Record 159 countries agree on inhumanity of nuclear weapons in joint statement at NPT Review Conference
May 11, 2015
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
NEW YORK--On April 28, at the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), now taking place in New York, 159 countries including Japan and Austria declared the inhumanity of nuclear weapons and released a joint statement demanding that nuclear weapons not be used. This is the sixth such statement in the last three years, with the latest statement drawing a record-high number of supporting countries.
On behalf of these supporters, Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, offered remarks at the general debate. In his remarks, Mr. Kurz stressed, “It would benefit the human race if nuclear weapons were never used again under any circumstances.” He then concluded, “The only way to guarantee that nuclear weapons will never be used again is through their total elimination.”
The inhumanity of nuclear weapons was specified in the final document agreed at the 2010 NPT Review Conference. In light of this, representatives from Austria, Switzerland, Mexico, and other non-nuclear weapon states have taken the lead in discussions calling for a ban on nuclear weapons based on their inhumanity. Since May 2012, similar joint statements have been issued a number of times in the preparatory committee sessions for the 2015 NPT Review Conference and in the sessions of the U.N. General Assembly. This time, with the voices of the record-high number of supporting countries, it is expected that the joint statement will help intensify the discussions seeking to make nuclear weapons illegal.
In conjunction with the Review Conference that began on April 27, the representatives from Ireland and Mexico have been reiterating their view that calls for establishing a framework to legally ban nuclear weapons. The representative from New Zealand took the stage on behalf of the New Agenda Coalition (NAC, 6 members) to propose that “effective measures” for nuclear disarmament be discussed at the U.N. General Assembly and other meetings. The representative declared the need to set up a “comprehensive, legally-binding mechanism” toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.
But, in contrast, the nuclear weapon states and those countries which rely on the nuclear umbrella insisted, as usual, on a “gradual reduction of nuclear weapons.” The differing attitudes between the two sides has been starkly apparent. Reflecting the strong wishes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan has joined the countries supporting the joint statement on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons since its fourth iteration in October 2013. However, at this time, it has taken a negative stance toward outlawing nuclear weapons.
(Originally published on April 30, 2015)
NEW YORK--On April 28, at the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), now taking place in New York, 159 countries including Japan and Austria declared the inhumanity of nuclear weapons and released a joint statement demanding that nuclear weapons not be used. This is the sixth such statement in the last three years, with the latest statement drawing a record-high number of supporting countries.
On behalf of these supporters, Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, offered remarks at the general debate. In his remarks, Mr. Kurz stressed, “It would benefit the human race if nuclear weapons were never used again under any circumstances.” He then concluded, “The only way to guarantee that nuclear weapons will never be used again is through their total elimination.”
The inhumanity of nuclear weapons was specified in the final document agreed at the 2010 NPT Review Conference. In light of this, representatives from Austria, Switzerland, Mexico, and other non-nuclear weapon states have taken the lead in discussions calling for a ban on nuclear weapons based on their inhumanity. Since May 2012, similar joint statements have been issued a number of times in the preparatory committee sessions for the 2015 NPT Review Conference and in the sessions of the U.N. General Assembly. This time, with the voices of the record-high number of supporting countries, it is expected that the joint statement will help intensify the discussions seeking to make nuclear weapons illegal.
In conjunction with the Review Conference that began on April 27, the representatives from Ireland and Mexico have been reiterating their view that calls for establishing a framework to legally ban nuclear weapons. The representative from New Zealand took the stage on behalf of the New Agenda Coalition (NAC, 6 members) to propose that “effective measures” for nuclear disarmament be discussed at the U.N. General Assembly and other meetings. The representative declared the need to set up a “comprehensive, legally-binding mechanism” toward the elimination of nuclear weapons.
But, in contrast, the nuclear weapon states and those countries which rely on the nuclear umbrella insisted, as usual, on a “gradual reduction of nuclear weapons.” The differing attitudes between the two sides has been starkly apparent. Reflecting the strong wishes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan has joined the countries supporting the joint statement on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons since its fourth iteration in October 2013. However, at this time, it has taken a negative stance toward outlawing nuclear weapons.
(Originally published on April 30, 2015)
