in The Hague about the children of the Marshall Islands who played with the ash of the nuclear fallout as it fell out of the sky, placing it in their mouth as if it were snow, remains one of the most moving speeches ever to be given in a court of law.

The depth of his personality will be a permanent inspiration for us to remain strong in our ongoing efforts to ensure that never again will people, anywhere in the world, have to face the usage of an atomic weapon.

Warmest regards,

Otto Jäckel

Chairman, IALANA Germany

Letter to Mrs de Brum by JALANA

Publication: Humanization of Arms Control. Paving the Way for a World free of Nuclear Weapons

Despite clear legal rules and political commitments, no significant progress has been made in nuclear disarmament for two decades. Moreover, not even the use of these weapons has been banned to date. New ideas and strategies are therefore necessary. The author explores an alternative approach to arms control focusing on the human dimension rather than on States’ security: “humanization” of arms control!

Daniel Rietiker (PhD) is a senior lawyer at the European Court of Human Rights and teaches international law and human rights at Suffolk University Law School (Boston, MA) and Lausanne University (Switzerland).

Continue reading here

Words of Greetings to the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Commemorations

Some contemporary philosophers and scientists would have us believe that evil does not exist. They are wrong. Hitler’s gas chambers were evil, torture is evil and nuclear weapons are evil incarnate. Their power to kill as agents of mass destruction is unparalleled and the manner in which they kill is unbelievably brutal. As the International Court of Justice said, they cannot be controlled in time or space. Those who seek to “modernize” and maintain them are complicit in their evil. And those who, like you, are striving to abolish all nuclear weapons forever are doing the work of goodness, which is the opposite of evil. Let us persevere in that task until it is accomplished.

Peter Weiss

President Emeritus

Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, New York

Statement: JALANA welcomes the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

JALANA welcomes the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

On July 7th, the United Nations conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination adopted the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by a vote of 122 to 1 (Netherlands), with one abstention (Singapore). As many as 63 percent of the 193 UN member states voted for the Treaty. We heartily welcome the adoption of this Treaty that should be a landmark step toward a “world free of nuclear weapons.” Continue reading “Statement: JALANA welcomes the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons”

Civil society statements to the UN conference on negotiations on a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons

Please find here two statements by IALANA representatives:

Jacqueline Cabasso
Executive Director, Western States Legal Foundation, Oakland, California
U.S. Affiliate, International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms
Delivered 16 July 2017

Read the full statement here

Peter Weiss
President Emeritus
International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms
Cluster Two: Obligations
Delivered 19 June 2017
Read the full statement here