Towards a nuclear weapons-free world
 Just a couple of years ago, during a visit to Japan, I got an
opportunity to go to Hiroshima. It was an incredibly moving experience,
as I spent a few moments alone contemplating what it might have been
like on August 6, 1945 when a nuclear bomb was detonated over the city.
To this day, Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain the only two cities in the
world that experienced nuclear weapons in a war situation. But, that
immense destruction did not stop the production and stockpiling of
nuclear weapons by countries, in later years.
Yet, today, some 16,000 nuclear weapons remain even after substantial
reductions, not only in the five known nuclear powers - UK, USA, Russia,
China and France, but also in four or five other countries (including
several of our neighbours) that have not accepted the Nuclear Non
Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Today's average nuclear weapon, recently
described as 'the absolute darkest application of our intelligence' is
at least 30 times more powerful than the ones dropped on Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. So, one just cannot fathom the level of destruction that could
be caused. Just a fraction of these weapons can wipe out almost the
entire human population and send any survivors back to Stone Age. Some
non-NPT countries have acknowledged that they have nuclear weapons,
while others have not done so. For example, North Korea will have enough
material for about 20 nuclear bombs by the end of this year with
enhanced uranium-enrichment facilities and an existing stockpile of
plutonium, according to new assessments by weapons experts. It recently
conducted a few nuclear tests. Several countries, on the other hand,
have pledged not to go ahead with their uranium enrichment programs.
Arsenals
Countries possessing nuclear weapons have well-funded, long-range
plans to modernize their nuclear arsenals. More than half of the world's
population still lives in countries that either have such weapons or are
members of nuclear alliances (nuclear weapons kept in countries other
than the original country). As of last year, not one nuclear weapon has
been physically destroyed pursuant to a treaty, bilateral or
multilateral, and no new nuclear disarmament negotiations are under way.
Meanwhile, the doctrine of nuclear deterrence persists as an element in
the security policies of all possessor states and their nuclear allies.
The truth is, the existence of nuclear weapons does not make our world
any safer. This is despite growing concerns worldwide over the
catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the use of even a single
nuclear weapon, let alone a regional or global nuclear war.
These facts will be highlighted on International Day for the Total
Elimination of Nuclear Weapons which falls on September 26 (tomorrow).
Achieving global nuclear disarmament is one of the oldest goals of the
United Nations. It was in fact the subject of the General Assembly's
first resolution in 1946. It has been on the General Assembly's agenda
along with general and complete disarmament ever since 1959. It has been
a prominent theme of review conferences held at the UN since 1975 of
States, who are parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It was
identified as a priority goal of the General Assembly's first Special
Session on disarmament in 1978, which attached a special priority to
nuclear disarmament.
Designation
These facts provide the foundation for the General Assembly's
designation of September 26 as the International Day for the Total
Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. This Day provides an occasion for the
world community to reaffirm its commitment to global nuclear
disarmament. It provides an opportunity to educate the public and their
leaders about the real benefits of eliminating nuclear weapons, and the
social and economic costs of perpetuating them. Commemorating this Day
at the United Nations is especially important, given its universal
membership and long experience in grappling with nuclear disarmament
issues.
The year 2016 marks the 71st anniversary of the first and the last
use of a nuclear weapon in war, though many underground nuclear tests
have been conducted since then. The only absolute guarantee that they
are never used again is through their total elimination. However, there
are no immediate signs of this happening although the international
community has proclaimed the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.
This was on stark display during the Review Conference of the Treaty on
the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in May this year.
Nevertheless, the UN has again called for the total elimination of
nuclear weapons, including through enhancing public awareness and
education about the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons and the
necessity for their total elimination, to mobilize international efforts
towards achieving the common goal of a nuclear weapon free world, and
furthermore, to convene no later than 2018, a United Nations high-level
international conference on nuclear disarmament to review the progress
made. There is also the danger that nuclear weapons could fall into the
hands of terror groups and rogue states that do not have the command
structure or the safeguards employed by Governments - in most nuclear
powers, only the Head of State can authorize a nuclear strike and even
then, there is a plethora of codes and commands. These reports have
gained credibility as some States are attempting to develop nuclear
weapons which can be carried in backpacks.
Costs
But, eliminating nuclear weapons is not only achieving peace per se.
On an average, a nuclear weapon costs US$ 85 million inclusive of
warhead, propulsion method and annual maintenance costs. This does not
include storage and transport (ships, aircraft etc) costs. According to
one study, over the next 10 years, world governments will spend a
staggering US$ 1 trillion on nuclear weapons alone, globally. If even
the five declared nuclear powers were to reduce their collective arsenal
by just 1,000 warheads, it would save billions of dollars in the long
run and free up that money for social development worldwide. There will
be enough money left to provide drinking water and food to people who
have little access to these resources in the Third World. Besides, it is
a myth that only nuclear weapons can bring a war to an end - today's
sophisticated conventional weapons are almost as sophisticated. Nuclear
weapons are mutually destructive in any case, e.g. if country A attacks
country B with a nuclear weapon, country B is likely to launch a nuclear
attack on country A. Ultimately, no one can win a nuclear war and only
the innocent will suffer, as they did in Japan 71 years ago. The sooner
the world realizes this stark reality, the better it is for world peace
and harmony.
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