Nagasaki, August 9
2024 World Conference against A & H Bombs
Corazon Fabros
Co-President, International Peace Bureau
Warmest greetings from the International Peace Bureau.
Last year we came together in this hall with our deep passion for our work for a nuclear free, peaceful world amidst typhoon and economic crisis as we all experience the impact of Corona and climate change. I am deeply honored to be able to join you again this year.
After the leaders of the G7 visited Hiroshima, and pledged for an eventual elimination of nuclear weapons, they continue to justify their possession of the weapons for deterrence purposes. This alone was an insult to all those who suffered from nuclear weapons – both the direct victims in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the victims of nuclear testing all around the world.
Today, the picture is even bleaker. As great power confrontation is on the rise, and prolonged conflicts escalate, we are moving closer to accidental or purposeful use of nuclear weapons.
The nuclear rhetoric is on the rise in Europe and beyond. Leading politicians in both Japan and South Korea have made comments about extending the host of nuclear weapons to their territories and US nuclear-armed submarines are again docking in South Korea. Israeli leaders have often made veiled comments about using nuclear weapons in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.
Nuclear weapons spending in all countries that possess them is on the rise, as illustrated by ICAN’s report on 2023 spending, with the US leading the way at 51.5 billion dollars and 80% of the total increase in spending from the previous year. The total spending figure of 91.4 billion dollars shows an increase of 10.7 billion from 2022 figures. It is equivalent to 2,898 dollars per second.
But if these states, most of whom are states parties to the NPT Treaty, and who are G7 nations, are committed to nuclear disarmament, how is it that spending continues to rise? The modernizations programs will produce command, control and communication systems, new ways to deliver the nuclear weapons including upgraded missiles and land- air- and sea-based launch systems.
The unregulated use of new technologies in warfare, from AI and autonomous weapons systems to cyber warfare, weapons capabilities in space and drones are frightening realities. These technologies can specifically target nuclear early-warning and command and control systems which create new elements of uncertainty and instability.
Friends, these are deeply concerning moments. Nuclear and non-nuclear tensions are at an all-time high and even the basic agreements that have been in place for decades to decrease nuclear risk are being actively dismantled. The G7 and P5 recognitions that a nuclear war must not be fought and cannot be won have all but disappeared and have been replaced with nuclear saber-rattling and a new arms race. The rhetoric between nuclear powers is increasingly that of a new Cold War — all of this while the leadership of these states actively ignore the unmistakable humanitarian disaster that any use of these weapons poses.
Let us not lose hope. As we move more toward a Cold War-like scenario, the states of the Global South, who great powers see as a contested ground for power and influence, are the leaders of the TPNW. It is more important now that these countries take the lead for nuclear disarmament and promote an alternative to great power confrontation.
We need civil society globally, and particularly in the nuclear-armed or nuclear umbrella states, to take a stand. We need to deepen our education efforts so that everyone truly understands the danger we now find ourselves in.
Finally, we need to clearly outline what alternatives to nuclear armament and deterrence look like — Common Security is the proven way. With Common Security, with the central principle that no nation can make itself secure at the expense of another is exactly what we argue with nuclear abolition. Through Common Security, diplomacy, and dialogue, we can move away from the growing Cold War rhetoric and find common solutions to common problems.
Let us work together, across the globe, to strengthen the global movement for nuclear abolition through education, organization, and activism. Let us clearly paint a picture of what the use of nuclear weapons really means — mass indiscriminate destruction in which no one can win. Let us argue for the alternatives in the TPNW, Common Security, and cooperation.
Let us make grassroots organizing the foundation of creating a critical mass that can empower our movement for peace and nuclear abolition.
No more Hiroshima, No more Nagasaki, No more War!