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July 2023 E-News

This past Sunday marked the 78th anniversary of the first nuclear weapon test. On 16 July 1945, the US detonated a bomb in the White Sands desert of New Mexico, unleashing a blast and radiation from which local people and the environment are still suffering from today. This detonation also led to the catastrophic atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki three weeks later, and ushered in the nuclear age, which we all still live under to this day.

This week, a new Hollywood film will draw the world’s attention to the creation of nuclear weapons. But the story it will tell will likely obscure the truth about the bomb: that this nuclear test led to horrific suffering and ongoing trauma from uranium mining, global nuclear testing, and radioactive mismanagement. It will also likely erase the true story of the bomb’s creation. While a few white male scientists and military and government leaders decided to create the bomb, they forced many people to work on this project, often without their knowledge of what they were working on, including Indigenous Peoples mining the uranium in so-called Canada and in the then-called Belgium Congo and women working on the assembly lines handling uranium products, all without knowledge of the poison to which they were being exposed.

Nuclear weapons have waged a legacy of harm and a current reality of terror upon our world. The adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons marks the best effort of governments and activists to end the bomb and to address past harms. The only answer to the extreme dangers posed by nuclear weapons is their total elimination. Join us in the struggle for nuclear abolition.

In this edition:

Upcoming disarmament meetings

Open-ended Working Group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies

The fifth substantive session of the Open-ended Working Group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies is taking place from 24–28 July 2023 in New York, USA. WILPF has been uploading conference documents, working papers, and other submissions on our website. If you want to find out what was discussed in the previous session of the Group in March, check out this article.

NPT Working Group on further strengthening the review process of the Treaty

The Tenth Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference decided to convene a working group ahead of the 2023 NPT Preparatory Preparatory Committee in order to discuss measures for strengthening the NPT review process. This working group will convene 24–28 July 2023 in Vienna, Austria. States parties have decided this will be a closed meeting. Civil society will only be permitted to attend one two-hour session to deliver presentations to the group. See RCW’s website for details.

2023 NPT Preparatory Committee

The first session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) will meet from 31 July–11 August 2023 at the Vienna International Centre in Vienna, Austria. We will be posting information about civil society participation, as well as conference documents, working papers, national reports, and side events on our website. To stay up to date with analysis and reporting once the PrepCom begins, subscribe to receive our NPT News in Review!

If you want to learn about the critical issues that will be discussed during the NPT PrepCom, check out our 2023 NPT Briefing Book! It provides an overview of a range of issues, including nuclear disarmament, humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons, and many others, and offers recommendations to governments for the PrepCom and beyond.

Ninth Conference of States Parties (CSP9) to the Arms Trade Treaty

The Ninth Conference of States Parties (CSP9) to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) will be held from 21–25 August 2023 in Geneva, Switzerland. The deadline for registrations is on 7 August 2023. You can find more information on how to register here. If you are a WILPF member wanting to attend, please contact laura.varella[at]wilpf.org by 31 July 2023.

RCW publishes paper reviewing recommendations made by the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism (HLAB) on disarmament and demilitarisation 

In April 2023, the High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism (HLAB) released a report providing recommendations for the upcoming Summit of the Future. RCW’s paper provides a review of the HLAB's recommendations on disarmament and demilitarisation. As pointed out in the paper, while the HLAB presents its recommendations as part of a “paradigm shift” for global governance and international relations, it offers only a minimalist critique of militarism and violence. 

United States decides to transfer cluster munitions to Ukraine

On 7 July, the United States’s President approved the transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine. The Cluster Munition Coalition (CMC), of which WILPF is a member, reacted strongly against this measure, highlighting that these weapons are prohibited under the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions. While US officials argue that cluster munitions would be useful for Ukraine “against dug-in Russia positions on the battlefield,” it is well known that these weapons do not discriminate between combatants and civilians, and up to 40% of them do not explode on impact, posing a serious threat for the local population after the conflict, as pointed out by Humanity and Inclusion. 

According to research done by Human Rights Watch, both Ukraine and Russia have used cluster munitions in the conflict in Ukraine. The organisation called both sides to immediately stop using them and not seek to obtain more of these indiscriminate weapons. 

Arguments that it would be possible to clear contaminated areas after their use ignore the reality experienced in several conflicts in the world, including Iraq, Cambodia, and Laos, where cluster munitions were used and continue to cause harm to populations despite efforts of decontamination. As said by the Ministry of Laos in a statement: “The Lao people were victimized by this deadly cluster munition more than five decades ago and even today they continue to be affected by the unexploded ordnance as it continues to pose serious threats to the lives and livelihood of our people.” (Picture credit: Egor Myznik, Unsplash)

Several leaders from at least eleven countries expressed concern over the decision, including Austria, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Germany, Italy, Laos, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The United Nations Secretary-General also expressed concern over the transfer. The US Cluster Munition Coalition, Amnesty USA, Arms Control Association, PAX, SEHLAC, and many other organisations also condemned the US’ decision.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) turns six!

On 7 July 2017, the majority of the world’s governments voted to adopt the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In the six years since, 92 countries have signed the TPNW and 68 have ratified it. In addition to these states, over 2000 elected officials and 500 cities around the world have called on the governments that have yet to sign and ratify the treaty to do so urgently. Recently, more than a dozen parliamentarians from the United Kingdom (UK) have joined the pledge. In Australia, 109 federal parliamentarians - a number that represents more than half of all sitting members of the House of Representatives - have now pledged to work for Australia to sign and ratify the Treaty. (Image credit: ICAN)

This month, the Italian parliament also took a positive step towards nuclear disarmament. The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies approved a resolution that commits the government to act towards the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons, in particular by evaluating Italy’s possible participation as an observer country at the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW to be held later this year in New York.

Meanwhile, the antinuclear movement continues to organise for a nuclear weapon free world. The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Germany ran an action camp from 4–9 July  known as the "Climate Camp against Nukes". You can follow the group’s actions on their website. 

If you want to get involved in the nuclear ban movement, check out the 2023 Hiroshima - ICAN Academy, a course that aims to nurture global leaders who can make concrete contributions towards a more peaceful and secure world. The programme is directed to university or graduate school students and young professionals of approximately 25 years old or younger. The deadline for applications is on 31 July. 

Opposition to AUKUS and the nuclear-powered submarines continues to grow

In continuation of its plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines through the Australia-United Kingdom-United States (AUKUS) military alliance, Australia launched the Australian Submarine Agency (ASA). According to the Defense Minister, the Agency will be responsible and accountable for the management and oversight of the nuclear-powered submarine programme. Some members of the Royal Australian Navy have also received training by the US at the Nuclear Power School in South Carolina. Three Australian navy members have graduated from the “nuke school,” with the aim of qualifying them to eventually operate the reactors onboard nuclear-powered submarines. AUKUS countries have also initiated work towards Pillar 2 of the pact, involving artificial intelligence and uncrewed vehicles. 

However, opposition continues to grow against AUKUS and the nuclear submarine deal. Two recent polls reveal that Australians are cautious and sceptical regarding the United States in relation to Australia’s foreign policy and military policy, and in relation to conditions in the United States, which Australians reportedly view as less stable and more dangerous than other wealthy countries. . Critics of the AUKUS agreement have said that Australia should pursue more strategic security cooperation with Asia-Pacific countries rather than Western allies. Indonesia raised concerns about AUKUS destabilising the region, though it appears to be negotiating a defence cooperation agreement with Australia. (Picture credit: Ray Acheson)

Several civil society groups in the region have been organising against the agreement. Te Kuaka, a leading Aotearoa New Zealand foreign policy campaign group, is hosting seven public events across the country, coinciding with the 38th anniversary of the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior on 10 July. A group called Teachers for Peace has been conducting an initiative in Australian schools to “counteract the normalisation of war, challenging the influence of the weapons industry on school STEM curricula, and advocating for policies that promote peace.” Participants at a Nuclear-Free and Independent Pacific (NFIP) movement teachers’ wānanga launched a petition against the AUKUS pact. “AUKUS is an aggressive military pact. Security in New Zealand and the Pacific can only be ensured by centring sustainable development, Indigenous rights, and environmental protection,” said Reverend Strickson-Pua, one of the participants of the movement.

Gender and Disarmament Database: Recommendation of the month

Our recommendation of the month is the paper “Rethinking the beginning of the ‘nuclear age’ through telling feminist nuclear stories,” by Laura Considine. The paper “asks how telling feminist nuclear stories rooted in an understanding of the everyday impacts of nuclear weapons challenges the traditional nuclear history. The standard history of ‘the bomb’ focuses on the military-industrial development of the Manhattan Project in the context of World War II, focusing on the figure of the elite male scientist as embodying the unique moral dilemmas of a new ‘nuclear age’. Feminist stories of the development of the first atomic weapons can instead illuminate the marginalised bodies and expansive, everyday harms of the development of nuclear weapons technology, altering both the timeline and the space of nuclear politics.” 

Upcoming events

Conferences

Open-ended Working Group on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies
24–28 July 2023 | New York, USA 

NPT Working Group on further strengthening the review process of the Treaty
24–28 July 2023 | Vienna, Austria 

2023 NPT Preparatory Committee
31 July–11 August 2023 | Vienna, Austria

Ninth Conference of States Parties (CSP9) to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)
21–25 August 2023 | Geneva, Switzerland

Fourth Session of the Open-Ended Working Group on Reducing Space Threats
28 August–1 September 2023 | Geneva, Switzerland

Events and webinars 

National Mobilization to End the Korean War
26–28 July 2023 | Washington DC, USA

Featured News

Court rules in favour of Barngarla people against plan for a nuclear waste dump on their land in South Australia 

The Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation won a judicial review against the Australian Federal Government regarding the construction of a nuclear waste dump in Kimba. The Barngarla people argued that they were excluded from the community consultation process on the nuclear waste dump, and after years of fighting, the Court finally ruled that the facility can’t be built. 

NATO summit finishes without adopting commitments to reduce nuclear risks

Heads of state and government of the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) met in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 11–12 July 2023. The leaders issued a Communiqué, which, among other things, criticises the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN): “The leaders of NATO countries, meeting in Vilnius at a time of unprecedented nuclear risk, took no action to reduce nuclear dangers and, on the contrary, issued a communique continuing to support the use of nuclear weapons. The alliance pointed to the risks posed by Russia’s nuclear weapons while hailing its own nuclear deterrent and nuclear sharing arrangements. It also criticised the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the only area of progress on nuclear disarmament in decades, demonstrating its concern about the Treaty’s power to stigmatise and eliminate nuclear weapons.”

 While the NATO leaders reiterate their opposition to the TPNW, in 2020 more than 50 past prime ministers, presidents, foreign ministers and defence ministers from 20 NATO states signed an appeal in support of the Treaty. Public opinion across numerous NATO states also supports the call to join the TPNW.

Survivors and activists write letter to Christopher Nolan asking for acknowledgement of contemporary harms of nuclear weapons and support for the TPNW

Ahead of the release of the movie Oppenheimer, Youth for TPNW and other ICAN partners drafted a letter with Hibakusha, nuclear weapon test survivors, and young people from affected communities to the Director Christopher Nolan, asking him to acknowledge the contemporary harms of nuclear weapons and to boost support for the TPNW. Signatories include Setsuko Thurlow, Tanaka Terum, Kido Sueichi, and eight others. (Image credit: ICAN)

ICAN has also put out some resources for anyone who wants to use this moment to campaign locally for the TPNW. The resources include background information about the Manhattan Project and a FAQ raising awareness about the legacy of cancer on the communities left by theTrinity test, and presenting some facts and myths about nuclear weapons. 

IAEA inspects Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported no visible indications of mines or explosives in its latest visit to Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). The Director General “reiterated the importance of the IAEA team being able to check all parts of the ZNPP to monitor full compliance with the five basic principles for protecting Europe’s largest nuclear power plant (NPP), whose six reactors remain in shutdown.”

UK’s nuclear armed submarine goes to major refit months after a fire onboard

 One of the United Kingdom’s nuclear-armed submarines, HMS Victorious, is undergoing a major refit months after a fire onboard forced the vessel to resurface and return to its base at Faslane. As written by the Campaign on Nuclear Disarmament, “The refit comes just months after it was reported that a fire onboard Victorious forced the sub to resurface – something seldom done for security reasons – and then to abandon its mission and return to base at Faslane. The Navy source told The Telegraph that Victorious wasn’t armed at the time and was en route to the US for training exercises.”

IAEA approves Japan’s dumping of radioactive water

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) presented a report on the IAEA’s independent safety review of Japan’s plan to release treated water from the Fukushima Daiichi plant into the sea. The safety review concluded that Japan’s plans are consistent with IAEA Safety Standards. However, the IAEA Director General said there was some disagreement among the team of experts responsible for the report, and he emphasised that the IAEA's report does not amount to an endorsement of the plan. "We do not endorse the plan or recommend this to be done. We say this plan is consistent with the standards," Grossi said.

The Pacific Collective on Nuclear Issues, composed of civil society groups, non-governmental organisations, and movements in the Pacific expressed grave concern that Japan is proceeding with its plan to discharge contaminated water. The group called on the Japanese Government and the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) to abandon this plan effective immediately.

OPCM announces destruction of all declared chemical weapons stockpile 

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed that the last chemical weapon from the stockpiles declared by states parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) was verified as destroyed. The United States, the last possessor state, completed the destruction of its declared chemical weapons stockpile on 7 July.

Explosive Weapons Monitor publishes update about the use of explosive weapons in populated areas 

According to the Monitor's latest bulletin, in the last 12 months worldwide, at least 5,594 incidents of explosive weapon use were recorded in 60 countries and territories resulting in 33,292 casualties. About 48% occurred in Ukraine, and about 62% - at least 20,558 - were civilians. You can sign up in this link to receive the Explosive Weapons Monitor monthly bulletin, with data on incidents of explosive weapon use around the world as reported in open sources. (Image credit: Explosive Weapons Monitor).

European Court of Human Rights rules against use of facial recognition system to oppress protesters in Russia

In a groundbreaking ruling, the European Court of Human Rights found that using facial recognition to locate and arrest a protester while he was travelling on the Moscow underground violated his right to freedom of expression and privacy. In Glukhin v. Russia, the Russian police arrested Mr Nikolay Sergeyevich Glukhin on a train in the Moscow metro for having previously held a solo demonstration without submitting prior notification to the authorities. The police was able to identify him by using facial recognition cameras installed in the metro, and screenshots from the recording were used as evidence in the proceedings against him.

Elbit Systems demonstrates technology that links several unmanned systems

Elbit Systems recently demonstrated “networked tech’” which the company calls Legion-X technology, designed to link a variety of “unmanned systems”. The demonstration included drones and uncrewed ground vehicles, “working in combination to observe, investigate, track and target.” The company says that the Legion-X system “enhances lethality” and “increases mobility, while minimizing human engagement”. 

US Army seeks AI technology able to predict possible threats on the ground

The Defense Post reports that the US Army is “asking the defense industry for an artificial intelligence system that can predict enemy actions”, with the system being able to provide “real-time predictive visualization of how the threat situation could evolve over the next few minutes to hours.”

Documentary about women peacemakers in the Korean peninsula available for worldwide streaming in July 

“Crossings,” a documentary film about the journey of 30 women peacemakers  from around the world who crossed the Korean Peninsula in 2015 calling for peace, will be available for worldwide streaming from 22–31 July. It is also possible to host a watch party with family or friends using this link. The streaming is taking place as part of campaigns at the 70th anniversary of the Korea Armistice hosted by Women Cross DMZ and the director. The Korea Peace Appeal campaign is also organising the “Korea Peace Action in 300 Places” marking 70 years of the Armistice. Check out here how to participate.

Recommended Resources

Bonnie Docherty, “US Cluster Munition Transfer to Ukraine Ignores History of Civilian Harm,” Just Security,” 14 July 2023

Jennifer Menninger and Veronika Datzer, “Why EU Cyber Policy Should Become Feminist,” Directions, 12 July 2023

Lisa Cox, “Nuclear power too expensive and slow to be part of Australia’s plans to reach net zero, study finds,” The Guardian, 11 July 2023

Dan Boscov-Ellen, “The Left Goes Nuclear - Interview with Joshua Frank,” Spectre, 11 July 2023

Democracy Now, “‘Madness of Militarism’: Biden OKs Cluster Bombs for Ukraine Despite Risk of Civilian Casualties,” 10 July 2023

Kelsey Hartman and Lucie Béraud-Sudreau, “Arming autocracies: Arms transfers and the emerging Biden doctrine,” SIPRI, 6 July 2023

Larry Schwab, “Ukraine Does Not Need Cluster Munitions,” Inkstick, 6 July 2023

Matilda Byrne, “Australia is Lagging in its Approach to Autonomous Weapons,” Australian Institute of Disarmament Affairs, 6 July 2023

Video: Luisa Tuilau, “All the Way from Down Here,” 4 July 2023 

Daryl G. Kimball, “Why President Biden Should Not Transfer Prohibited Cluster Bombs to Ukraine,” Just Security, 3 July 2023

BASIC, “De-siloing Existential Threats: Challenging Identity, Power, and Inclusivity in the Nuclear Policy Field,” July 2023

Sue Wareham, “AUKUS Nuclear-powered submarines are a bad idea for Australia,” The Camberra Times, 30 June 2023 

Video: Sofia Bant, “CANATOMIC: Canada's Neglected Uranium History,” 26 June 2023

Laura Carrer, Davide Del Monte, and Andrea Daniele Signorelli, “Man in the loop,” June 2023

Kjølv Egeland and Hebatalla Taha, “Experts, activists, and girl bosses of the nuclear apocalypse: feminisms in security discourse,” Zeitschrift für Friedens- und Konfliktforschung, 12 May 2023