Message of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)
To the 2024 World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs
August 2024
Dear conference participants,
At this very time that I address you, nuclear arsenals are expanding and being modernized, and we are seeing a growing number of threats to use nuclear weapons. Nuclear deterrence, which fundamentally undermines human security, is gaining ground. These developments run counter to the goal of a nuclear weapon-free world which States engraved in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) more than five decades ago.
We cannot afford to forget the lesson of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, drawn from the suffering and devastation brought upon countless women, men, boys and girls by the atomic bombs. It is the same lesson the Hibakusha continue to teach us with their courage and determination: that nuclear weapons have inhumane and indiscriminate consequences, to which there can be no effective humanitarian response other than prevention by means of their complete elimination.
We know through an extensive body of scientific evidence that any use of nuclear weapons would have catastrophic effects on human health, the environment, the climate, food production, and socio-economic development around the globe, impacting not only present but also future generations. In the event of an all-out nuclear war, humanity would suffer irreparably.
In light of their catastrophic consequences, it is extremely doubtful that nuclear weapons could ever be used in accordance with the rules and principles of international humanitarian law. Moreover, any use of nuclear weapons would be abhorrent to the principles of humanity and the dictates of public conscience.
In 2017, the majority of States in the international community took a historic step forward with the adoption of the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). By outlawing nuclear weapons and providing a roadmap for nuclear disarmament, the TPNW brings hope that a world free from nuclear weapons can become a reality.
The TPNW makes another important contribution by obliging States to assist victims of past use and testing of nuclear weapons and remediate the contaminated natural environment. Better understanding of the impact of nuclear tests on people and the environment is essential for fostering progress towards nuclear disarmament.
The ICRC and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement are working continuously with a range of partners to raise awareness of the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, including through events like the NukeEXPO conferences held in April this year in Brussels and Oslo.
We call on all States to keep the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons at the centre of their deliberations.
We further call on all States to take immediate and concrete steps to reduce the risk of nuclear weapons being used by taking nuclear weapons off high alert, committing to no-first-use policies, and de-prioritizing nuclear weapons in military doctrines and security policies. Threats of the use of nuclear weapons by anyone, anywhere, must be condemned and stigmatized.
Lastly, we call on NPT States parties to urgently take concrete steps to implement their nuclear disarmament obligations and commitments, and we call on all States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons without delay.
I wish you every success for this conference and for your future work.
Mirjana Spoljaric
President
International Committee of the Red Cross