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During the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NTP) Review Conference in April 1995, representatives
of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from
around the world wrote an Abolition
2000 Statement. It featured a call for conclusion
by the year 2000 of negotiations on a treaty
to eliminate nuclear weapons within a time-bound
framework. The statement also presented other
steps toward the elimination of nuclear weapons,
including:
- No first use of nuclear weapons
- Comprehensive test ban
- Close nuclear test sites
- Cessation of further production and deployment
of new nuclear weapon systems
- Nuclear weapon free zones
- Control of fissile material
- Development of sustainable and environmentally
safe energy sources.
- Participation of citizens and NGOs in the
process of nuclear weapons abolition.
Citizen representatives followed through with
a meeting at The Hague in November 1995 where
they formed Abolition
2000: A Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons.
In January 1997 they convened
again at Moorea, Te Ao Maohi (French Occupied
Polynesia), where they issued the Moorea
Declaration to highlight the suffering of
indigenous and colonized peoples as a result
of the production and testing of nuclear weapons.
At its 1999 annual meeting in
The Hague, Abolition 2000 adopted the Hague
Declaration: A Call for a New Millennium.
The next year Abolition 2000
offered its views in a Statement
to the Millennium Forum.
Abolition 2000 is assisted
and guided by a staff
secretariat, a coordinating committee, and global
council.
 In
the United States the U.S.
Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons functions
as part of the Abolition 2000 Global Network.
At its founding in Santa Barbara, California in
February 1999 this campaign issued the Santa
Barbara Declaration. At its second meeting
in Ann Arbor, Michigan in October 1999 participates
developed and released a Draft
Statement on Democracy, Power, and Nuclear Weapons.
Its work is guided by a Coordinating
Committee.
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At a Washington news conference in February 1998
former Senator Alan Cranston, acting as chair
of the State of the World Forum, released a Statement
by International Civilian Leaders on nuclear disarmament.
Signers were 128 notable individuals from 48 nations.
Among them were 52 past or present presidents
and prime ministers, including such officials
from four of the five nuclear weapon states.
The civilian leaders' statement
advocated specific steps to reduce ongoing nuclear
weapon dangers. It also urged the nuclear powers
to declare unambiguously that their goal is
eventual abolition of nuclear weapons.
| Recommended steps to be taken immediately
were: |
De-alerting
Halt of fissile materials production.
End of nuclear testing.
Deep cuts in U.S. and Russian nuclear
arsenals.
Reductions by other nuclear weapon
states.
An international system of inspection,
verification, and safeguards.
Develop a plan for "distant but
final goal of elimination
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Additional steps to be considered were:
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Repatriate nuclear weapons deployed
outside of sovereign territory.
Commit to No First Use of nuclear
weapons.
Ban production and possession of large,
long-range ballistic missiles.
Place all materials needed to produce
nuclear weapons under international
safeguards.
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A few days after the release of the statement
Senator Cranston traveled to Moscow with several
other Americans for discussions with Russian
leaders and experts from other countries regarding
nuclear weapons and other matters related to
global security. In an article entitled An
Assessment and An Appeal, Senator Cranston
reported that the discussion turned to the lack
of utility of nuclear weapons. He noted that
he and Jonathan Schell several times pointed
out a little noted fact:
All five nations possessing nuclear weapons
have refrained from using them while losing
wars to nations that did not possess nuclear
weapons: the US in Vietnam, the Soviet Union
in Afghanistan, China in Vietnam, France in
Algeria, the UK at Suez.
"You can add Chechnya to the list,"
muttered one Russian. Another remarked, "The
weapons are not only useless militarily, they
are useless politically as well. Who is now
going to believe the threats that they might
be used under almost any circumstances that
can be imagined?"
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June 2001 saw the release of a Statement
by International Mayors on "Nuclear Weapons:
Threat to Cities". Signed by 93 mayors from
27 nations around the globe, the statement was
developed and released by Senator Alan Cranston
and the State of the World Forum.
In their statement the mayors indicated
that "if nuclear weapons are ever again
used, it is virtually certain that one or more
of our cities will be the target and the people
we represent will be the victims." They
further noted:
It is unacceptable that while so many human
needs are neglected and while poverty afflicts
so many, particularly in cities, vast resources
that could be put to wiser use are spent on
nuclear weapons that no responsible nation
wants to use and that, if nonetheless used,
could not only destroy cities and nations
and their peoples, but could conceivably exterminate
humanity.
It is most of all the responsibility of the
U.S. and Russia to abandon outmoded policies
and postures developed in the Cold War which
have no rightful place in today's world.
Therefore, they called upon the presidents
of the United States and Russia to:
- Declare your firm commitment to the task
of eliminating nuclear weapons from the face
of the earth
- Launch the process by leading the world
in steps designed to achieve that goal with
all deliberate speed.
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The 3rd World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates
convened in Rome on October 18-20, 2002. It was
organized by Mikhail Gorbachev, former president
of the Soviet Union, and Walter Veltroni, Mayor
of Rome. Participants were individuals and representatives
of organizations that have won the Nobel Peace
Prize. Among other things the Final
Statement indicated:
Of particular concern to the participants
is the increased reliance on violence and
war as a primary means to resolve political
disputes. It is imperative to seek peaceful
political solutions to conflict and to deepen
collaboration among states, be it through
the United Nations or other regional security
organizations.
A primary goal is to halt the new arms race,
and to demilitarise international relations.
The participants are concerned about the new
military doctrines that contemplate the use,
even pre-emptive, of nuclear weapons. Nuclear
weapons continue to pose a real threat due
to a renewed tendency toward proliferation,
made more dangerous by the possibility that
terrorists may acquire them. Nuclear weapons
are immoral and their use is illegal. It is
imperative to achieve the total abolition
of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass
destruction.
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Around the globe the civil sector provides much
of the leadership of efforts to eliminate nuclear
weapons. Here we list both multi-national and national
organizations engaged in this task.
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