Atomic bombing anniversaries and the importance of the CD

On the 64th anniversary of the US atomic bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, the Conference on Disarmament (CD) met for another plenary. Ambassador Millar of Australia, the current CD president, noted that the day should be a reminder to the Conference of the destruction of nuclear weapons and the importance of resuming work on nuclear disarmament in the CD. She also welcomed the new German ambassador, who delivered his first address to the Conference. The ambassador of Japan also noted the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the US ambassador announced that US President Obama will chair a high-level Security Council meeting on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament in September.

Brief highlights
- The CD president introduced a revised framework for the implementation of the programme of work, CD/1870/Rev.1, expressing hope that it could be adopted tomorrow.
- The ambassadors of Australia and Japan noted the anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, pointing out the importance of the CD resuming its work.
- The new German ambassador for disarmament articulated his delegation’s commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and highlighted the role of the CD.

Atomic bombs
Along with Ambassador Millar of Australia, Ambassador Suda of Japan noted that 6 August “is a day to remember the tragedies so that we can renew our determination to work towards a world free of nuclear weapons through our current and future endeavors.” He expressed encouragement with the new initiatives and momentum around nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

The new German ambassador for disarmament, Ambassador Hellmut Hoffmann, delivered his first intervention to the CD. He argued that the Conference’s “joint political aim” should be to get the CD back to work, noting, “[t]here are still some 26,000 nuclear weapons in arsenals around the world, with thousands still on high-alert status.” He also pointed out, “[g]enerations lived and continue to live with the knowledge that their world could be erased in a single flash of light. In the meantime, the technology to build nuclear bombs has spread and continues to spread.” Welcoming the renewed interest in nuclear disarmament, Ambassador Hoffman argued, “the long term future of the entire global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime will depend on the extent to which the world community can de-legitimize nuclear weapons themselves.”

Role of the CD
Germany’s Ambassador Hoffman went on to argue that if the CD can agree to terminate the production of fissile materials for weapons purposes, it would be tackling one of the roots of nuclear weapons. To take up this and the other important matters in the CD’s programme of work, he urged all delegations to agree to the revised draft framework for its implementation.

New framework for implementation
Ambassador Millar of Australia introduced CD/1870/Rev.1, an updated version of the draft decision introduced at Tuesday’s plenary meeting. The only change is that the timetable now provides for three weeks instead of two for the consideration of the reports of the working groups and special coordinators, which was requested by several delegations. She noted that no delegation has raised any objections to the new draft and expressed hope that it would be adopted tomorrow.

Other news
US Ambassador Garold Larson announced that US President Obama would chair a high-level meeting of the Security Council on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament on 24 September.

The next plenary meeting is scheduled for Friday, 7 August at 10:00 AM.

Notes from the gallery
WILPF also remembers the atomic bombings of Japan by the United States in 1945. In a statement marking the unfortunate anniversaries, WILPF notes:

Despite the end of the Cold War, despite supposed “thawing of tensions” between the major powers, and despite the reality of an interconnected, interdependent world order, the mythical ideal of the power of the bomb persists. It continues to influence national security doctrines, international relations, and multilateral negotiations, subsequently undermining international law, human security, and our ability to build resilience to the converging climate, peak oil, food, water, and financial crises we face.WILPF urges all governments and citizens to consider our options for the future. It encourages everyone to support and work for the elimination of nuclear weapons and for the redirection of nuclear weapon expenditures to meet environmental, social, health, housing, food, and economic needs. We need to creatively build resilience into our international system that does not rely on violence or military power but rather promotes cooperation, ingenuity, and human security. As a first step toward this end, WILPF calls on all nuclear weapon possessors to cease modernizing their arsenals as a step toward the good faith pursuit of nuclear disarmament and a nuclear weapon free world.

The full statement is available online in HTML and PDF.

- Ray Acheson, Reaching Critical Will of WILPF