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Time for a Convention to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

by Peter G. Cohen

We now know that nuclear winter, ozone layer destruction, phytoplankton reduction and other effects of a nuclear exchange would massively impact health and lifeÂ everywhere on Earth. How can we respond to something so overwhelming, so huge, so threatening that there is nowhere to hide except in denial? Weâ€™ve been trying that for almost 70 years. The numbers of weapons are down, their accuracy and lethality are up. It is time to try something new.


Since 1970, theÂ Non-Proliferation TreatyÂ (NPT) has succeeded in slowing theÂ  proliferation of nuclear weapons. The original deal was that the nuclear weapons states would work at abolishing their weapons, while the nuclear weapons-free states would refrain from obtaining them. However, the weapons-free states are growing increasingly impatient with the deal, as they realize that they are endangered and that the nuclear weapons states are making little progress toward abolition.

Since 9/11/01 the United States has been following a policy of expanding its influenceÂ through military bases around the world, particularly in Central Asia, Africa and the Pacific. This process is greatly aided by the presence of our vast stockpile of nuclear warheads and far-reaching delivery systems, a fearful â€œdeterrentâ€ to any potential resistance.

At the same time, the manufacture and maintenance of nuclear warheads and the missiles, planes and submarines to deliver them anywhere in the world has grown into a huge business. In excess of $50 billion a year, this business â€” including Air Force bases, nuclear laboratories, manufacturing plants, and other facilities â€” employs people in almost every Congressional District, though far more Americans could be employed rebuilding infrastructure, teaching, or providing health care if an equivalent sum were spent creating those jobs. The corporations that manufacture and manage these facilities spend millions a year in campaign contributions and lobbyists persuading our Representatives in Congress not to cut the budget from any part of this huge â€œdefenseâ€ conglomerate.


In 1996 the International Court of Justice considered nuclear weapons and concluded thatÂ their use was illegal, except as the last resort of an endangered nation. We now know that any use of these weapons threatens life on Earth. It would be useful if the nuclear weapons-free states could persuade the Court to label the manufacture, maintenance, support and any and all preparations for the use of nuclear weapons to be criminal activities. It seems obvious that any activity that threatens the indiscriminate incineration or poisoning of human beings is a Crime Against Humanity. For the millions involved in this work, or profiting from it, it is high time that they face the criminal nature of their employment, management, study or investment. This potential suicide of the human race cannot be disguised as a military deterrent, a patriotic duty or an acceptable activity for any reason. It is a crime beyond all measure. It must be stopped!

There is now aÂ draft conventionÂ for the abolition of nuclear weapons at the United Nations, similar to those that ended chemical and germ warfare. As the step-by-step disarmament process has resulted in the current â€œmodernizationâ€ of existing weapons, it is timeÂ  to take another approach. The more than 180 nuclear weapons-free nations should move to finalize this convention with or without the nuclear weapons statesâ€™ participation. In the final analysis, if the nuclear nations continue to resist abolition, they may be subject to sanctions of the nuclear weapons-free states.


As the United States developed nuclear weapons, is the only nation to have used them, and has one of the greatest stockpiles of warheads, it is important that we take the lead in their abolition. We have an election every two years for all of our Representatives in Congress and a third of our Senators. Can we not demand that all of these elected officials pledge in their campaigns to oppose any funding for any part of our nuclear weapons and delivery systems? Can we not ask all those who fund these elections to abstain from funding candidates who will not take the Pledge of Opposition? Can we not divest from those corporations that are active in the nuclear weapons business and support the self-perpetuating nuclear weapons lobbies in Washington?


Peter G. Cohen, writing forÂ PeaceVoice, was a freshman at the University of Chicago when Fermi developed the chain reaction, was on a troopship bound for Japan when the bomb was detonated over Hiroshima, and is the author of the website Â www.nukefreeworld.com.

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