Ratifications of Test Ban Treaty Still a Nuclear Fantasy

Analysis by Rodney Reynolds

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) - There has been widespread speculation – both inside and outside the United Nations -- that Israel may be toying with the idea of ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), perhaps within the next five years.

But is this in the realm of political reality or nuclear fantasy?

The speculation was triggered following a three-day visit to Israel by Dr Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), who met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on June 20. [P12]  ARABIC | GERMAN | ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | PERSIAN

Bangladesh Opting for Peace Rather Than Nuclear Arms

Analysis by Naimul Haq

DHAKA, Bangladesh (IDN) – Despite increasing global threats of nuclear attacks, Bangladesh – surrounded by nations possessing nuclear arms – is opting to remain a peaceful nation rather than join the nuclear club.

Endorsing the political will to pursue global peace and comply with international nuclear peace treaties, national security experts say that although the Cold War has ended potential for nuclear strikes is still alive. [P11] BAHASA | GERMAN | HINDI | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | MALAY | THAI

The Worst Acts of the Nuclear Age

Viewpoint by David Krieger *

SANTA BARBARA | USA (IDN) - The ten worst acts of the Nuclear Age described below have set the tone for our time. They have caused immense death and suffering; been tremendously expensive; have encouraged nuclear proliferation; have opened the door to nuclear terrorism, nuclear accidents and nuclear war; and are leading the world back into a second Cold War.

These “ten worst acts” are important information for anyone attempting to understand the time in which we live, and how the nuclear dangers that confront us have been intensified by the leadership and policy choices made by the United States and the other eight nuclear-armed countries. [P10] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | SPANISH

New Data Dampens Hope of a Global Ban on Nuclear Weapons

Analysis by Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN (IDN) - While campaigners for a world free of nuclear weapons are confident that “a ban is coming”, the annual nuclear forces data launched by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) on June 13 gives little hope for optimism.

“Despite the ongoing reduction in the number of weapons, the prospects for genuine progress towards nuclear disarmament remain gloomy,” says Shannon Kile, Head of the SIPRI Nuclear Weapons Project. “All the nuclear weapon-possessing states continue to prioritize nuclear deterrence as the cornerstone of their national security strategies.” [P09] ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | NORWEGIAN | SPANISH

If Provoked, U.S. Public Likely to Support Nuclear Attack

Analysis by Rodney Reynolds

NEW YORK (IDN) - When President Barack Obama made a historic visit on May 27 to Hiroshima – where a U.S. nuclear attack on Japan in 1945 resulted in over 200,000 casualties* – he offered no apologies for the human devastation nor provided any justification for the first and only use of nuclear weapons ever. [P08] ARABIC | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | NORWEGIAN | SPANISH

Obama’s Hiroshima Debut Does Not Prohibit Nuclear Weapons

Analysis by Ramesh Jaura

ISE-SHIMA | Japan (IDN) - Despite President Barack Obama’s call for a "world without nuclear weapons" during his ‘historic’ visit to Hiroshima, the city where the first ever atomic bomb was dropped on August 6, 1945, causing over 140,000 casualties, the United States is nowhere close to prohibiting nuclear weapons. [P07] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF

UN Group Explores Ways Out of Nuclear Stalemate

 Analysis by Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) – The United Nations General Assembly has tasked an Open Ended Working Group (OEWG) to create a blueprint for constructing a world free of nuclear weapons. The Group’s two sessions – February 22-26 and May 2-13 – failed to agree on a draft plan. But the final three-day session in August was slated to negotiate a final report with recommendations for the United Nations General Assembly.

The report would be justified in stating – as Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) told the OEWG on May 13 – that “a majority of the world’s governments are ready and want to start negotiations of a new legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons”. And this even without the participation of the nuclear weapon states. [P06] ARABIC | BAHASA | ITALIAN | JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | MALAY | NORWEGIAN | SPANISH | THAI

UN Working Group Urged to Assist in Banning Nukes

Analysis by Jamshed Baruah

GENEVA (IDN) - The powerful message of a joint statement by diverse faith groups, calling for abolition of nuclear weapons, has been strongly backed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s reaction to President Barack Obama’s decision to visit Hiroshima on May 27.

Obama would be the first sitting U.S. President to visit the Japanese city during the G-7 economic summit that was annihilated by the first ever atomic bomb, dropped by the United States on August 6, 1945. It was followed by the second bomb that devastated Nagasaki three days later, killing a total of more than 200,000 people.

Ban “very much welcomes” Obama’s decision to visit Hiroshima, UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. “For the secretary-general, one of the enduring lessons of Hiroshima is the need to abolish nuclear weapons once and for all,” he added. [P05]  JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF | NORWEGIAN

Campaign for a Nuclear Weapons Free World Intensifies

Analysis by Ravi Kanth Devarakonda

GENEVA (IDN) - As the global community grapples with the increasing threat of nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists, the nuclear weapon states – the United States, Russia, China, France, and Britain, Israel, India, Pakistan, and North Korea – have turned a deaf ear to the ongoing multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations in Geneva for preparing recommendations to ensure a world without the dreadful nuclear warheads.

In order to intensify efforts to achieve a treaty banning nuclear weapons, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) brought together in Geneva some 130 campaigners, including faith organizations. The meeting was held ahead of the second session of the United Nations Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) for nuclear disarmament from May 2-13. The first session was held in Geneva from February 22-26. [P04] JAPANESE TEXT PDF | NORWEGIAN |

Hiroshima Declaration Avoids Firm Commitment to Nuclear-Free World

Analysis by Rodney Reynolds

HIROSHIMA (IDN) - When the Foreign Ministers of G7 countries -- Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and the United States – adopted the ‘Hiroshima Declaration’ at the end of a two-day meeting on April 11, they failed to make any concrete commitments for the total elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide. [P03] JAPANESE TEXT VERSION PDF