Mayors for Peace’s Representative to the UN Office in Geneva urged diplomats to negotiate legally binding negative security assurances (NSAs) with a view to achieving total nuclear disarmament.
During the historic meeting with NGO representatives, which was chaired by Canadian Ambassador Marius Grinius, Mayors for Peace representative Esteban Ramirez-Gonzalez, reaffirmed the view of over 4,500 mayors from around the world, that “Cities are not targets” and reminded diplomats that “nuclear-armed states have the responsibility of providing legal protection against the effects, both direct and indirect, of potential nuclear confrontation.”
On March 3rd, in an unprecedented effort to increase civil society participation in the Conference on Disarmament (CD), Ambassador Grinius convened an “Interactive side-event with members of the NGO Committee on Disarmament”. The meeting allowed civil society representatives the rare privilege of addressing delegations inside the Council Chamber, following a plenary meeting of the CD.
Representatives from four civil society organisations made presentations on the current priorities of the CD: nuclear disarmament, a fissile materials cut-off treaty (FMCT), the prevention of an arms race in outer space and negative security assurances.
Jonathan Freichs, from the World Council of Churches and President of the NGO Committee on Disarmament, thanked the Canadian Ambassador for promoting civil society participation and urged delegations to take the lead tackling the nuclear disarmament issues. David Atwood, Director of the Quaker United Nations Office, emphasised the responsibilities of the CD to the international community as a whole, while addressing the issue of a possible FMCT and providing a critical perspective on the major obstacles in the current negotiating process; Beatrice Fihn from Reaching Critical Will spoke about the prevention of an arms race in outer space.
In his statement, Ramirez Gonzalez, speaking on behalf of Mayors for Peace, reflected on the role of negative security assurances in providing security within Nuclear-Weapon Free Zones (NWFZ) and urged states to work towards legally binding negative security assurances with a view the objective of moving towards a Nuclear Weapons Free World.
Over twenty ambassadors and delegates were in attendance, including representatives from France, India, Israel, Pakistan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
Within NWFZs, Ramirez Gonzalez argued, neighbouring countries have committed themselves not to “bring nuclear force to bear upon their relations with each other” and brought nuclear-armed states to respect and recognize these commitments. On the other hand, those states who rely on nuclear weapons for their security, “continue to hold on to the 'protection' provided by nuclear arsenals...because these are found to be useful for more than mere nuclear deterrence: they are a way of intimidating and exerting an implicit threat, and of preserving other types of strategic imbalances.”
Reiterating Mayors for Peace’s appeal to achieve a Nuclear Weapon Free World by 2020, Ramirez Gonzalez encouraged states to work on legally binding instruments to commit to dealing with non-nuclear threats by exclusively non-nuclear means. He argued that “by offering all states protection against the use of nuclear weapons or threat of nuclear weapons against conventional forces, this step would improve confidence and provide legal guarantees to help states relinquish the ‘protection’ of nuclear arms and fear of a nuclear attack.”
Delegations were reminded that a dozen of the half-megaton bombs currently deployed around the world would have effects similar to one hundred Hiroshimas – with devastating effects to non-belligerents as well due to catastrophic climate change. On this basis, Ramirez Gonzalez, criticised the position of many nuclear-armed states who cling to “threatening declaratory policies” and urged delegations to begin substantive negotiations on total nuclear disarmament – inside or outside the Conference on Disarmament.
After the presentations, diplomats and Civil Society representatives engaged in an interactive dialogue. Several delegations expressed their support for NGO participation in disarmament and their concern with the on-going impasse at the CD. In this regard, Mexico and Norway, in particular, referred to the possibility of continuing to work on disarmament in alternative multilateral fora.
To read the full statement click here
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