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More and more people are waking up to the fact that nuclear weapons do
not discriminate between civilians and military personnel; they cause
environmental devastation and genetic damage that affects future
generations.
For these and other reasons the threat or use of nuclear weapons was declared illegal by the International Court of Justice in 1996. The World Court also found that there was a solemn obligation to start - and bring to a conclusion - negotiations that would result in nuclear disarmament.
International cooperation to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction has a proven track record. The use of both chemical and biological weapons has been outlawed and the Chemical Weapons Convention (1992) and the Biological Weapons Convention (1975) oversee their elimination. Countries like Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Japan, South Africa and South Korea have forsaken their nuclear ambitions. And Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine inherited nuclear weapons after the break-up of the Soviet Union, but rejected them, choosing instead a new identity as independent non-nuclear weapon states.
Greenpeace is working for a world free of nuclear weapons, with each region of the world a nuclear free zone. Region by region these zones will rid entire parts of the world of nuclear weapons and shrink the geographical space in which they can play a role. These zones of safety and security also build cooperation and trust amongst peoples and nations. More than 50 per cent of the world is already in nuclear weapons free zones; we need to support those we have and build more.
We are also working to support and build upon international disarmament frameworks such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Most countries in the world are members of this treaty. It remains the only legally binding commitment to disarm from the five declared nuclear weapons states.
For these and other reasons the threat or use of nuclear weapons was declared illegal by the International Court of Justice in 1996. The World Court also found that there was a solemn obligation to start - and bring to a conclusion - negotiations that would result in nuclear disarmament.
International cooperation to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction has a proven track record. The use of both chemical and biological weapons has been outlawed and the Chemical Weapons Convention (1992) and the Biological Weapons Convention (1975) oversee their elimination. Countries like Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Japan, South Africa and South Korea have forsaken their nuclear ambitions. And Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine inherited nuclear weapons after the break-up of the Soviet Union, but rejected them, choosing instead a new identity as independent non-nuclear weapon states.
What Greenpeace is doing
Greenpeace is working for a world free of nuclear weapons, with each region of the world a nuclear free zone. Region by region these zones will rid entire parts of the world of nuclear weapons and shrink the geographical space in which they can play a role. These zones of safety and security also build cooperation and trust amongst peoples and nations. More than 50 per cent of the world is already in nuclear weapons free zones; we need to support those we have and build more.
We are also working to support and build upon international disarmament frameworks such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Most countries in the world are members of this treaty. It remains the only legally binding commitment to disarm from the five declared nuclear weapons states.
