NEW YORK (IDN) — The recent US allegation of Russian noncompliance with the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) cannot be adequately understood outside of the context of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine.
The Russian invasion, initiated nearly one year ago, was marked early on by insistent and illegal threats of nuclear use, intended to dissuade Western nuclear and nuclear-allied states from "interference" in Ukraine.
Read MoreIn January 2023, the Sorensen Center for International Peace and Justice hosted LCNP Executive Director Ariana Smith, LCNP Board Member and ICAN UN Liaison Seth Shelden, and former LCNP Intern and Center for International Policy Junior Fellow Hadeel Abu Ktaish for a dynamic conversation about law and nuclear weapons in the context of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine. This event explored in particular the role of the TPNW and identified action items for all to engage disarmament advocacy.
Read MoreThe Biden Administration, at the end of last month, released its unclassified version of the National Defense Strategy (NDS) and Nuclear Posture Review (NPR).
Read MoreClimate change and nuclear weapons are inextricably linked.
Read MoreOnce again, the world is grappling with the specter of nuclear warfare, this time with threatened use of nuclear arms serving as a shield for conventional military operations. That particular function has long been implicit and sometimes explicit in the doctrines, statements, and actions of at least the two most powerful nuclear-armed governments or elements within them. Never before, however, has this type of nuclear threat been so blatant. To compound the wrongfulness, the threat is in service of a clearcut war of aggression.
Read MoreCreating a WMDFZ in the Middle East has been a key international priority for decades. Though the zone issue has long enjoyed broad regional and international support, it remains an unfulfilled obligation of the NPT’s indefinite extension in 1995. States have blamed one another for the elusive progress on the zone, disagreeing on the terms and sequence of events that would lead to its concretization. Nonetheless, ongoing dialogue and steps taken since 2018 have revived momentum and brought us closer to a zone than ever before.
Read MoreThe rising risk of conflict between nuclear weapon-possessing states turning nuclear and thus annihilative is undeniable today, in Ukraine and potentially in Taiwan and elsewhere. What deserves more attention is that this risk is exacerbated by emerging technology. However difficult in present circumstances, now more than ever nuclear powers must pursue effective arms control.
Read MoreMr. President: We are deeply concerned about the potential effect of the AUKUS submarine agreement on the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). If the submarines are fueled with weapons-grade High Enriched Uranium (HEU), as currently contemplated, it could severely affect our national security by undermining the entire nonproliferation regime.
Read MoreIn March, President Biden released his annual budget proposal, including what would be one of the largest budgets for defense in United States history: $813 billion with nearly $51 billion allocated to nuclear weapons spending.
Read MoreOn April 25, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin provided a revealing and disturbing glimpse into a darker element of US policy when he stated: "We want to see Russia weakened to the degree it cannot do the kinds of things that it has done in invading Ukraine."
Read MoreWe are appalled and saddened by the suffering and devastation caused by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. News of atrocities committed by Russian forces adds to the outrage and sorrow. It is imperative, above all, to end the war.
Read MoreWith the UN Security Council paralyzed by the Russian veto, in two resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly a large majority of UN member states have strongly condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine as aggression in violation of the UN Charter. The International Court of Justice, the UN judicial branch, has also weighed in.
Read MoreThe Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy strongly condemns Russia’s attack on Ukraine. The Russian invasion is in clear violation of international law, and is causing the people of Ukraine to experience terror, suffering, and death.
Read MoreIf the Ukraine crisis erupts into war – even intensified limited war in Eastern Ukraine with overt Russian intervention – the consequences will be severe and far-reaching.
Read MoreWe strongly support your stated intention to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in national security policy. Diminishing the role of these weapons should be a guiding directive in the pending revision of the Nuclear Posture Review.
Read MoreThe use and threat of use of nuclear weapons is incompatible with multiple rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). For practical reasons, however, this submission concentrates on the non-derogable right to life (Article 6)—the most fundamental human right.
Read MoreLawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy (LCNP) welcomes the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) today, January 22, 2021. The TPNW joins and robustly affirms an existing body of international law that condemns and prohibits the threat or use of nuclear weapons.
Read MoreThe use and threat of use of nuclear weapons is incompatible with multiple rights enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). For practical reasons, however, this submission concentrates on the non-derogable right to life (Article 6)—the most fundamental human right.
Read MoreCommentary and Analysis regarding UN Human Rights Committee General Comment no. 36; the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons; Human Rights, Democracy, and Nuclear Weapons.
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