'A world without nuclear weapons' becomes real international task

Japan Press Weekly

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'A world without nuclear weapons' becomes real international task
- Akahata editorial

The United Nations Security Council for the first time held a summit meeting on nuclear weapons and adopted a resolution announcing its determination to create conditions for a world without nuclear weapons. It called for negotiations in good faith for nuclear arms reduction and disarmament under Article 6 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

One step forward

Only a half year after U.S. President Obama announced "a moral responsibility" of the U.S. "as the only nuclear power to have used a nuclear weapon" and "America's commitment to seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons", the resolution calling for a nuclear weapons-free world was approved by the Security Council meeting hosted by the president.

The resolution was unanimously adopted. Permanent members of the Security Council are all nuclear weapons-possessing states. The adoption of the resolution confirms that the majority of the peoples of the world call for a world without nuclear weapons.

Every nation is expected to act for the abolition of nuclear weapons. The situation surrounding nuclear weapons has moved a step forward.

Prime Minister Hatoyama Yukio in the Security Council meeting declared that "Japan should take the lead in the pursuit of the elimination of nuclear weapons," stating Japan's "moral responsibility as the only country that has ever experienced atomic bombings."

While the resolution called for negotiations under the NPT, it did not give a clear shape to a course for the abolition. Nuclear weapons states are not prepared for the immediate elimination of their nuclear weapons. Non-permanent members of the Security Council stressed, "a world without nuclear weapons must be the goal" (Austria), and "the final objective should be the total elimination of nuclear weapons" (Mexico).

The reason why nuclear weapons are a threat to the world is that only a few nations possess nuclear weapons. The unfair nature of the NPT, which gives some countries permission to possess nuclear weapons, causes further nuclear proliferation. The UN Security Council non-permanent member Uganda pointed out that the situation that specific countries can hold nuclear weapons is the "only reason" for other countries' to want to become nuclear powers.

The UN Security Council Resolution in the beginning emphasized that the Security Council as the organ of having a binding force under the UN Charter is "primarily responsible" for the issue of nuclear proliferation. The Resolution intends to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons by strengthening the NPT framework.

U.S. President Obama at both the UN Security Council and the General Assembly meetings stressed, "The world must stand together to demonstrate that international law is not an empty promise." Delegates of nuclear weapons states in their speech criticized North Korea for conducting nuclear experiments and Iran for allegedly developing nuclear capabilities.

Nuclear weapons states' political leaders, who are concerned about nuclear proliferation, have begun to turn their attention to the inconsistency of the NPT and have become aware of the inescapable fact that achieving a "nuclear free-world" is essential.

If a "nuclear free-world" is nothing more than a distant future goal, the issue of nuclear proliferation will be unsolved. Now is the time to take action to eliminate nuclear weapons.

Toward NPT Review Conference

In order to abolish nuclear weapons, an international treaty banning nuclear weapons is indispensable. This will ensure a "nuclear free-world". The NPT Review Conference will start in seven months. In the UN Security Council summit meeting, a Turkish delegate emphasized that nuclear weapons states in the 2000 NPT Review Conference agreed to an "unequivocal undertaking" to eliminate their nuclear arsenals and called on them to fulfill this promise.

In order to make a drastic change in the move to eliminate nuclear weapons, it is necessary to further influence the international political arena by increasing the visibility of the international public opinion that unanimously calls for the immediate abolition of nuclear weapons.

- Akahata, September 26, 2009