Further use of nuclear weapons would be 'horrific,' Ban says on International Day

[bananas]

Source: UN News Centre


Sculpture depicting St. George slaying the dragon. The dragon is created from fragments of Soviet SS-20 and United States Pershing nuclear missiles. UN Photo/Milton Grant

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today highlighted that 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of the first and last use of a nuclear weapon in war, as he renewed his call for complete global nuclear disarmament.

“The norm against the use of nuclear weapons – the most destructive weapons ever created, with potentially unparalleled human costs – has stood strong for seven decades,” Mr. Ban said in a message for the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, observed annually on 26 September.

“But the only absolute guarantee that they are never used again is through their total elimination,” he added.

<snip>

“The consequences of any further use of nuclear weapons, whether intentional or by mistake, would be horrific,” Mr. Ban warned, adding that when it comes to the common objective of nuclear disarmament, the global community must act now.

Read more: http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=51978

[bananas]

1. September 26 : International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

http://globalsolutions.org/blog/2015/09/September-26-International-Day-Total-Elimination-Nuclear-Weapons

September 26 : International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

Posted By:Rene Wadlow
September 26 2015

The struggle against the nuclear weapon cult and threats it poses to the international peace, security and development, like all struggles against belief systems which have outlived their times, is going to be long and arduous." --K. Subrahmanyam

The United Nations General Assembly has designated September 26 as the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. It is being celebrated this year for the second time to “enhance public awareness and education about the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons and the necessity for their total elimination in order to mobilize international efforts toward achieving the common goal of a nuclear-weapon free world."

Achieving global nuclear disarmament--or at least forms of nuclear arms control--is one of the oldest goals of the UN. Nuclear weapon control was the subject of the first resolution of the UN General Assembly and it is the heart of Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT): "Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control."

A Review Conference on the Treaty is held at the United Nations once every five years since 1975, and the representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have constantly reminded governments of their lack of "good faith." I chaired the NGO representatives at the 1975 and 1980 Review Conferences, and while our views were listened to with some interest, the Review Conferences have been a reflection of the status of world politics at the time, not momentum for change.

There are still some 16,000 nuclear weapons in the world, largely in the hands of the US and Russia, some on "ready alert." There are plans to "modernize" nuclear weapons, and there are at least seven other States with nuclear weapons: North Korea, Pakistan, India and China in Asia; Israel in the Middle East; and France and the UK in Europe. The instability and tensions of current world politics merit that we look at the ways in which governments and NGOs have tried to deal with the existence of nuclear weapons, their control and their possible abolition.

There have been four avenues proposed since 1945 which have been presented, dropped, re-presented, combined with other proposals for political settlements, or linked to proposals for general disarmament or nuclear issues alone.

<snip>

[WHEN CRABS ROAR]

2. No country has the right to hold the human race ransom. n/t

[bananas]

3. Jamaica observes UN International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/columns/Jamaica-observes-UN-International-Day-for-the-Total-Elimination-of-Nuclear-Weapons_19230439

Jamaica observes UN International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

BY TREVOR G BROWN
Friday, September 25, 2015



JAMAICA has joined the international community in the celebration of September 21 as the International Day of Peace, and September 26 as the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

The celebration of these two very important UN-designated dates will be marked by a rally today at the Cuban Embassy beginning at 5:30 pm, which will feature addresses from members of the diplomatic community, representatives of the steering committee of Jamaica Peace Council, the Jamaica Solidarity Network, and cultural presentations.

Under the theme 'Maintaining the Caribbean and Latin America as a Zone of Peace', the event will seek to underscore the position of the Community of Latin America and Caribbean States (CELAC) as the first densely populated area in the world to be established as Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone by the Treaty of Tlateloko signed by its 33 member states. A position which was strengthened by our Cuban neighbour's proposal for the commencement of negotiations for a legally binding instrument on nuclear disarmament, presented at the third Conference on Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons held in Vienna, Austria, in December 2014.

<snip>

Pope Francis eloquently represented the conscience of progressive humanity when he spoke at the Vienna conference: "The spending on nuclear weapons squanders the wealth of nations, to prioritise such spending is a mistake and a misallocation of resources which would be far better invested in areas of integral human development, education, health, and the fight against extreme poverty."

<snip>

[davidpdx]

4. I completely agree about never using them again

On total elimination I think that might be a stretch. Certainly we can and should continue to encourage decreasing the number of nuclear weapons. I'm doubtful every country would be willing to give up that deterrent. Realistically we don't need that many and there is a lot of room to continue to eliminate the current stock piles starting with the oldest ones. I saw a good graph a number of months ago, but I can't remember where that showed the number of nukes each country had.