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January 2026 E-News

The year started with a flagrant violation of international law when the United States (US) invaded Venezuela and kidnapped President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Though the act was condemned by most states, others have hedged their response, raising concerns about the future of the rule of law, already tarnished by years of Israel’s genocide of Palestinians and other acts of international aggression. As the history of US invasions show, wars are only beneficial to those who profit from them. More than ever, we need to oppose war and occupation, reject the expansion of authoritarianism worldwide, and reiterate that the only path to a sustainable and peaceful future is through diplomacy and collaboration. In this edition of our newsletter, you will find information and resources to continue working towards this goal. Let’s get started!

In this edition:

Upcoming Disarmament Meetings

Recently Concluded Disarmament Meetings

Top Stories

No War in Venezuela, No More Imperialism

On 2 January 2026, the US government launched an unlawful military assault on Venezuela, killing at least 80 people during airstrikes on Caracas and kidnapping Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores. Since then, the Trump regime has said it will “run” Venezuela and has threatened the interim President that she will “fare worse” if she doesn’t cooperate with the US government. Several US officials have made it clear that this attack is about seizing Venezuela’s oil—whether or not oil companies even want it. As the US ambassador to the UN said at the Security Council, “You cannot continue to have the largest energy reserves in the world under the control of adversaries of the United States.” (Photo credit: Armando Sotoca | Unsplash)

This brazen assault on sovereignty and international law comes after a haphazard attempt to manufacture consent for war on Venezuela over the past year. The US government accused Maduro of being the head of a “narco-terrorist” state, has illegally bombed fishing boats in the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean for the past few months, unlawfully captured a Venezuelan oil tanker and stole the oil, and condemned hundreds of Venezuelan immigrants in the US to torture in El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison. All of this disregard for domestic and international law, violation of human rights, and spectacle of cruelty led up to the military assault on Caracas and kidnapping of Maduro.

These actions also build upon decades of US interventions, coups, occupations, election interference, and intentional destabilisation in Latin America and the Caribbean. In that sense, it is nothing new—but the naked admission that this about oil and power indicates a decided turn away from what White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller described as “niceties”. He asserted, “We live in the real world, that is governed by strength, that is governed by force, that is governed by power. By definition, we are in charge.”

This follow’s Trump’s announcement in his January 2024 inauguration speech that Manifest Destiny is back. This philosophy asserts that the United States has a god-given right to capture territory and subject its will onto others. The new US National Security Strategy, released just a few weeks before the assault on Venezuela, has explicitly declared that the Trump regime is resurrecting the Monroe Doctrine and sees the Western Hemisphere as its “backyard” where it can act with impunity. Throughout the first year of his second term, the Trump regime has issued repeated threats against numerous other countries in the region, notably Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, and Canada, as well as countries beyond the region, including Iran and Greenland. In each case, either the political leaders of these countries have stood up against US aggression or the country has land, minerals, or other “resources” the United States wants. As Garret M. Graff wrote in WIRED, the defining legacy of this administration is “upsetting the world order for the short-term opportunity to enrich an inner circle of family, cronies, and hangers-on.”

The brash recommitment to imperialism and overt colonialism represents a threat to all people of the world. Emboldened by and building on Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the United States’ own imperialist debacles of the past (Iraq, Afghanistan, Viet Nam, etc.), the Trump regime’s attack on Venezuela and stated intentions toward other countries will have a profound impact on international law if it goes unchecked.

Solidarity of people across borders is essential to forging a new world order that works for the wellbeing of the majority of people and for the planet and not just for the profit of a few. And while nation-states exist, they must also form new alliances to challenge the naked power and aggression of regimes like the United States, Israel, and Russia. Governments that rely on international law as a shield and that remain committed to human rights, human security, and ecological survival must take action together. 

The international system was built by and for the powerful, and those same actors are now taking this system apart in favour of a violent hellscape that serves their fantasies of “superpower” domination. It’s time for the rest of the world to build power in other ways, through collaboration, cooperation, and solidarity.

RCW urges the international community to:

  • Condemn the US attacks on Venezuela and engage in Boycott, Divest, and Sanction actions against the US government and relevant companies;
  • Uphold international law, including the prohibition on the use of force;
  • Reject militarism and invest instead in building a new international order of social justice, human rights, and ecological wellbeing; and
  • Remove the structural incentives for oil-driven aggression by urgently phasing out fossil fuels.

Stop Arming Israel

Despite the ceasefire agreement signed with Hamas in October 2025, Israel continues to wage violence against Palestinians. It has violated the agreement at least 969 times from 10 October to 28 December, killing over 420 Palestinians.  Israel has expanded its occupation beyond the “yellow line” determined in the ceasefire, and resumed bombing in southern Gaza. It further suspended numerous aid agencies from Gaza, which has been considered “outrageous” and “the latest in a pattern of unlawful restrictions on humanitarian access” by the UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk. Israel has also committed 99 violations against Palestinian journalists in December 2025, ranging from killings and physical assaults to arrests and bans on media coverage.

All these actions make clear that Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza did not end with the ceasefire agreement. Blocking humanitarian aid, alongside ongoing airstrikes, attacks to journalists, and expansion of its occupation, are a direct continuation of the assault on Gaza’s population. It is imperative that all states end their support for Israel’s actions. Poland should stop providing tto be used in US-produced bombs exported to Israel, as has recently revealed by an investigative report. Canada should end the pipeline of military goods flowing to Israel via the US, as activists' groups have been calling for. And Germany, which has lifted the suspension of certain arms export licences to Israel, should permanently end all arms transfers to the country. States should also stop the repression of activist groups opposing Israel’s genocide, including Palestine Action, which has had several of its members imprisoned. Some are currently facing risk of death for being on hunger strike for over 50 days. (Image credit: Arms Embargo Now)

As emphasised by Amnesty International, all states “must live up to their legal obligation to ensure respect for international humanitarian law.” The organisation called on all states parties to “uphold their obligations under the Arms Trade Treaty,” noting that all states also have “a duty to prevent and punish genocide, to refrain from contributing to genocide and to act to bring it to an end. Governments that continue to supply arms to Israel contravene their international legal obligations.”

In addition to states, corporations and investors also have a role to play in stopping the genocide of Palestinians. Bystanders No More produced two briefings papers in this regard: the first provides comprehensive legal and fiduciary risk analysis for institutional investors, while the second examines the regulatory, legal, and reputational considerations facing non-US institutional investors as they balance EU compliance obligations against US political pressure, and explores how institutions can adopt IHL-grounded exclusion strategies as a risk management approach. Both are useful resources for groups engaging with the investment sector to end support for Israel’s genocidal campaign in Gaza.

Community in Michigan Works to Stop a Nuclear Weapon AI Data Centre

The townships of Ypsilanti, Michigan is currently working to stop the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) from building a massive artificial intelligence (AI) data centre in its community. The University of Michigan is attempting to construct the largest “supercomputer” in the world, with a 1.25 USD billion price tag, in Ypsilanti Township. This project is in partnership with LANL, the national lab known for creating the atomic bomb in New Mexico. LANL’s primary mission today is to maintain and modernise the US nuclear stockpile, including by building new plutonium “pits” for nuclear bombs. LANL is already partnering with AI companies; the proposed data centre mounts yet another connection between nuclear weapons, AI weaponisation, environmental destruction, and wasted economic resources. (Image: Stop the Data Center) 

But local activists are fighting back. The community opposes the creation of the data centre, the Ypsilanti Township Board opposes it, and the Ypsilanti City Council unanimously passed a Mayors for Peace Resolution opposing it. Residents and political officials have raised concerns about having any data centre in their area, given the harms to the environment and public health, as well as specific concerns about a project that supports nuclear weapons. Thanks to this community activism, the University of Michigan is now reconsidering sites and has delayed the timeline by a year, to begin construction in 2027 instead of 2026. But the work is far from over. To learn now and support the campaign, subscribe to Stop the Data Center’s substack, follow them on Instagram and Bluesky, and check out their Linktree for all the latest news coverage. Students or workers at the University of Michigan can join the Stop the Data Center petition; others can also email decisions makers and the Ypsilanti Township.

Five years of the TPNW

On 22 January 2026, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will reach five years since its entry into force! During this time, the Treaty has already had several positive impacts: it has strengthened international law against nuclear weapons; it is putting nuclear justice at the heart of disarmament conversations; it is challenging theories like nuclear deterrence; and is prompting financial institutions to move investments away from nuclear weapons. Join ICAN in celebrating the Treaty and continue to work for nuclear disarmament! (Photo credit: ICAN)


Gender and Disarmament Database: Recommendation of the Month

Our recommendation of the month is “The Ocean on Fire: Pacific Stories from Nuclear Survivors and Climate Activists,” by Anaïs Maurer. The book analyses Pacific artists’ transgenerational fight against the nuclear arms race and climate collapse, by underscoring the environmental racism at the roots of both existential threats. The book was recently awarded the Modern Language Association’s Scaglione prize for book of the year in Comparative Literature.

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.

Upcoming Events

Eighth session of the Working Group on the Strengthening of the Biological Weapons Convention
9–13 February 2026 | Geneva, Switzerland

Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS)
2–6 March 2026 | Geneva, Switzerland

ATT Working Group meetings
16–19 March 2026 | Geneva, Switzerland

Featured News

UN Secretary General appeals to world leaders to get "priorities straight" and invest in development, not destruction

The United Nations Secretary-General (UNSG) António Guterres opened the year with an urgent appeal asking states to shift investments from war to peace. Warning about the record high military spending figures, which is “thirteen times more than all development aid,” the UNSG emphasised that a “safer world begins by investing more in fighting poverty and less in fighting wars.” He added that “the world has the resources to lift lives, heal the planet, and secure a future of peace and justice,” and called on leaders to choose people and the planet over pain in 2026.

China releases new nuclear policy paper

In November 2025, China released a new white paper on arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation. In the document, the country “reaffirmed its long-standing policy of no-first-use of nuclear weapons and a nuclear strategy of self-defence, while providing an only limited glimpse into the nuclear power’s rationale for an ongoing large-scale strategic build-up,” as highlighted by the Arms Control Association in its analysis.

Continued security concerns at Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant

On 13 December 2025, Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) temporarily lost all off-site power for the 12th time since the start of the military conflict. All available emergency diesel generators automatically started, ensuring continued cooling and other essential safety functions. This was followed by another incident on 15 December when power transmission between the ZNPP switchyard and the Zaporizhzhya Thermal Power Plant (ZTPP) switchyard through the autotransformer became unavailable, significantly reducing flexibility and resilience of the site’s electrical configuration. An investigation showed that the damage to the transition line was due by military activity. 

Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Marino Grossi said, “persistent instability in Ukraine’s electrical grid continues to undermine nuclear safety.” He continued, “although backup systems have worked as designed, repeated losses of off-site power and limited redundancy increase risk and reinforce the need for reliable external power.” Director General Grossi repeated his call for maximum military restraint saying, “no one wants, or benefits from, a nuclear accident.”

Explosive weapons continue to be used in the border of Cambodia and Thailand in violation of international humanitarian law

At the end of December, Thai fighter jets dropped dozens of bombs near the northwestern Cambodian village of Chouk Chey, causing “extensive destruction to civilians’ homes, properties, and public infrastructure.” Since the ceasefire negotiated in October, there have been several clashes between the two countries; at least 96 people were killed in December, and about one million people were displaced. Human Rights Watch warned against the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects by both countries and called on them to abide by international humanitarian law. The organisation also recommended that Cambodia and Thailand should set a timeline to urgently establish a fact-finding mechanism within the framework of the Mine Ban Treaty to investigate the use of landmines in the border. Human Rights Watch also said that Thailand and Cambodia should not use cluster munitions (the last confirmed use of cluster munitions was in July 2025 by Thailand) and should ratify the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

United States plans change in its policy on landmines 

At the end of December, the Washington Post reported that the US is drafting a new anti-personnel landmine policy on the next 90 days and has rescinded the US Humanitarian Action Program. The new policy is expected to remove geographical limitations on the use of anti-personnel landmines and allow the combat commanders to order the use of landmines. Mines Action Canada urged the US to “reconsider this policy change and continue its leadership on landmine clearance around the world.”

United Kingdom police forces lobbied to use facial recognition system they knew contained biases

A report by Liberty Investigates revealed that United Kingdom (UK) “police forces successfully lobbied to use a facial recognition system known to be biased against women, young people, and members of ethnic minority groups, after complaining that a more accurate version produced fewer potential suspects.” The investigation revealed that after being told that the system was biased in September 2024, the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) ordered that the “confidence threshold required for potential matches be increased to a level where the bias was significantly reduced.” However, that decision was reversed the following month after forces complained the system was producing fewer ‘investigative leads’ — potential matches had been reduced from 56 per cent to 14 per cent. 

US War Department entrusts Google with massive volumes of military data for new AI platform

The US War Department launched a new website, GenAi.mil, meant to bring generative AI tools to all three million of its military, civil service, and contractor personnel. Breaking Defense reports that “the first AI available on the site will be the government version of Google Gemini, which can handle highly sensitive but unclassified information (what the Pentagon calls IL-5 data). But the Pentagon’s plan is to grow GenAi.mil to offer “several frontier AI capabilities,” the announcement said—and the Department’s chief technology officer, under secretary for research and engineering Emil Michael, wants GenAI for classified data as well.”

More than 200 environmental groups demand halt to new US data centres

As reported by the Guardian, “A coalition of more than 230 environmental groups has demanded a national moratorium on new data centres in the US, the latest salvo in a growing backlash to a booming artificial intelligence industry that has been blamed for escalating electricity bills and worsening the climate crisis.” “The rapid, largely unregulated rise of data centres to fuel the AI and crypto frenzy is disrupting communities across the country and threatening Americans’ economic, environmental, climate and water security,” the letter states, requesting that approval of new data centres should be paused until new regulations are put in place.

Revenues from sales by the 100 largest arms-producers in 2024 reaches new record

In the beginning of December 2025, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) launched its annual list of the 100 largest arms-producing companies in 2024. SIPRI’s data shows that revenues from sales of arms and military services by the 100 largest arms-producing companies rose by 5.9 per cent in 2024, reaching a record 679 billion USD. SIPRI reported the demand was boosted by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, global and regional geopolitical tensions, and ever-higher military expenditure. For the first time since 2018, all of the five largest arms companies increased their arms revenues. 

Recommended Resources 

William D. Hartung, “Commentary: Foreign policy is not a board game,” Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 January 2026

Paris Marx, “The United States is a rogue state,” Disconnect, 3 January 2025

William D. Hartung, “Trump and His Cronies Want a War in the Western Hemisphere,” The Nation, 2 January 2026

León Castellanos-Jankiewicz, Alina Carrozzini, Letizia Bozzi, Antonio Guzmán Mutis, “ReArm Europe and the Rule of Law,” EDSeQ - European Defence & Security Law, Volume 1, Issue 1, 2026.

M. V. Ramana, “‘Act for life and not death’: social movements and nuclear abolition,” Nuclear Times, 30 December 2025

Leyatt Betre and Zia Mian, “The Strength of Our Weakness’: Bandung at 70,” Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament, 24 December 2025 

Greg M. Schwartz, “Risky Business Continues at Diablo Canyon,” CounterPunch, 21 December 2025

IANSA, “Human Rights Obligations and the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons,” 17 December 2025

Hiruni Alwishewa, “Safeguarding human rights amid global insecurity and rearmament,” Forum on the Arms Trade, 17 December 2025

Monalisa Hazarika, “The Next Frontier of Conflict: Why 3D-Printed Weapons Will Demand Attention in 2026,” Forum on the Arms Trade, 16 December 2025

Stephen Semler, “Working Class Security,” Transition Security Project, 16 December 2025

Laura Boillot, “Looking ahead to 2026: Protecting civilians from the use of explosive weapons in populated areas,” Forum on the Arms Trade, 15 December 2025

Daryl G. Kimball, “The CTBT, the Global Nuclear Test Moratorium, and New U.S. Threats to Break the Norm,” Arms Control Association, 11 December 2025

Kripa Jayaram and Sumanta Sen, “Business is booming for defense contractors,” Reuters, 9 December 2025

Lorah Steichen, “Mining for War: Assessing the Pentagon’s Mineral Stockpile,” Transition Security Project, 4 December 2025

Andrew Lichterman, “Creating Zones of Lawlessness: Trump, Venezuela, and the Piecemeal Construction of an Authoritarian State,” Western States Legal Foundation Commentary, 4 December 2025

Henri Myrttinen, Anastaesia Mondesir, and Mariana Terreros Lozano, “Closing Gaps: Strengthening the Women, Peace and Security Agenda through Arms Control and Disarmament,” UNIDIR, 1 December 2025

Henri Myrttinen, Anastaesia Mondesir, and Mariana Terreros Lozano, “Toolkit: Addressing Weapons-Related Risks in Women, Peace and Security National Action Plans,” UNIDIR, 1 December 2025

Webinar: Nuclear Truth Project and LabRats International, “Holding the Memories,” 20 November 2025

Human Rights Watch, “Strengthening Civilian Protection: Principles for Implementing the Declaration on Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas,” 17 November 2025

United Against Torture Consortium, “Challenging Repression: A Guide to Addressing the Misuse of Police Weapons in Protests,” November 2025

Tanner Mirrlees, Matthew Thomas Payne, Roberto Sirvent, and Eva Mariá Rey Pinto, “Consuming War: How Pop Culture Captures Our Attention and Fuels Forever Wars,” Costs of War Project, 25 February 2025

Detention Watch Network, “Layers of Detention: ICE Detention Expansion Under Trump 2.0—Military Bases,” 2025