September 2024 E-News
As the UN General Assembly’s high-level debate winds down, one of the resonating themes was that the international system is in grave danger. Countless officials lamented the failure of the UN to end genocide, prevent war, end carbon emissions, address climate change, or effectively implement past commitments related to development, disarmament, gender equality, and more. Many rightly identified militarism and the pursuit of power through violence as the core problem impeding the UN from achieving its goals of peace and security for all. Some even named the underlying problem as capitalism, and the neoliberal economic extractive and exploitative culture it requires to sustain itself at the expense of people and the planet. But despite these challenges, most governments also reiterated their commitments to multilateralism. International law, cooperation and collective approaches to security, and demilitarization are needed more than ever. Check out the rest of this E-News for examples and opportunities to build something better.
In this edition:
- Upcoming disarmament meetings
- Recently concluded disarmament meetings
- Stop Arming Israel
- Summit of the Future
- Support for the TPNW continues to grow
- Building connections across the anti-nuclear and climate movements!
- Gender and Disarmament database: Recommendation of the Month
- Upcoming events
- Featured News
- Recommended Resources
Current and upcoming disarmament meetings
UN General Assembly High-Level Debate
The 79th General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly is taking place from 24 to 30 September 2024. Check out Reaching Critical Will’s country-based index containing references to disarmament and arms control.
UN First Committee
The 79th session of the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security is scheduled to meet in New York from 7 October to 8 November 2024. Ahead of the meeting, RCW published a briefing book highlighting a number of critical disarmament topics and providing recommendations on how governments can achieve progress on them. You can access statements, documents, resolutions and more at our First Committee page and subscribe to receive the First Committee Monitor during the meeting.
Recently concluded disarmament meetings
Tenth Conference of States Parties (CSP10) to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT)
On 19–23 August, delegations met in Geneva for the Tenth Conference of States Parties (CSP10) to the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT). This year marks the tenth anniversary of entry into force of the ATT. In the five days of the Conference, states highlighted the Treaty's accomplishments in the first decade, but refused to take meaningful action to address current challenges, including violations of articles 6 and 7 of the Treaty being committed by states parties. Find statements, documents, and more on the Reaching Critical Will website. Also see our reporting and analysis from the conferece in the ATT Monitor.
Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (GGE on LAWS)
On 26–30 August, the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS), which operates under the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), met in Geneva for its second session of the year. The Group is almost halfway through its three-year mandate, which must produce “a set of elements of an instrument” to address LAWS. However, discussions at this latest round of talks showed that the Group couldn’t be further away from agreeing to a meaningful outcome that will protect the world from autonomous weapons. Find statements, documents, and more on the Reaching Critical Will website. Also see our reporting and analysis from the conferece in the CCW Report.
12th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions
The 12th Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) took place in Geneva, Switzerland from 10–13 September 2024. In the adopted final report, states parties “deeply regretted” Lithuania's decision to withdraw from the convention. Learn more about the meeting at the Cluster Munition Coalition website.
International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
On 26 September 2024, the UN General Assembly held a high-level event to commemorate the annual International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. Find statements from the meeting on the Reaching Critical Will website.
On 18 September, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding Israel end its unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory within one year. The resolution also called upon all states “to take steps towards ceasing the importation of any products originating in the Israeli settlements, as well as the provision or transfer of arms, munitions and related equipment to Israel, the occupying Power, in all cases where there are reasonable grounds to suspect that they may be used in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.” The resolution also called on states to implement sanctions, including travel bans and asset freezes, against natural and legal persons engaged in the maintenance of Israel’s unlawful presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
Despite worldwide condemnation for its acts, Israel not only continues waging war against Palestinians, but has expanded it to Lebanon. After orchestrating the explosion of thousands of pagers and radios that killed and maimed civilians across Lebanon—which UN experts characterised as a “terrifying violation of international law”—Israel has been intensely bombing Lebanon, killing at least 1000 people. The International Network on Explosive Weapons (INEW) expressed concern over the increased airstrikes in the region and called for those to stop. WILPF also called for the end of the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA) and for states to end the transfer of weapons to Israel and impose a two-way arms embargo. The Cluster Munition Coalition has also expressed concern over reports of cluster bombs found in Lebanon.
A few governments have taken steps towards fulfilling their international obligations to stop Israel’s genocidal campaign. Namibia and Angola blocked a ship carrying explosives to Israel from docking in their ports.Canada has announced the suspension of 30 arms export permits; however, it still continues to supply parts and components. The United Kingdom (UK) also announced the suspension of some arms export licenses, but experts pointed out that the suspension policy has some major loopholes, including that it does not suspend F-35 jet related licenses. Reuteurs reported that Germany has put a hold on new exports of weapons of war to Israel “while it deals with legal challenges.”
Activists around the world have also been taking action against Israel’s genocide. The “No Harbour for Genocide campaign,” composed of activists, politicians, and workers in Palestine, Cyprus, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Spain, Tunisia, the UK, the US, and beyond, is working to prevent jet fuel from reaching Israel. Activists in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, and many other countries have been facing repression from the police, including arrest and harassement, for protesting against the arms trade to Israel and for calling for an arms embargo. In a statement delivered in the Conference of States Parties to the Arms Trade Treaty, WILPF, Al-Haw and the International Service forHuman Rights also repeated their call for an arms embargo on Israel. (Picture credit: Abdullah Imran)
On 22–23 September, the Summit of the Future took place in New York. States agreed to the Pact for the Future, a 61-page agreement containing 56 actions to address issues from sustainable development to transforming global governance. Actions 25 and 26 of the Pact are focused on nuclear weapons: the first one commits all states to “make every effort to avert the danger of such a war,” while the second features a recommitment to “uphold disarmament obligations and commitments.” The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) highlighted that the language contained in the Pact is weak, particularly considering the zero draft of the document, which had much more specific calls to the nuclear-armed states for concrete actions to increase transparency, reduce the role of nuclear weapons in security strategies, and engage in dialogue on strategic stability.
The Pact also covers other disarmament issues, including autonomous weapons systems (AWS). Action 27(d) says that states “will advance with urgency discussions on lethal autonomous weapons systems through the Group of Governmental Experts on Emerging Technologies in the Area of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems (LAWS) with the aim to develop an instrument, without prejudging its nature, and other possible measures to address emerging technologies in the area of LAWS, recognizing that international humanitarian law continues to apply fully to weapons systems, including the potential development and use of LAWS.” Stop Killer Robots regretted that the adopted text is significantly weaker than earlier drafts, following push-back on this by a tiny minority of states, including Russia, India, the UK, and the US. “As adopted, the Pact for the Future fails to identify the risks posed by autonomous weapons, and does not reflect the views of the majority of states that a legally binding instrument on autonomous weapons systems is urgently needed,” said Stop Killer Robots.
Reaching Critical Will provided advocacy and inputs to earlier drafts of the Pact and the process to achieve it, and we are disappointed that once again, agreement could only be reached on lowest common denominator positions related to weapons and war. Rather than using this opportunity to take urgent, concrete steps to reducing military spending, implementing disarmament agreements, and working to demilitarize in order to free up resources and save lives, the majority of UN member states have again been constrained by the most violent among them. This speaks to the need to abolish the UN Security Council and the granting of veto rights to nuclear-armed countries—which also, unsurprisingly, the Pact failed to advance as well.
Support for the TPNW continues to grow
In a ceremony held in New York on 24 September, three new states ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW): Indonesia, Sierra Leone, and Solomon Islands. The Treaty now has 73 states parties and 25 signatories, with Indonesia becoming the largest state party by population.
Earlier in September, African states met in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to advance the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world. According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), officials from across the continent discussed the urgent need to ratify and fully implement the landmark TPNW.
On 27–28 August, ahead of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests, Kazakhstan hosted a meeting for all countries that are part of nuclear weapons free zones (NWFZ), to foster cooperation and explore how they can contribute to efforts to respond to existing and emerging security threats related to nuclear weapons. ICAN, together with partners Peace Boat, Steppe Organization for Peace (STOP), and the Center for International Security and Policy (CISP), hosted the Nuclear Survivors Forum, where survivors from Kazakhstan, Japan, Republic of Korea, the Marshall Islands, and a UK veteran shared their experiences, build community and develop shared policy demands.
Several activities were also organised during the Week of Action Against Nuclear Spending, which took place from 16–22 September. More than 50 actions and events happened at nuclear weapon production companies like Huntington Ingalls Industries, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, RTX, and L3 Harris. In Norway, activists handed outcoffee to celebrate the fact that the Norwegian Pension Fund has withdrawn from three companies that produce central components for nuclear weapons and encouraged the pension fund to completely divest from nuclear weapons. In France, campaigners called out the banks financing the companies building nuclear weapons. In the United States, activists met with the Comptroller’s office to discuss what is needed to implement Resolution 976, adopted in 2021 and calling upon the Comptroller to instruct the pension funds of public employees to divest approximately 475 million USD from companies involved in the production and maintenance of nuclear weapons. Protesters also took to the streets in the US to take on the nuclear weapons producers. In Scotland, Maggie Chapman, Member of the Scottish Parliament, voiced her concerns regarding nuclear weapon spending. In Italy, local Greenpeace groups called on their cities to suppport the TPNW and on the Italian government to join it, among other actions. (Picture credit: ICAN)
Building connections across the anti-nuclear and climate movements!
WILPF’s latest report ‘Petrobromance,’ Nuclear Priesthood, and Police Repression: Feminist Confrontations of Violent Industries, and Movements to Abolish Them investigates connections between the nuclear and fossil fuel industries and state repression of activism against these industries. It offers feminist perspectives on how the nuclear and fossil fuel industries operate and entrench their power; their impacts on communities; and how resistance against these industries is suppressed by police, militaries and private companies.
Join WILPF on Wednesday, 2 October 2024 at 09:30–11:00 EDT / 13:30–15:00 GMT for a webinar featuring the report authors and activists and academics whose experiences and work helped inform the report’s analysis and recommendations.
We hope that this webinar will be the first of many global conversations that help build connections between our movements for climate justice, nuclear abolition, and police abolition. With powerful movements and coordinated and creative action, under the leadership of impacted communities, we believe that a better world is possible.
Gender and Disarmament Database: Recommendation of the month
Our recommendation of the month is the chapter on “Gender, Intersectionality, and Disarmament” of our 2024 First Committee briefing book! The chapter, written by Ray Acheson, provides a background of how gender norms influence our ideas around security, and highlights the advances made in several disarmament fora in the past year. It also provides recommendations for states during First Committee and beyond.
The Gender and Disarmament Database, created and maintained by Reaching Critical Will, features a wide range of resources such as reports, articles, books and book chapters, policy documents, podcasts, legislation, and UN documents. The database allows the exploration of relevant resources based on their references to distinctive gender aspects in disarmament, such as gender-based violence, gender norms, or gender diversity, and different related topics or types of weapon systems. It currently contains more than 800 resources. Suggestions of new additions can be sent to disarm[at]WILPF[dot]com.
Conferences
UN General Assembly high-level debate
24–30 September 2024 | New York, United States
UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security
7 October–8 November 2024 | New York, United States
CCW Meeting of High Contracting Parties
13–15 November 2024 | Geneva, Switzerland
Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction
18–22 November 2024 | New York, United States
Fifth Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty
25–29 November 2024 | Siem Reap, Cambodia
Other events
Building Connections Across the Antinuclear and Climate Movements
2 October 2024 | Online
US considers building new intercontinental ballistic missile silos
Construction contractors might build entirely new silos as part of the US Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) programme, US officials revealed in late August. The current Minuteman III force is deployed in 400 silos, while 50 decommissioned silos remain in reserve. The Senate version of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2025 requires the Air Force to plan for an increase in deployed Sentinel ICBMs to 450 siloed missiles. This follows an announcement by the Pentagon in July that the Sentinel programme would continue despite an 81 per cent cost estimate increase to 141 billion USD.
New visual archive shows impact of Hiroshima bombing
Visual archives of Hiroshima atomic bombing—Photographs and films in 1945 is a visual archive that has been created by the Chugoku Shimbun Hiroshima Peace Media Center. The archive is a powerful online resource to bring awareness about the horrific impact of the American atomic bombing on the people of Hiroshima.
Nuclear power plant set to reopen to provide power to Microsoft
CBS News reports that the nuclear plant Three Mile Island, the site of the worst nuclear accident in the United States history, is to restart operations in a deal to sell power to Microsoft. The nuclear power plant had been shut down five years ago. According to Anna Erickson, a nuclear energy expert interviewed by CBS, the demand for energy is exploding in part due to artificial intelligence.
World’s biggest banks announce support for nuclear power
A group of the world’s biggest banks, including Barclay’s, Bank of America, Citi, Morgan Stanley, BNP Paribas, and Goldman Sachs, announced they they will increase support for the expansion of nuclear power. David Blackmon, writing for Forbes, says that the announcement follows the goals set out at last year’s COP 28 conference to triple nuclear generation globally by 2050, as well as the increasing demand of energy for power-hungry data centers necessary for AI and other technologies.
New UN report urges states to ban autonomous weapons by 2026
The United Nations Secretary-General’s High-level Advisory Body on AI has released its final report titled “Governing AI for Humanity.” The report stressed that “on legal and moral grounds, kill decisions should not be automated through AI” and urges states to follow through on the UN Secretary-General’s call to complete the negotiation of a new international instrument on autonomous weapon systems by 2026.
REAIM Summit 2024
On 9–10 September 2024, representatives from states, academia, industry and non-governmental organisations participated in the Responsible AI in the Military Domain (REAIM) summit in Seoul, Republic of Korea. The outcome document titled “Blueprint for Action” was supported by 61 states. Ahead of the Conference, the Campaign Stop Killer Robots (SKR) stated, “In a context in which military use of AI has likely directly contributed to civilian death and suffering, the key questions for states to directly engage with, if they are seeking to shape norms on ‘responsible military AI’ are whether the current direction of reported practice is acceptable, and what the criteria for ‘responsible’ use are.” If states cannot meaningfully address these questions, SKR said there seems to be littleuse for these discussions. The campaign also described the summit being an industry event with the participation of companies actively developing military AI technologies and AI-based weapons systems. SKR stated “the REAIM Summit foregrounds the perspectives and concerns of the military, defence and tech industries: those with a vested interest in encouraging the further adoption of automation and artificial intelligence in the military space.” It also criticised the slogan of the Summit, ‘Responsible AI for a safer tomorrow,’ saying it seems to offer a narrow interpretation of both ‘responsible’ and ‘safer’. SKR also said it begs the question: “safer for whom?”
Military companies will soon achieve record profits
The Financial Times reported that the 15 largest military companies “are set to rake in record levels of cash over the next three years as they benefit from a surge in government orders for new weapons amid rising geopolitical tensions.” The analysis found an estimated cash flow of 52 bilion USD in 2026, almost double their combined cash flow at the end of 2021.
New research reveals web of complicity between weapons companies, academia, and cultural institutions
The Adalah Justice Project released new research along with LittleSis and the Action Center on Race and the Economy (ACRE) documenting the connections between executives and board members at major weapons manufacturers, and educational and cultural institutions in the United States. The new research found that executives and board members at six top weapons companies have been granted prominent positions at 54 prestigious universities, colleges, and cultural institutions.
New online database and map shows all nations’ foreign military bases
Military Empires is a new updated database by World Beyond War that documents states’ foreign military bases. The database, which previously featured only the United States’ military bases, has now been expanded to include other states’ bases. It also includes a new map of bases that have been closed.
Stop Bombing Civilians campaign initiative
Human Rights Watch has launched the #StopBombingCivilians campaign initiative in collaboration with the International Network on Explosive Weapons and its members. The campaign initiative calls on all countries to endorse the landmark 2022 political declaration on the protection of civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas. The public petition starts with South Africa and urges President Ramaphosa to solidify the country’s position as a global leader on the protection of civilians by endorsing the declaration. You can help amplifying the campaign by signing the petition, tweeting, and sharinginformation about the political declaration! (Image credit: Human Rights Watch)
Cluster munitions caused 1,000 casulties in Ukraine since 2022
The Cluster Munition Monitor 2024 found that more than 1,000 people have been killed or wounded by cluster munitions in Ukraine since Russia launched its war. Since February 2022, Ukraine has registered the highest number of recorded annual cluster munition casualties in the world, according to the Cluster Munition Coalition. While the vast majority of casulties were registered in 2022, the report said the figure for 2023 was probably a dramatic underestimate. Despite these concerning numbers, the US is set to announce a sixth transfer of cluster munitions to Ukraine.
Melissa Del Bosque and Todd Miller, “Militarizing the Sky: A Q&A with Laiken Jordahl,” The Border Chronicle, 19 September 2024
William D. Hartung. “The NYT Op-ed Page Just Published an AI Weapons Infomercial,” Instick, 18 September 2024
Sam Perlo-Freeman, “From revolving door to open-plan office: the ever-closer union between the UK government and the arms industry,” Campaign Against Arms Trade and World Peace Foundation, 18 September 2024
Sai Bourothu with Gugu Dube, “Towards Human Rights—Broadening perception of risks posed by autonomous weapon systems,” Medium, 17 September 2024
Richard Tanter, “AUKUS-plus and the realities of Australia’s involvement in US nuclear proliferation,” Pearls & Irritations, 16 September 2024
Webinar on AUKUS and B52s: Politics, Sovereignty, and Security, Independent and Peaceful Australia Network, 16 September 2024
Ingvild Bode and Ishmael Bhila, “The problem of algorithmic bias in AI-based military decision support systems,” Humanitarian Law and Policy, 3 September 2024
William Hartung, “The last thing we need is a Palantir inspired foreign policy,” Responsible Statecraft, 28 August 2024
Progressive International, “Throwing sand in the wheels of Israel’s war machine,” PI Briefing No. 33, 27 August 2024
Stephen Semler, “Gaza breakdown: 20 times Israel used US arms in likely war crimes,” Responsible Statecraft, 26 August 2024
Joel Petersson Ivre, “The South Korean Anti-Nuclear Weapons Movement Must Find Its Voice,” Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, 22 August 2024
Shahd Hammouri, “NATO obligations cannot override international law,” Al Jazeera, 16 September 2024
Podcast: M.V. Ramana with Joshua Frank and Erik Wallenberg, “Nuclear is Not the Solution,” CounterPunch Radio, 15 August 2024
Vince Scappatura and Richard Tanter, Nuclear-capable B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers: a visual guide to identification, Nautilus Institute Special Report, 5 August 2024
Laura Varella, “Fabricating fear: How war profiteers lead us to an AI-driven warfare,” Metapolis, V.5, N.1, August 2024