Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament

On 6 November German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle announced to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that the new coalition government seeks the withdrawal of the remaining US nuclear weapons located on German soil. However, it appears that Germany is not proposing to do this unilaterally – but rather in conjunction with the withdrawal of US nuclear weapons from the other nuclear-sharing countries - Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey, once they also agree. Together, there are believed to be approximately 200 US B-61 gravity bombs deployed on European soil.

According to the Guardian, Belgium and the Netherlands have given their support to Germany's effort. Norway is also pressing for NATO to begin discussions on the matter as it coordinates the development of a revised NATO strategic concept, which is expected to be completed by July 2010.

» See Demand Builds for Pulling US Nukes From Europe and

» New German government to seek removal of US nuclear weapons, Deutsche Welle, 25 October 2009.

Parliamentarians in NATO countries are stepping up their engagement in the current NATO Strategic Review which includes a review of NATO nuclear policy. There is a widespread concern that the current policy is detrimental to European efforts to prevent proliferation and ensure a successful Review Conference of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in May 2010.

Of key concern amongst parliamentarians and civil society representatives (including Mayors for Peace) are the policies maintaining a significant role for nuclear weapons in NATO security doctrine, and the deployment of nuclear weapons in NATO countries. There are positive signals from some NATO countries, including the United States, indicating that change in the doctrine is now possible. Ivo Daalder, the incoming US Ambassador to NATO, wrote in Foreign Affairs that the US must work with its allies to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in security doctrines as ‘the first step on the road to zero’ (The Logic of Zero – Towards a World Without Nuclear Weapons).

However, there remains a general lack of confidence that NATO will significantly reduce the role of nuclear weapons in the new Strategic Concept, especially in light of recent comments by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who remarked that any discussion on reducing US nuclear weapons in NATO countries was complicated and involved security obligations to all NATO states including those in Eastern Europe (Hillary Clinton interview with Dr. Sebastian Hesse-Kastein of MDR Radio, 9 Nov 2009). Thus, parliamentarians from across the political spectrum are taking action in resolutions, parliamentary debates, media statements, forums and joint declarations.

A resolution unanimously adopted by the Italian Parliament on 23 June, for example, calls on the Italian government to foster within NATO a discussion on the need to rethink the role and importance assigned to nuclear weapons, and to promote a European Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (see item 4 below).

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly is providing a limited opportunity for parliamentarians from NATO countries to discuss the NATO Strategic Doctrine, in preparation for a report to go from the Assembly to the NATO Strategic Review. However, the focus of these discussions has been more on conventional military arrangements and operations and nuclear non-proliferation. PNND has complemented these discussions by organizing side events at the Berlin NATO Parliamentary Assembly and the Edinburgh NATO Parliamentary Assembly in November 2009 specifically on NATO and nuclear weapons issues.

A common theme of the Edinburgh event, hosted by PNND Council Member Bill Kidd, was that there is an increased imperative to make progress on nuclear disarmament in order to ensure a successful Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference in 2010. The failure of the previous NPT Review Conference in 2005 was followed by North Korea withdrawing from the NPT and testing nuclear weapons, Iran stepping up its uranium enrichment program brining it closer to a nuclear weapons capability, and the announcement of a number of Arab states to develop nuclear energy programs.

Another key theme was that the change in policy of the US administration provides a golden opportunity for NATO countries to take significant nuclear disarmament steps without the risk of counter-pressure from the US.

On 16 November 2009, US Rep Ed Markey, who serves as a PNND Co-President, sent a letter to President Obama urging him to use the Nuclear Posture Review process (see 8. Time to close the nuclear umbrella, below) to ‘make a dramatic break from the nuclear weapons policies of the past’ and to ‘faithfully implement the agenda you have laid before our nation.’ Markey noted the landmark speech President Obama made in Prague on 5 April 2009, and the international support for his vision of a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons – support which included the 2009 Nobel Prize for Peace.

Markey encouraged President Obama to take six practical first steps in implementing this vision:

Rep Pete Stark is currently circulating a congressional letter with virtually the same calls. Congressman Stark is gathering other congressional endorsers before presenting it to President Obama later in November.

4. Tear Down This Wall: PNND joins Nobel Laureates to commemorate the 20 th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall

PNND Council member Jonathan Granoff and Global Coordinator Alyn Ware joined the 10th Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates in Berlin from 9-11 November to commemorate the 20th Anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The Summit, entitled “Breaking down new walls and building bridges to ensure a World of Human Rights and a World without violence” brought together Nobel laureates and civil society leaders who have made a significant contribution in building the bridges required for an equitable, sustainable and peaceful world.

Keynote speakers included Mikhael Gorbachev who spoke about Soviet reforms that led to the collapse of the Berlin Wall; Thomas Stelzer (representing UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon) who spoke about the UN Secretary-General’s five-point plan and the importance of collaboration between the UN, governments and civil society in reducing reliance on militarism and re-investing in development; Mohammad Yunus who spoke about the capacity we have to destroy the wall of poverty; and Frederick Willem de Klerk who described the process he led in reversing South Africa’s nuclear weapons program and the walls that had to come down to end apartheid.

The Summit adopted a final statement calling for the breaking down of walls that stand in the way of a nuclear-weapons-free world; walls between rich and poor; walls between cultural, religious and ethnic communities; walls that prevent combating climate change, and walls between generations.

Mr Granoff, who served as a principal drafter of the final statement, used the occasion to unveil a “Tear Down This Wall” banner, reflecting the Summit call for the ‘walls of nuclear weapons’ (including those in NATO countries) to be dismantled.

On 23 June the Italian Parliament adopted by consensus a resolution submitted by PNND Council member Federica Mogherini calling on the government to increase its efforts for nuclear disarmament. The resolution highlights a number of proposals and initiatives including the Hoover Institute plan, Nuclear Weapons Convention, UN Secretary-General’s five-point plan for disarmament and European Parliament resolution of 5 June.

On 8 October PNND member Philippe Mahoux introduced a bill into the Belgian Senate which would amend the Belgian constitution in order to prohibit nuclear weapons. The bill notes, inter alia, the obligations of non-nuclear weapon States under the Non-Proliferation Treaty not to acquire nuclear weapons, the 1996 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Laglity of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, the efforts of the United Nations Secretary-General to promote disarmament, the September 24 UN Security Council Session on nuclear disarmament, the principles of humanitarian law that render the use of nuclear weapons illegal, the requirement of NATO to review its Strategic Doctrine, and the inability of nuclear weapons to address current security concerns including those of terrorism. The bill was referred to the Commission on Foreign Affairs and Defence on 15 October.

On 24 October 2008, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon released a Five-Point Plan for Nuclear Disarmament which brought together a range of proposals and initiatives to prevent proliferation and achieve a nuclear-weapons-free world. It was a strong move for the UNSG to take leadership on this issue. And the plan is ambitious. The first point calls on states to implement their nuclear disarmament obligations by negotiating a Nuclear Weapons Convention or package of agreements.

There has already been progress on some of the elements in his plan – mostly due to the change in policy and approach of the United States and the leadership of a much smaller country, Costa Rica. The Conference on Disarmament has agreed, after a 12 year hiatus, to a work program including negotiations on a fissile materials treaty and deliberative work on negative security assurances, prevention of an arms race in outer space, and nuclear disarmament. US President Obama chaired a special session of the UN Security Council on nuclear disarmament in September 2009 and will also host a Summit on nuclear dangers early in 2010. Costa Rican President Oscar Arias chaired a special session of the UN Security Council in November 2008 on reducing military spending in order to resource Millennium Development Goals. Costa Rica also hosted a conference at the UN in Geneva on the Nuclear Weapons Convention in November 2008. These are all elements of the UNSG’s five-point plan.

However, the response of other countries to the UNSG’s plan has been rather lacklustre. Thus, parliamentarians are stepping up to encourage support from governments. In April 2009, the Inter-Parliamentary Union adopted a resolution on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament which specifically called on parliaments to encourage their governments to support the UNSG’s plan. PNND members played a key role in getting this language into the resolution and in ensuring the resolution was adopted with support from all parliamentary delegations.

PNND members are following up the IPU resolution by promoting the UNSGs plan in their parliaments and to their governments. And on October 12, a delegation from the PNND Council met with Ban Ki-moon to discuss key elements of his plan and how parliamentarians could increase and enhance their activities in support.

8. Time to close the nuclear umbrella – parliamentarians, nuclear doctrine and the US Nuclear Posture Review

At the request of the United States Congress, the US administration is undergoing a Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) which is expected to be completed by March 2010. NPRs include political policy (i.e. the political and military tasks assigned to nuclear weapons), and operational policy (i.e. the number and nature of nuclear weapons required to meet the political and military tasks).

In practice, NPRs have tended to be politically cautious – dominated by the US Defence Department’s approach to be militarily prepared for all contingencies. However, there are indications that President Obama will take a role in shaping the NPR to reflect his commitment to nuclear disarmament. It could thus lay a path for reducing the role of nuclear weapons in security doctrines and for even deeper reductions in nuclear stockpiles than are currently being negotiated with Russia.

However, opponents of President Obama’s disarmament vision, many well-funded and with considerable media access, are campaigning on a platform that is difficult for Obama to address by himself. They argue that the US should not take drastic steps to reduce the numbers, deployment or operational capacity or nuclear weapons because they are needed to protect the US allies in NATO and North East Asia.

On 12 October, a number of influential PNND members from these countries thus released a paper Implementing the vision - time to close the nuclear umbrella, which supports the nuclear disarmament vision of President Obama and the nuclear disarmament plan of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and argues that non-nuclear security mechanisms provide a better framework than nuclear weapons for the security needs of the 21 st Century.

Parliamentarians from these countries are also urging their governments to inform President Obama that the security of their countries will not be jeopardized by the nuclear weapon States, including the United States, taking disarmament steps as agreed at the 2000 NPT Review Conference.

In September as part of military appropriations hearings, the US Congress considered a request from the Department of Energy (DOE) to fund ‘refurbishment’ of B61 warheads – the type deployed in NATO nuclear sharing countries Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Turkey. The DOE claimed that ‘refurbishment’ was necessary to ensure safety and reliability of the weapons. However, independent analysts reported that the B61 did not require upgrades for safety and reliability. Rather the plans were for performance upgrades and modernization such as adding a guidance kit used to convert conventional gravity bombs into precision guided munitions.

Arguing in favour of the ‘refurbishment’ were National Nuclear Security Administration chief Tom D’Agostino, US Strategic Command head Gen. Kevin Chilton and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They claimed that the ‘refurbishment’ was essential to the nuclear umbrella the US extends to other countries. “The US remains committed to the security of our allies, and the B61 weapon serves as a visible demonstration of our commitment.”

In order to counter the claim that the allies required nuclear weapons modernization, Uta Zapf (PNND Co-president and Ch air of the Bundestag Subcommittee on Disarmament and Arms Control), and other parliamentarians from NATO countries, sent a joint letter on 23 September to key US Senators involved in nuclear weapons budget decisions, copied to Ellen Tauscher, Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, and Robert J. Einhorn, Special Advisor for Nonproliferation and Arms Control.

The letter reported on parliamentary actions in countries where United States B-61 nuclear weapons are currently deployed - Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and Turkey. “These actions indicate that the reliance on such weapons for national and regional security by these countries no longer finds majority support amongst parliamentarians or in the legislatures. On the contrary, the continuing deployment of these weapons is now generally perceived as contradictory to nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and counter-productive to recent nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament initiatives.”

On 2 October the US Congress agreed to provide funds for research on B61 refurbishment ( Phase 2/2A study of non-nuclear components for the proposed B61-12). The Congress did not allocate funding for research or development of nuclear components for the proposed B61-12. The Congress also “ directs the Nuclear Weapons Council in cooperation with the Secretary of Energy to, within 60 days of release of the Nuclear Posture Review, enter into an agreement with the National Academy of Sciences to execute a study addressing the national security and extended deterrence value of the B61 for both strategic and tactical purposes in light of nuclear terrorism risks and military threats.” In other words, the Congress continues to support maintenance of the B61 weapons system, and possible modernization following the Nuclear Posture Review.

There were indications from congressional staffers and administration officials that the views of NATO governments on the future of US nuclear weapons in Europe are playing a very influential role in the decision-making on the future of the B61.

Nuclear weapons were supposed to provide ‘more bang for the buck (US dollar)’. The facts, expertly researched and presented by Ben Cramer in the book Nuclear Weapons: At What Cost, demonstrate the opposite. Military expenditures have increased in every country ‘joining the nuclear club’. The costs of nuclear-weapons-production in the US alone have amounted to over $5 trillion dollars.

The nine nuclear weapon States collectively spend about US$90 billion annually on nuclear weapons programmes. This is about 8% of the global military budget – or about half the amount required to meet UN Millennium Development Goals. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in his five-point plan for nuclear disarmament, lists this opportunity cost of nuclear weapons as an important point in building the political momentum for disarmament.

Nuclear Weapons: At What Cost goes further and also outlines other costs of the nuclear weapons industry – environmental pollution, threats to human health, subverting of democratic processes, threats to regional and global security, and the eroding of humanitarian values.

Ben Cramer has managed to compile the facts and arguments, charts and graphs, problems and solutions into a compact, easily read and useable book. For copies contact secgen@ipb.org or visit www.ipb.org.

In 1998, governments came together in Rome to establish the International Criminal Court (ICC), in order to prevent the commission of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes, to provide a fair and just response should such crimes be committed or attempted.

The 1998 negotiations (and the preparatory meetings starting in 2006) were extremely successful in building agreement amongst a very large number of countries from across the geo-political spectrum. However, in order to build such agreement, a couple of key controversial issues were left to be decided at a later date – notably defining the crime of aggression, and determining which weapons systems would fall under the statute of the ICC as prohibited.

A Review Conference on the Rome Statute to be held in Kampala, Uganda between 31 May and 11 June 2010 will consider these items. Proposals have been submitted by Liechtenstein and the Special Working Group on the definition of the crime of aggression; by Netherlands on the inclusion of the Crime of Terrorism; and by Belgium on the inclusion of biological weapons, chemical weapons and anti-personnel mines as war crimes in the Rome Statute.

In addition, the government of Mexico has proposed an amendment to the ICC Statute which would make the employment of nuclear weapons, or the threat of their employment, a crime under the jurisdiction of the Court. The eighth session of the Assembly of States Parties , which is taking place in the Hague from 18-26 November 2009, will decide whether this and other proposed amendments will go on the agenda of the 2010 Review Conference.

A parliamentarians’ letter supporting the Mexican proposal and endorsed by some PNND members will be presented to the Hague conference. Please let us know if you would like to endorse this letter.

12. Parliamentary Declaration on a Nuclear Weapons Convention presented to the NPT, Conference on Disarmament and United Nations.

On 1 July 2008, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the European Parliament section of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament launched a Parliamentary declaration in support of a Nuclear Weapons Convention , a multilaterally negotiated treaty to abolish nuclear weapons globally. The declaration says that such a treaty is required in order to prevent further proliferation of nuclear weapons and to ensure fulfilment of the NPT’s aims for complete nuclear disarmament.

The declaration has since been circulating wider and has been endorsed by parliamentarians from around the world including from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, South Korea, Spain, Tanzania, United Kingdom and the United States.

In May 2009, PNND presented the declaration to Ambassador Boniface G. Chidyausiku, Chair of the 2009 Non-Proliferation Treaty Preparatory Conference. Following consultations with States Parties to the NPT, Ambassador Chidyausiku drafted Recommendations to the 2010 NPT Review Conference which included the proposal for a Nuclear Weapons Convention (NWC). In a letter to PNND, Ambassador Chidyausiku expressed his hope that the NWC proposal would be adopted at the 2010 NPT Review Conference.

On 10 June 2009, PNND presented the NWC declaration to Ambassador Roberto Garcia Moritan, President of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. In May 2009, the Conference on Disarmament (CD) adopted a work-program after 12 years of inaction. The break-through arose primarily through a shift in policy by the United States, in which President Obama removed US objections to the proposed fissile materials treaty (See Obama's word breaks ice in Geneva arms talks).

The CD also agreed to work on negative security assurances, prevention of an arms race in outer space, and nuclear disarmament. The Nuclear Weapons Convention could be considered under the nuclear disarmament item once deliberative work begins in earnest – which will likely be following the 2010 NPT Review Conference.

On 12 October, PNND presented the NWC declaration to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, in part to support his five-point plan which includes the promotion of a Nuclear Weapons Convention (See 14 PNND at the UN General Assembly below).

The World March for Peace and Nonviolence is a global event supported by Heads of State, celebrities and civil society leaders, and involving millions of people in walks, concerts, exhibitions, commemorations, rallies and other events around the world.

A core group of marchers started in New Zealand on 2 October, United Nations Day for Nonviolence, and is currently travelling through over 100 countries ending in the Andes in January 2010. The core team includes PNND member Alexander Mora Mora, member of the Costa Rican Parliament and Chair of the Latin American Parliament Human Rights Commission.

The March is promoting UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s five-point plan for nuclear disarmament and the Nobel Peace Laureate’s Charter for a World without Violence. The March is also carrying the Nuclear Abolition Flame to encourage people to actively promote nuclear abolition. The torch was crafted in New Zealand from native wood and was lit from the Peace Flame in Hiroshima.

PNND has been involved in a number of World March events around the world. The opening day of the march on 2 October included a welcome on the steps of the New Zealand parliament by PNND New Zealand Chair Phil Twyford and PNND Deputy-chair Nicky Wagner on behalf of Prime Minister John Key. PNND Council Member Bill Kidd organized a welcome by Scottish First Minister to the World March in the Scottish Parliament on November 17.

On 2 October, Matt Robson (former New Zealand Minister for Disarmament) and the World Peace March core team launched a campaign for Peace at the Poles – calling specifically for a treaty establishing a nuclear-free and demilitarized Arctic, similar to the Antarctic Treaty which establishes such a zone in the South Pole. The campaign, which was launched at the Antarctica monument on Mount Victoria in New Zealand, was supported by the NZ Antarctic Society and Greenpeace.

On September 24, US President Obama chaired a historic session of the UN Security Council on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament – one of the proposals of the UN Secretary-General’s five-point plan for nuclear disarmament. The Security Council adopted Resolution 1887 which calls for ‘ progress on all aspects of disarmament to enhance global security,’ and underlines the need to pursue further efforts in the sphere of nuclear disarmament, in accordance with Article VI of the NPT.

The resolution, in particular: welcomes the decisions of countries which have renounced nuclear weapons and those which have established nuclear-weapon-free zones; supports the convening of the 2010 Global Summit on Nuclear Security; notes the contribution of civil society in promoting all the objectives of the NPT; and encourages States to support and implement the various non-proliferation measures established by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Non-Proliferation Treaty, Security Council Resolution 1540 and others.

PNND held its Annual Assembly on 11-12 October during the time of the United Nations General Assembly First Committee Session (Disarmament and Security). The PNND Assembly included the PND Council Meeting, a conference on The Role of Parliamentarians in advancing nuclear abolition, a public forum on Supporting the UN Secretary-General’s five-point plan for nuclear disarmament, a special PNND Dinnerwith guest-of-honour the Rt Hon Helen Clark (Head of the United Nations Development Program and former Prime Minister of New Zealand), and a meeting of PNND Council members with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

At the PNND Council Dinner, Helen Clark commended PNND for its effective work engaging parliamentarians in key nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament issues and initiatives.

Ms Clark also commended PNND for recognizing the links between disarmament and sustainable development, noting that just 10% of the annual $1.4 trillion global military budget could fund the Millennium Development Goals of adequate food, fresh water, health care and housing for the world’s population. (See PNND Co-President’s statement on disarmament for development ).

PNND thanks the Malaysian Mission to the United Nations and the Bahai Centre for providing the venue and facilities for the Assembly and Council Meeting.

On December 4, PNND Global Coordinator Alyn Ware will receive a 2009 Right Livelihood Award in recognition of "his effective and creative advocacy and initiatives over two decades to further peace education and to rid the world of nuclear weapons". The award, which will be presented in the Swedish parliament, has sometimes been referred to as the “Alternative Nobel Peace Prize.”

» See Demand Builds for Pulling US Nukes From Europe and

» New German government to seek removal of US nuclear weapons, Deutsche Welle, 25 October 2009.