Courtesy: The Guardian, UK
As the review conference of the parties to the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons ends on Friday at the UN in New York, Amnesty International and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican) believe that states must agree to initiate a process to create an international prohibition on and complete elimination of nuclear weapons.
Amnesty International and Ican oppose the use, possession, production and transfer of nuclear weapons, given their indiscriminate nature. We are opposed to the possession of nuclear weapons by any country, including permanent members of the UN security council, and share the concern of the parties to the non-proliferation treaty (NPT) regarding the “catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons”. Nuclear weapons stand alone in terms of their extreme potential to be indiscriminate. Their use would invariably violate international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
The conferences on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and the 2015 NPT review conference have highlighted that there is a legal gap for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons. It is clear to us and to a growing number of states that a diplomatic process to prohibit the use, possession, production and transfer of nuclear weapons needs to commence urgently. This diplomatic process should proceed with all interested states, even if the nine countries that already possess nuclear weapons are not yet ready to join. We believe that the overwhelming majority of states would join this process, and that a prohibition on nuclear weapons is a humanitarian imperative.
Marek Marczynski Head of military, security and police, Amnesty International, Beatrice Fihn Executive director, Ican
