Forward to a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World international conference
On June 26-27, 2014, Arrêtez la Bombe held the international conference "Forward to a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World" at the National Assembly in Paris, France. The English translation of the conference report is now available at the link below.
"Forward to a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World" conference report - English
"Vers un Monde sans Armes Nucléaires" livret colloque - français
About the conference:
The 21st Century began with a clear decrease of the global nuclear arsenal (approximately 16 300 warheads today) thanks, notably, to important international agreements which initiated substantial disarmament, guaranteed by a constraining verification system. But it is undeniable that nuclear disarmament is stagnant: roadblocks to the banning of trials and the fabrication of fissile matter for military use, refusal to engage in negotiations on a “nuclear weapon free zone” in the Middle East or again the elimination of NATO’s European Tactical Nuclear Weapons which currently make this region a possible nuclear battlefield.
Contrary to popular belief regarding nuclear deterrence, this strategy is not a guarantee of peace, and nothing ensures that nuclear weapons won’t be employed. Besides the dangers of nuclear proliferation, there is still the danger of an accidental launch. Simply by the increase of Nuclear Actors, the risk of failure of deterrence is multiplied. The instabilities of Post-Cold War, as witnessed by the Ukrainian crisis, create a new strategic universe, where the possibility of a nuclear launch by a power, estimating that its vital interests are menaced, could once again become a credible hypothesis. Yet the humanitarian consequences of a nuclear explosion, even of relatively limited energy, would be extreme.
It is time to restart the process of disarmament, which is an explicit obligation of the Non-proliferation Treaty, to eventually reach a world without nuclear weapons, which is now accepted and called for by all Non-Nuclear Weapon States. Numerous Civil Society Organizations, millions of citizens and thousands of Mayors, Parliamentarians and Statesmen all support this process.
France, its diplomacy, its political elites, its universities and its researchers must be stakeholders in this process of disarmament and contribute with concrete propositions. This current conference lies within this perspective.