May 2005: What can we do to save that planet?
Update
on Non-Proliferation Treaty:
WAND delegate to the UN reports back!
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May 2005: What can we do to save that planet? Update
on Non-Proliferation Treaty: |
| Report
from UN on Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference from WAND President Emerita Sayre Sheldon, May 5, 2005
It quickly became clear to me-- after talking to many people and listening to the proceedings -- that this conference is in crisis. Five years ago, the hope for the thirteen measures that were devised to make progress toward the abolition of all nuclear weapons looked much better than it does today. Today we face a world where the nuclear nations have barely budged in their promise to cut their arsenals, or their dependency on nuclear weapons as part of their military strategies. Meanwhile, small countries that are condemned as "rogue" nations by the U.S., and that look at the example of our invasion of Iraq with fear, are working on nuclear programs of their own. The U.S. under George W. Bush has repudiated almost all arms control measures, including nuclear non-proliferation, and worse, threatens to build and test new nuclear weapons. WAND was a leader in defeating these bunker busters and mini-nukes in the last Congress; now we are fighting them again. In the General Assembly, I watched representatives from around the world make statements expressing the hopes of their governments for a nuclear-free world, and attacking the roadblocks in the way of this goal. In other conference halls, I heard mayors from all over the world ask for the same thing, but this time planning large grassroots campaigns to convince their governments the world is fed up with the few countries who insist on clinging to nuclear weapons that both threaten the world's safety and drain its social programs of needed funds. Outside the U.N., history outstrips its power to control events. North Korea already has nuclear weapons, and last week Iran said they would resume their nuclear program which they claim is peaceful but which the U.S. insists they stop entirely or face action from the international community. Everyone seems to be asking--is this conference at a tipping point, and if so, is the U.S. going to be the one to give the treaty its final push into the abyss of nuclear anarchy? I hope not; and I don't think this will happen. There is too much sanity in the governments of the world, in the U.N., and most of all in the world's aroused citizens who are insisting that a way must be found to not only save the treaty, but resume its forward motion. At a conference I attended outside the U.N. (where Helen Caldicott was one of the speakers), Robert Jay Lifton quoted a line from the poet Theodore Roethke, "In a dark time the eye begins to see." I was moved by Eve Ensler, Amy Goodman , James Carroll and others who spoke eloquently of the need to move out from under "the nuclear shadow." I was glad to be representing WAND among so many who are working tirelessly towards the same goal. BACKGROUND This month, representatives from over 150 governments are gathered in New York to review implementation and compliance with their commitments under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). This treaty codifies one of the most important international security bargains of our time: states without nuclear weapons pledge not to acquire them, while nuclear-armed states commit to eventually give them up. Through this bargain, the NPT has made the United States and the world safer by restraining many countries that would otherwise have developed nuclear weapons. The 2005 NPT review conference is a vital opportunity for the United States and the international community to recommit to the treaty's goals for both nonproliferation and disarmament. |
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WAND
April News Bulletin: Loads of nuclear news, budget updates, more |
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New
book offers "50 ways to improve women's lives" |
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Women's
Action for New Directions Education Fund |
