Category Archives: DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

United Cypriot economy to focus on shipping, tourism, education

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY .

An article from Daily Sabah

The economic vision after a solution to the Cyprus issue was officially announced as part of the ongoing comprehensive negotiations between the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and Greek Cyprus, and focuses on tourism, shipping and education. The Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce and Greek Cypriot Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KEBE) held a joint event themed with their vision of the Cyprus economy after a solution. Representatives from the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce and Athens Chamber of Commerce attended the event as well. After the opening speeches, Turkish Cyprus President Mustafa Akıncı and Greek Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades shared their visions about the Cyprus economy after a possible solution between two sides is reached.

cyprus
Greek Cypriot President Anastasiades (L) and Turkish Cypriot President Akıncı (R) shake hands at a meeting attended by representatives of the respective chambers of commerce.

Akıncı said in his speech that the Cyprus economy can provide for the welfare of its citizens, but this requires creating an economy that is resistant against crises and shocks, competitive and capable of being directed to different fields. “My vision of the Cyprus economy after a solution takes the welfare and prosperity of all Cypriots into account without looking at ethnic origin or background,” Akıncı emphasized.

Akıncı also touched on the economic benefits of the solution between the two sides. He stressed that Cyprus will have the potential to become a shipping center in the eastern Mediterranean and all Cypriot ships will be able to enter Turkish harbors after a solution is reached. He highlighted that a solution would provide endless opportunities for the tourism sector, which is a driving power of both economies on the island and they should devise a joint strategy of cooperation in this field.

One of the first steps to be taken in Cyprus is to establish a Federal Competition Board just like the one that exists in many European countries, Akıncı said. He added that they should invest in education at first to help foster a culture of peace and raise a new generation of children who can speak both Turkish and Greek as their mother tongues. Akıncı said that they were working to create a federation of two societies and two regions described in a joint declaration made on Feb. 11, 2014. “We have to transform our country and we need to do this with no delay. We have to cooperate to transform from the current situation to a Cyprus we want, but we have to work hard. We owe this to the younger generations,” Akıncı concluded.

Greek leader Nicos Anastasiades said the common future of the two societies is based on a united Cyprus as a EU member, which respects democratic principles, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Anastasiades reiterated from the joint declaration that “the status quo is unacceptable and its prolongation will have negative consequences for the Greek and Turkish Cypriots.” He also mentioned the positive impacts of a settlement. “My vision is to reach a settlement that will end the anachronism related to the current situation and provide hope and the prospect of a better future for all Cypriots, in particular for the younger generations,” noted the Greek leader.

(Article continued in right column.)

Question related to this article:
 
Can Cyprus be reunited in peace?

(Article continued from left column.)

He said that a settlement would secure the full utilization of the great potential and prospect for economic growth, development and prosperity for all Cypriots. He also stated that a settlement between the two sides would provide a significant improvement to the investment climate and increase the attraction of large foreign investments and multinational companies. Stressing that it will be easier to access international finance and reach out to markets presently unexploited across the world, Anastasiades said the economic sectors that are now experiencing problems would be stimulated and this would have positive results on other sectors.

“We have committed ourselves to doing our utmost so this opportunity is not lost. We owe it to our children and the future generations of this country. We owe it to the people of Cyprus and their longing to live in a modern and thriving European country. And to this effort, the business community, as well as civil society, has an important role to play, and we call for your support and positive contribution towards this end,” Anastasiades concluded.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe

Gaza prepares to welcome Freedom Flotilla III

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY .

An article by the Middle East Monitor

Preparations are being made in Gaza coinciding with the countdown for the launch of the latest Freedom Flotilla. There are dozens of European activists, Arab figures and journalists aboard the five ships that make up the flotilla. According to the European Campaign to End the Siege on Gaza (ECESG), the ships have come from ports across Europe.

flotilla
Photo by Mohammed Asad.

The Government Committee for Breaking the Siege on Gaza lit a torch to mark the sailing of Freedom Flotilla III, which is scheduled to reach Gaza port on Friday [June 26].

Alaa Al-Batta, head of the committee, told a press conference in the port on Tuesday that the final countdown has started and the flotilla is ready to set sail for Gaza, which has been besieged by Israel for nine years. “The Freedom Flotilla is only a few hours away from the Gaza seaport,” he said. “All Palestinians, across the spectrum, are standing here today to welcome and support the flotilla.” People from all over the world of all religions and ethnicities have gathered in solidarity out of their love for Palestine in an effort to lift the unjust siege, added Al-Batta.

The Freedom Flotilla Coalition delivered a message to UN Representative Alexey Maslov for Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, calling for international protection for the flotilla so that it is not intercepted on its way to Gaza. “We sent a letter to the UN informing them that this is a humanitarian flotilla carrying foreign supporters and activists and that it will sail towards Gaza in the next few hours,” confirmed Al-Batta. “We also said that the UN must carry out its duties towards the flotilla in order to provide it with protection in light of the threats from the Israeli leadership.” The UN representative welcomed the letter and promised to deliver it to Mr Ban.

According to Rami Abdo, an ECESG member, the message included a warning against an Israeli interception of the flotilla, which he stressed would lead to the deterioration of the situation and result in a number of consequences.

Abdo insisted that legal and human rights laws and conventions give the Freedom Flotilla the absolute right to reach Gaza. He called on the United Nations not to remain content with their statements; they should, he said, turn their words into deeds to ensure the safe arrival of the flotilla.

He attributed the delay in setting sail to the bad weather. The ships are all prepared and will wait for good weather in order to ensure the safety of all 80 participants on board.

The Palestinians in Gaza are making preparations to welcome the flotilla. Practice marches by naval personnel have been held and Gaza’s boat-owners are getting ready to go to sea to meet the flotilla and accompany the vessels into port.

Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

Readers’ comments are invited on this article and question. See comments section below.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Mideast

Sanctions against Israel: Round up from 2014

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY .

An article by the BDS Movement (excerpts – one per month)

Here’s our round up of some of the key BDS developments of 2014. The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions National Committee (BNC), the coalition of Palestinian civil society organisations that works to lead and support the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, warmly thanks each and every person who supported and contributed to the BDS movement this year. . .

bds
On August 9, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets as part of an international Day of Rage initiated by groups in Gaza. Anti-apartheid hero Desmond Tutu called the day one of the biggest ever international mobilisations on a single issue. Photo from Getty images.

January:

In a move that laid the foundation for other European funds to follow suit later in the year, Dutch pension fund PGGM announced it was divesting tens of millions of euros from 5 of Israel’s biggest banks due to their deep involvement in Israel’s crimes against Palestinians. The fund manages the pensions of 2.5 million people. . .

February

Luxembourg’s state pension fund FDC excludes nine major Israeli banks and firms and one US company because of their involvement in Israeli settlements and human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories. Meanwhile, Denmark’s largest bank Dankse Bank blacklists Israel’s Bank Hapoalim over settlement construction. . .

March

. . . Victory in Galway as Irish students’ Union votes to join BDS movement
The motion at the National University of Ireland in Galway was passed by an almost 2 to 1 margin and follows on from the Teachers Union of Ireland’s 2013 endorsement of an academic boycott of Israel. . .

April

. . . Students at the University of New Mexico, Wesleyan University in Connecticut, and University of California Riverside vote to support divestment from companies that help Israel violate international law. Meanwhile, the largest student petition in Florida’s history calls for divestment.

May

The Bill Gates Foundation, one of the largest private foundations in the world, divests from G4S. A petition signed by more than 14,000 people and demonstrations outside Gates Foundation offices in London, Johannesburg and Seattle called on the the Gates Foundation to divest from G4S because of its role in providing equipment and services to prisons where Israel holds and tortures Palestinian political prisoners. . . .

June

Years of grassroots organising pays off as the Presbyterian Church (USA) general assembly in Detroit votes to divest its holdings from three US corporations – Hewlett Packard (HP), Motorola Solutions and Caterpillar – on the basis of their well-documented record of complicity in the oppression and denial of human rights of Palestinians.

(article continued in the right column)

Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

Israel/Palestine, is the situation like South Africa?

(article continued from the left column)

July

As Israel began its massacre of Palestinians in Gaza, governments and people of conscience across the world take action to pressure Israel to comply with international law and human rights. Key developments includes:

The Chilean parliament votes to suspend negotiations on a new trade deal with Israel, and Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador and Peru withdraw their ambassadors.

A call for a military embargo on Israel launched by 6 Nobel laureates and dozens of celebrities is signed by more than 60,000 people. . .

Dublin city council passes a resolution calling for a military embargo and the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement.

In Turkey, at least 12 local municipalities, a number of major business associations and a major trade union issue calls for a boycott of Israeli products . . .

August

Thousands of supporters of Palestinian rights in the San Francisco Bay take part in pickets and demonstrations that have prevented an Israeli ship from docking at the port in Oakland for four consecutive days. By the end of August, the unloading of Israeli ships has been prevented or disrupted at ports in Oakland, Tacoma, Seattle and Long Beach. . .

September

.. . French multinational Veolia, which has lost billions of dollars of contracts as a result of campaigns over its construction of infrastructure for illegal Israeli settlements, intends to “step back from Israel as a market place” and sell most parts of its Israeli interests during 2015.

October

SodaStream announces it is to close its factory in the illegal Israeli settlement of Mishor Adumim following a high profile boycott campaign against the company that saw retailers and investors across the world cut links with the company. . .

November

. . . The University of California at Los Angeles becomes the sixth of nine undergraduate campuses in the UC system to call for divestment, while the biggest ever student referendum at the University of Exeter calls for the student union to join the BDS movement. . .

December

The Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul cancels a major collaboration deal with Israeli military company Elbit Systems in the wake of protests over the firm’s role in oppression of Palestinians.

– See more at: http://www.bdsmovement.net/2014/round-up-13017#sthash.0bcXOTfS.dpuf

(Thank you to Mazin Qumsiyeh for pointing out this article to us.

Editor’s note. Since publishing this article, we have found comments both pro and con this controversial issue. For a comment against BDS, see https://www.transcend.org/tms/2015/06/bds-the-new-enemy.

And for a comment for BDS, see http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2015/6/is-bds-the-only-pro-israel-option-left.html

Finally, it should be noted that the boycott is effective. According to a UN report, foreign investment in Israel fell by 50% last year.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Mideast

US Kills Nuclear-Free Mideast Conference, Citing Israel

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY .

an article by Jason Ditz, Anti-War

Four weeks of UN efforts to get together a conference on a nuclear weapons ban in the Middle East ended in failure today, with the US spurning the deal on the conference, citing Israel.

npt

Though the US initially backed the nuclear-free Middle East effort, they later realized Israel is the only nation in the region with such arms, and has since criticized the effort as unfair.

Though US officials have been to Israel in recent days to try to get them to sign off on some vague notion of an eventual nuclear-free Middle East, there was no progress, as Israel won’t even publicly affirm their arsenal.

After failing to get Israel to okay the deal, the US angrily blamed Egypt for the whole thing, saying they’d “cynically manipulated” the process by bringing up Israel’s arsenal at all.

(Question for this article: Can we abolish all nuclear weapons? )

 

Readers’ comments are invited on this article and question. See below.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY

London: Confronting a world at war conference

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY .

An article by Stop the War Coalition

This crucial post-election conference on Saturday 6 June in London will bring together leading anti-war writers, campaigners and experts from Britain and around the world including Mustafa Barghouti, Medea Benjamin, Tariq Ali and Explo Nani Kofi.

London

Defense policy has become a big issue in this election. Millions of people believe Britain needs a foreign policy u-turn. 14 years of the War on Terror have caused carnage and chaos in the Middle East, Central Asia, Africa and beyond. This is a chance to discuss the causes and consequences of serial war and how we can resist it.

The world is a much more dangerous place than it looked fourteen years ago, before the launch of the War on Terror.  The Middle East is in flames as a result of a series of Western interventions. The War on Terror has in fact spread violence and instability across an arc from Central Asia through the Middle East and into the African continent.

Meanwhile, great power confrontation has returned to Europe as NATO has pushed progressively Eastwards towards the Russian border, triggering crisis and civil war in Ukraine. Confronting a World at War brings together key writers, campaigners and politicians to analyse this alarming situation and to discuss and plan how the anti-war movement should respond.

Sessions include:
• Where did ISIS come from?
• Frontline Ukraine – NATO pushes East
• The return of the neocons
• Divide and conquer? The US and Latin America
• Trident: Scrapping the deadly deterrent
• Saudi Arabia: Frankenstein’s monster in the Middle East
• Back East of Suez

Speakers include Tariq Ali • Medea Benjamin • Lindsey German • Seumas Milne  • Victoria Brittain • Bruce Kent • Jeremy Corbyn MP • Myriam Francois-Cerrah  • Mark Weisbrott • George Galloway MP • Explo Nani-Kofi • Kate Hudson • Jonathan Steele • Andrew Murray • Joe Lombardo • Katy Clark MP • David Edgar • Sabby DalhuLombardo • Myriam Francois-Cerrah • Mark Weisbrot • George Galloway • Kate Hudson • Jonathan Steele • Explo Nani-Kofi • Chris Nineham • Andrew Murray • John Rees • Richard Sakwa • Carol Turner • Sami Ramadani • Judith Orr • Malia Bouattia • Steve Bell • Matt Willgress and others.

Be part of the discussion.

Book your ticket online.

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

(Question for this article:)
DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe

Beirut, Lebanon: Citizenship, Gender and Democracy Building International Roundtable Discussion

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

an article by Euromed Feminist Initiative (abridged)
The international roundtable Citizenship, Gender and Democracy Building took place on the 9-10th of February 2015 at the American University of Beirut in Lebanon, organized by Euromed Feminist Initiative (IFE-EFI) in partnership the Syrian League for Citizenship (SLC) and the Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship. This event was held in the frame of the program “Towards a Democratic Transition in Syria through an inclusive Constitution Building Process” supported by Sweden.

2017 BeirutRoundtable participants

Click here to enlarge photo

The roundtable brought together over 100 participants representing various civil society organizations, women’s rights groups, academics, researchers, legal scholars and media representatives. It provided a platform to collectively think, share experiences and foster solutions to common challenges of gender-inequality, the on-going conflicts, occupation and patriarchal domination. It broadened the concept of citizenship and came up with recommendations to be adapted as a base for future work. The roundtable examined theoretical and practical dimensions of citizenship and gender equality and addressed common challenges of exclusion, discrimination, negative stereotypes, violence and armed conflict. Furthermore, the event was a powerful expression of international networking, civil society alliance building and solidarity with the Syrian civil rights organizations.

The roundtable was opened by Mrs. Diana Janse, the Swedish Ambassador to Syria, who stressed the value of a concept of citizenship, which is based on mutual trust and positive collective habits of citizens. Mr. Fateh Azzam, of the Asfari Institute of Civil Society and Citizenship, emphasized the importance of having a clear vision for effective and active citizenship in order to direct the activities and goals of civil society actors. Mrs. Lilian Halls French, for the Euromed Feminist Initiative IFE-EFI, articulated the common goals of the participants: the realization of true equality for women, the enjoyment of their full rights and their freedom of movement and action in the public and private sphere. Mr. Hassan Abbas of the Syrian League for Citizenship addressed the conference by urging participants to conceive of citizenship as a culture and practice rather than a mere formal legal status.

During the roundtable presentations and discussion, all speakers emphasized the need to move towards effectively implementation of international human rights and in particular women’s rights frameworks in the local contexts. Though the event explicitly addressed the Syrian context, it also drew on the experiences of women from the MENA region and Europe in its theoretical presentations and practical discussions. While the central focus was on broadening the concept of citizenship to include gender-equality and democratic participation, it tackled a range of other related issues. The main themes that were addressed in the discussions included women’s common experiences of exclusion from full citizenship rights and discrimination in public and private life; challenges faced in their effective political participation; experiences of violence at the hand of the patriarchal domination; the rights of refugees; and experiences of women during armed conflict. . . .

Latest Discussion


How can there be a political solution to the war in Syria?

In the following article, Wilhelm Langthaler, a Co-convener of PeaceinSyria.org comments on the spirit emerging from the “All Sides Consultation for Political Solution” in Vienna.

Now that the “All sides Consultation for a Political Solution in Syria” is accomplished and is being recognized by all the participants as a success that deserves continuation, the time has come to draw a balance not only of the conference itself, but also of its wider significance. The very fact that around two dozen people from the most diverse and conflicting backgrounds of Syrian society came together and consulted how to overcome the civil war tearing apart the country is extraordinary. But the spirit emerging from the debates reaches far beyond the objective of this single event, giving hope that a movement for a political solution is gaining momentum.
Exchange among the people – not power-brokering

First of all, let us recall the aim of the “All Sides Consultation for a Political Solution” which took place in the “Peace Castle Schlaining” close to Vienna, Austria, from 7-10 March, 2014. The idea was to give a voice to Syrian society in its full diversity, voices emerging from the people who have been silenced and excluded by the powerful. It was not intended to hold negotiations between the conflicting sides and their global and regional sponsors as has failed in Geneva. A consultative forum of personalities not directly representing the sides involved but indeed representing the societal richness was called upon to explore ways to stop the catastrophic bloodshed.

Thus we were not in search of sophisticated and well-balanced formulae of compromise pleasing the foreign powers involved (something which might, however, be necessary to reach in other places), but to give answers concerning how the full rights of the people might be guaranteed. The quest for these rights is what is thought to have sparked the conflict and is at the same time key to ending what has turned into a fratricidal war pitting the components of society against the other, a conflict additionally fuelled by massive international involvement. As Naser al Ghazali, one of the Syrian members of the preparatory committee hailing from Daraa, put it in his introduction: “Democratic rights are not negotiable. It is like pregnancy – you cannot be half pregnant as we will not accept less than full rights.”

The meeting was all about understanding the grievances of the diverse social, political, cultural and confessional components and to develop the mutual trust necessary to reach a ceasefire and to maintain it. . “We are contemplating elements of a new social contract,” as Serbest Nabi, a Kurdish professor of philosophy teaching in Erbil and Mardin, commented.

Tokens of mutual acceptance

“Once when I had to relocate, I donated my library for the use of the community by giving it to the local mosque. So together with my pious friend I checked the books one by one to see whether they were suited or not.” This allegory was recounted to the consultation by the Syrian filmmaker Nidal al Dibs from Sweida, reminding us of a contemporary version of Lessing’s ring parable which happens to be a symbol of European enlightenment.

This cautious but all the more powerful message was understood and adopted by all sides and can exemplify the spirit of the event. . …more.

 

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Mideast

Japan Gets Rid of All Cluster Munitions

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

an article by Cluster Munition Coalition

Japan announced this week having destroyed its entire stockpile of cluster munitions. As a State Party to the Convention on Cluster Munitions, Japan had until 1 August 2018 to finish destroying its stocks. The task was completed way ahead of the obligatory deadline. Congratulations, omedetou gozaimasu!

japan
click on photo to enlarge

Japan signed the Convention in December 2008 in Oslo (Norway) along with nearly 100 other states

With this important accomplishment, Japan joins the United Kingdom, Denmark, Chile, The Netherlands, Belgium, Ecuador and many other countries that have destroyed their entire stockpiles of cluster munitions, ensuring these unacceptable weapons can never be used again.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that the destruction was completed on 9 February 2015. The President-Designate of the First Review Conference of the Convention, Croatia, welcomed the good news from Japan and encouraged other States Parties to follow the example.

All States Parties to the Convention that are currently in the process of destroying their stockpiles have indicated that they will meet their obligatory deadlines. Over 80% of these states’ cluster munitions have been destroyed already.

According to Albania and France, who coordinate a working group on the issue: “States’ achievements to date … highlight stockpile destruction as a success story of this Convention, directly contributing to its aims of preventing the proliferation and use of cluster munitions.”

Japan is an important donor for the clearance of cluster munition remnants in affected countries, and for assistance to survivors. “But at least three major financial institutions in Japan still invest in producers of cluster munitions abroad,” said Suzanne Oosterwijk from PAX (The Netherlands) who coordinates the Stop Explosive Investments initiative together with the CMC. “It is high time for Japan to adopt strong legal measures prohibiting investments in companies that produce these weapons.”

Japan participated in the Oslo Process that created the Convention and its position evolved significantly over time to allow it to join in the consensus adoption in 2008. It has continued to actively engage in the work of the Convention on Cluster Munitions since then.

The Cluster Munition Monitor provides more information on Japan. More information in Japanese is available through the Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines, a member of the Cluster Munition Coalition.

[Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.]

Question related to this article:

Can cluster bombs be abolished?

The cluster bombs treaty was reported as follows by Agence France Presse while there was very little coverage in the US media, as usual for peace matters.

……………………..

Observers laud landmark cluster bomb ban

May 28, 2008

DUBLIN (AFP). — Observers on Thursday lauded a landmark treaty agreed by delegates from 111 countries in Dublin to ban cluster bombs, though the deal lacks the backing of major producers and stockpilers.

After 10 days of painstaking negotiations at Croke Park stadium in Dublin, diplomats agreed the wording of a wide-ranging pact to outlaw the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions by its signatories.

It also provides for the welfare of victims and the clearing of areas contaminated by unexploded cluster bombs.

The agreement will be formally adopted on Friday, and signed in Oslo on December 2-3. Signatories would then need to ratify it.

It was hailed in The Independent newspaper in London as a “significant step forward”, describing cluster bombs as “little more than air-delivered landmines” and declaring that “there can be no compromise when it comes to cluster bombs.”

The newspaper acknowledged in its editorial, however, that the document was weakened by the absence of the United States, Russia, China, India, Israel and Pakistan from the Dublin talks, and thus the agreement.

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin said the treaty was a “very strong and ambitious text which nevertheless was able to win consensus among all delegations.”

“It is a real contribution to international humanitarian law,” he added.

The Irish Department for Foreign Affairs said 111 participating states and 18 observer countries attended.

The treaty requires the destruction of stockpiled munitions within eight years — though it leaves the door open for future, more precise generations of cluster munitions that pose less harm to civilians.

Britain was widely cited by campaigners as being at the forefront of a group of states seeking to water down the treaty.

But in a dramatic move Wednesday, Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced in London that Britain would withdraw all its cluster bombs from service in a bid to “break the log jam” in the Dublin talks.

The draft treaty agreed in Dublin read:

“Each state party undertakes never under any circumstances to:

“(a) Use cluster munitions;

“(b) Develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer to anyone, directly or indirectly, cluster munitions;

“© Assist, encourage or induce anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a state party under this convention.”

Much of the wrangling focused on what signatories could and could not do in joint operations with states still using cluster bombs.

The draft text said signatories “may engage in military cooperation and operations”.

But the Cluster Munition Coalition, an umbrella group of non-governmental organisations, hopes that the treaty will stigmatise the use of cluster munitions — as the similar Ottawa Treaty did for landmines — and stop countries from helping others to use them.

CMC co-chair Simon Conway told AFP the treaty was a compromise but nonetheless “incredibly strong”.

“We’re going to end up with a strong treaty that prohibits every cluster bomb that’s ever been used, with no transition periods, with strong obligations on clearance and particularly strong obligations on victim assistance,” he said.

Hildegarde Vansintjan, advocacy officer for disability campaigners Handicap International, said the convention made states responsible for providing assistance to cluster bomb victims.

The treaty “would be a real step forward for the people suffering from cluster munitions all over the world,” she told AFP.

The cluster munitions ban process, started by Norway in February 2007, took the same path as the 1997 Ottawa Treaty by going outside the United Nations to avoid vetoes and seal a swift pact.

Cluster munitions are among the weapons that pose the gravest dangers to civilians, especially in heavily bombed countries such as Laos, Vietnam and Afghanistan.

Dropped from planes or fired from artillery, they explode in mid-air, randomly scattering bomblets. Countries are seeking a ban due to the risk of civilians being killed or maimed by their indiscriminate, wide area effect.

They also pose a lasting threat to civilians as many bomblets fail to explode on impact.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, East Asia

33 Latin American and Caribbean states call for negotiations on a nuclear ban treaty

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

an article by International Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons

Latin American and Caribbean states have once again shown a united front and a clear vision for the future of nuclear disarmament.

celac

At the third annual summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC), heads of state of all 33 countries, issued a declaration fully supporting the outcomes of the Third International Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in Vienna last December and formally endorsing the Austrian Pledge. The Austrian Pledge, delivered by the deputy foreign minister of Austria at the end of the Vienna Conference, recognised the existence of a “legal gap” in the international framework regulating nuclear weapons and called on all states to join in efforts to fill this legal gap by pursuing measures which would stigmatise, prohibit and lead to the elimination of nuclear weapons.

CELAC is the first regional group of states to recognise that a treaty banning nuclear weapons is the best option to fill this gap:

“As has been demonstrated by the testimonies of survivors and evidence and scientific data, nuclear weapons constitute a serious threat to security, development of peoples and civilization in general. Being consistent with our declarations, in this purpose we reiterate our strong support to call made in Vienna and Nayarit to initiate a diplomatic negotiation process of an internationally legally binding instrument for the prohibition nuclear weapons.”

Carlos Umaña of IPPNW Costa Rica, an ICAN partner organisation, notes that, “With the CELAC Declaration, Latin American and Caribbean states have recognised they intend to remain at the forefront of efforts which bring us closer to a world without nuclear weapons. The Treaty of Tlatelolco, which established a nuclear weapons free zone across the region, was the first multilateral treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons in a region — now Latin American and Caribbean states intend to work to promote a similar process that bans nuclear weapons internationally.”

For decades, discussions on nuclear weapons have been dominated by the few nuclear-armed states – states that continue to stockpile and maintain over 16,000 warheads. The humanitarian initiative on nuclear weapons has prompted a fundamental change in this conversation, with non-nuclear armed states leading the way in a discussion on the actual effects of the weapons.

According to Daniel Högsta of ICAN, “the Austrian Pledge is a rallying call for states to demand action to fill an unacceptable legal gap. The momentum generated by the humanitarian initiative is paving the way for the commencement of a process to ban nuclear weapons. CELAC states have added their voices to the call. We expect other regions to do the same.”

Question related to this article:

Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

30 August 2012 — The following opinion piece by Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon appeared in leading newspapers in Argentina, Bangladesh, Burundi, China, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, The Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and European weekly publications and has been translated into 10 languages.

‘THE WORLD IS OVER-ARMED AND PEACE IS UNDER-FUNDED’

Last month, competing interests prevented agreement on a much-needed treaty that would have reduced the appalling human cost of the poorly regulated international arms trade. Meanwhile, nuclear disarmament efforts remain stalled, despite strong and growing global popular sentiment in support of this cause.

The failure of these negotiations and this month’s anniversaries of the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki provide a good opportunity to explore what has gone wrong, why disarmament and arms control have proven so difficult to achieve, and how the world community can get back on track towards these vitally important goals.

Many defence establishments now recognize that security means far more than protecting borders. Grave security concerns can arise as a result of demographic trends, chronic poverty, economic inequality, environmental degradation, pandemic diseases, organized crime, repressive governance and other developments no state can control alone. Arms can’t address such concerns.

Yet there has been a troubling lag between recognizing these new security challenges, and launching new policies to address them. National budget priorities still tend to reflect the old paradigms. Massive military spending and new investments in modernizing nuclear weapons have left the world over-armed — and peace under-funded.

Last year, global military spending reportedly exceeded $1.7 trillion – more than $4.6 billion a day, which alone is almost twice the UN’s budget for an entire year. This largesse includes billions more for modernizing nuclear arsenals decades into the future.

This level of military spending is hard to explain in a post-Cold War world and amidst a global financial crisis. Economists would call this an “opportunity cost”. I call it human opportunities lost. Nuclear weapons budgets are especially ripe for deep cuts.

Such weapons are useless against today’s threats to international peace and security. Their very existence is de-stabilizing: the more they are touted as indispensable, the greater is the incentive for their proliferation. Additional risks arise from accidents and the health and environmental effects of maintaining and developing such weapons.

The time has come to re-affirm commitments to nuclear disarmament, and to ensure that this common end is reflected in national budgets, plans and institutions.

Four years ago, I outlined a five-point disarmament proposal highlighting the need for a nuclear weapon convention or a framework of instruments to achieve this goal.

Yet the disarmament stalemate continues. The solution clearly lies in greater efforts by States to harmonize their actions to achieve common ends. Here are some specific actions that all States and civil society should pursue to break this impasse.

* Support efforts by the Russian Federation and the United States to negotiate deep, verified cuts in their nuclear arsenals, both deployed and un-deployed.

* Obtain commitments by others possessing such weapons to join the disarmament process.

* Establish a moratorium on developing or producing nuclear weapons or new delivery systems.

* Negotiate a multilateral treaty outlawing fissile materials that can be used in nuclear weapons.

* End nuclear explosions and bring into force the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

* Stop deploying nuclear weapons on foreign soil, and retire such weapons.

* Ensure that nuclear-weapon states report to a public UN repository on nuclear disarmament, including details on arsenal size, fissile material, delivery systems, and progress in achieving disarmament goals.

* Establish a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

* Secure universal membership in treaties outlawing chemical and biological weapons.

* Pursue parallel efforts on conventional arms control, including an arms trade treaty, strengthened controls over the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, universal membership in the Mine Ban, Cluster Munitions, and Inhumane
Weapons Conventions, and expanded participation in the UN Report on Military Expenditures and the UN Register of Conventional Arms.

* Undertake diplomatic and military initiatives to maintain international peace and security in a world without nuclear weapons, including new efforts to resolve regional disputes.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Latin America

Hibakusha of Japan nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

an article by Colin Archer Secretary‐General, International Peace Bureau (IPB)

To the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

I am pleased to convey to you the IPB’s nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize 2015. A total ban and the elimination of nuclear weapons was the task set out by the very first resolution of the first General Assembly of the United Nations (January 1946), a task that remains unfulfilled. Yet, as seen in the success of the international conferences on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, held in Oslo in 2013 and in Nayarit and Vienna in 2014, momentum is building up once more, and promises to turn this 70th anniversary of the tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki into a milestone on the path to a world free of nuclear weapons.

hibakusha
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A hibakusha, a survivor of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, tells young people about his experience and shows pictures. United Nations building in Vienna, during the NPT PrepCom 2007. Photo from Wikimedia Commons

For this reason IPB once again nominates for the Nobel Peace Prize the Hibakusha, those who personally suffered from the atomic bombings of the two cities. They are quite simply extraordinary human beings; not giving in to despair, they became convinced, through their struggle to survive the attacks and the subsequent long years of suffering, that their agonies must never be repeated anywhere. Over these 70 years they have made the choice of activism, unceasingly recounting their experiences and struggles, and working constantly for a total ban and the elimination of nuclear weapons, appealing to governments and peoples all over the world.

We nominate :

1) the Japan Confederation of A­- and H-­Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), a nationwide independent organization of the Hibakusha. Since its founding in August 1956, it has been working in unity, beyond the difference of beliefs and opinions, encouraging its members to help each other to promote the cause of a ban on atomic and hydrogen bombs, by making known their sufferings and struggles. Their activities are fully worthy of the name, “champion of peace”, in the light of the ideal of disarmament, for which Alfred Nobel established the Nobel Peace Prize.

2) (2) Mr. Sumiteru TANIGUCHI and (3) Ms. Setsuko THURLOW, outstanding representatives of the Hibakusha movement, who have been at the forefront of the efforts of the Hibakusha throughout their lives, calling for a ban and for the abolition of nuclear weapons, based on their own painful experiences.

Background details on all 3 nominees can be found at Annexes 1‐3, below.

IPB believes that the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to these courageous persons, and indeed to a courageous movement, would be a contribution of unique value and extraordinary importance to the worldwide community of nuclear disarmament advocates, itself 70 years old this year.

The continued existence of nuclear weapons threatens the very survival of life on earth. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has recognised this supreme threat in several of its previous awards. We urge the Committee, at this historic moment, to return to this theme and to itself make a courageous choice: to recognise and reward the Hibakusha.

(This article is continued in the discussion board on the upper right of this page)

(The following is continued from the article on the left.)

 

ANNEX 1: The Japan Confederation of A­ and H­Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) Address

Gable Bldg. #902 1‐3‐5 Shiba‐Daimon Minato‐ku Tokyo 105‐0012 Japan Phone: +81‐3‐3438‐1897
Fax: +81‐3‐3431‐2113
Email: kj3t‐tnk@asahi‐net.or.jp http://www.ne.jp/asahi/hidankyo/nihon/
Co­chairpersons
Sunao TSUBOI (Mr.) Sumiteru TANIGUCHI (Mr.) Prof. Mikiso IWASA (Mr.)
Secretary General:
Prof. Terumi TANAKA (Mr.)
Founding
August 10, 1956
Organization and Membership
NIHON HIDANKYO is the only nationwide organization of A‐bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Hibakusha). It has member organizations in all 47 Japanese prefectures, thus representing almost all organized Hibakusha. Its officials and members are all Hibakusha. The total number of the surviving Hibakusha living in Japan is about 190,000, as of the end of 2014. Also there are Hibakusha living in Korea and other parts of the world outside Japan. HIDANKYO is cooperating with them in their effort to defend their living conditions and human rights.
Main Objectives
1) Prevention of nuclear war and the elimination of nuclear weapons, by way of an international agreement for a total ban and the elimination of nuclear weapons.
2) State compensation for the A‐bomb damages. The state responsibility of having launched the war, which led to the damage by the atomic bombing, should be acknowledged, and the state compensation provided.
3) Improvement of the policies and measures on the protection and assistance for the Hibakusha.
Major Activities
1) Telling stories of the Hibakusha to make known their experiences, actual damage and after‐effects of the A‐bombings both within and outside Japan; Sending A‐bomb sufferers to the U.N. and other international fora, nuclear‐weapon states and other countries;
2) Actions for the enactment of a Hibakusha‐aid law providing state compensation for the Hibakusha themselves and bereaved families; Running signature drives, marches, sit‐ins and other forms of action.
3) Providing counseling and other assistance to the Hibakusha in their difficulties on health and living.

Major Actions since the Founding
HIDANKYO has held dozens of petition actions every year to urge both the Japanese government and the Diet to take steps to make known to the world community the full dimension of the damage caused by the A‐bombings and take the lead in promoting public opinion for the prevention of nuclear war and the elimination of nuclear weapons. HIDANKYO also urges the Japanese government to admit Japan’s responsibility for having launched the war, which eventually led to the atomic bombing, and that it should provide state compensation for the bereaved families, as well as the sufferers on whom health damage was inflicted.
The “Hibakusha Aid Law” demanded by HIDANKYO, therefore, is to include a pledge that Japan would make every effort so that there would never be another Hibakusha anywhere.
HIDANKYO is playing a major role in the movement against A and H bombs. Not only taking part in a number of peace events during summer, HIDANKYO sends its representatives all over Japan, who bear witness to their A‐bomb experiences, helping to promote the public awareness on the need for a ban and the elimination of nuclear weapons. Internationally, HIDANKYO sends many Hibakusha overseas, to make heard their appeals for the prevention of nuclear war and the abolition of nuclear arms.
Hibakusha, sent by HIDANKYO, have made contributions to many important international forums, including two UN Special Sessions on Disarmament in 1982 and 1988, the NPT Review Conferences in 2005 and 2010 and its Preparatory Committee sessions, and the three International Conferences on Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in March 2013 in Oslo, February 2014 in Nayarit, and December 2014 in Vienna.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, East Asia

Peace and Planet Events, April 24-26 in New York City

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

an article by Kim Stoner, Board of Directors, Promoting Enduring Peace

It was exciting for Promoting Enduring Peace to work with a broad coalition of environmental organizations in support of the Peoples’ Climate Mobilization last September in New York City. Now, we would like for environmental groups to join us in mobilizing a broad coalition in support of nuclear disarmament this April – again in New York City.

PEP
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Specifically, we invite you to participate in the Peace and Planet International Conference for a Nuclear-Free, Peaceful, Just, and Sustainable World on April 24 and 25, and the following Rally and March on April 26. When representatives of the nations of the world gather at the United Nations for the 5-year Review of the Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty, we want to deliver the message to these representatives that the peoples of the world want good faith negotiations to eliminate nuclear weapons, as required by the Treaty since it entered into force in 1970. For the specific demands of the organizers, please go to the website www.PeaceandPla net.org.

Despite the end of the Cold War, and President Obama’s pledge in 2009 to seek a “nuclear-free world,” there are about 17,000 nuclear weapons in existence worldwide, including over 7,000 in the US and 8,000 in Russia. According to a recent federal report on modernization of the US nuclear arsenal, over $1 trillion will be spent to upgrade US nuclear weapons over the next 30 years. So, rather than eliminating our nuclear weapons, we will be “modernizing” them.

Proliferation of nuclear weapons also increases the likelihood of their use in regional conflicts, such as between India and Pakistan. This would, of course, result in tremendous human mortality and suffering and regional environmental effects from the blasts, the pressure waves, direct radiation and radioactive fallout. In addition, even a relatively small regional nuclear war (using 50 weapons on each side) would have devastating global environmental effects by sending vast amounts of smoke and soot into the atmosphere resulting in a nuclear winter lasting for a decade or more.

The continuing threat of nuclear weapons has, for many of us, been present our entire lives. As a result, it requires a big psychological step for us to realize that the nuclear war culture, like the reliance on fossil fuels, is an aspect of our civilization that can and must change.

Question related to this article:

Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

30 August 2012 — The following opinion piece by Secretary-General BAN Ki-moon appeared in leading newspapers in Argentina, Bangladesh, Burundi, China, Germany, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, Malaysia, The Philippines, Republic of Korea, Russia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine and European weekly publications and has been translated into 10 languages.

‘THE WORLD IS OVER-ARMED AND PEACE IS UNDER-FUNDED’

Last month, competing interests prevented agreement on a much-needed treaty that would have reduced the appalling human cost of the poorly regulated international arms trade. Meanwhile, nuclear disarmament efforts remain stalled, despite strong and growing global popular sentiment in support of this cause.

The failure of these negotiations and this month’s anniversaries of the atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki provide a good opportunity to explore what has gone wrong, why disarmament and arms control have proven so difficult to achieve, and how the world community can get back on track towards these vitally important goals.

Many defence establishments now recognize that security means far more than protecting borders. Grave security concerns can arise as a result of demographic trends, chronic poverty, economic inequality, environmental degradation, pandemic diseases, organized crime, repressive governance and other developments no state can control alone. Arms can’t address such concerns.

Yet there has been a troubling lag between recognizing these new security challenges, and launching new policies to address them. National budget priorities still tend to reflect the old paradigms. Massive military spending and new investments in modernizing nuclear weapons have left the world over-armed — and peace under-funded.

Last year, global military spending reportedly exceeded $1.7 trillion – more than $4.6 billion a day, which alone is almost twice the UN’s budget for an entire year. This largesse includes billions more for modernizing nuclear arsenals decades into the future.

This level of military spending is hard to explain in a post-Cold War world and amidst a global financial crisis. Economists would call this an “opportunity cost”. I call it human opportunities lost. Nuclear weapons budgets are especially ripe for deep cuts.

Such weapons are useless against today’s threats to international peace and security. Their very existence is de-stabilizing: the more they are touted as indispensable, the greater is the incentive for their proliferation. Additional risks arise from accidents and the health and environmental effects of maintaining and developing such weapons.

The time has come to re-affirm commitments to nuclear disarmament, and to ensure that this common end is reflected in national budgets, plans and institutions.

Four years ago, I outlined a five-point disarmament proposal highlighting the need for a nuclear weapon convention or a framework of instruments to achieve this goal.

Yet the disarmament stalemate continues. The solution clearly lies in greater efforts by States to harmonize their actions to achieve common ends. Here are some specific actions that all States and civil society should pursue to break this impasse.

* Support efforts by the Russian Federation and the United States to negotiate deep, verified cuts in their nuclear arsenals, both deployed and un-deployed.

* Obtain commitments by others possessing such weapons to join the disarmament process.

* Establish a moratorium on developing or producing nuclear weapons or new delivery systems.

* Negotiate a multilateral treaty outlawing fissile materials that can be used in nuclear weapons.

* End nuclear explosions and bring into force the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

* Stop deploying nuclear weapons on foreign soil, and retire such weapons.

* Ensure that nuclear-weapon states report to a public UN repository on nuclear disarmament, including details on arsenal size, fissile material, delivery systems, and progress in achieving disarmament goals.

* Establish a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

* Secure universal membership in treaties outlawing chemical and biological weapons.

* Pursue parallel efforts on conventional arms control, including an arms trade treaty, strengthened controls over the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, universal membership in the Mine Ban, Cluster Munitions, and Inhumane
Weapons Conventions, and expanded participation in the UN Report on Military Expenditures and the UN Register of Conventional Arms.

* Undertake diplomatic and military initiatives to maintain international peace and security in a world without nuclear weapons, including new efforts to resolve regional disputes.

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, North America