1 October 2010
Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors:
The opening weeks of the 65th session of the General Assembly have been busy here in New York, with many meetings on issues related to international peace and security. While many governments still highlighted the importance of disarmament at the general debate, the subject has taken a back seat when other matters were being discussed, including development, peacebuilding, and terrorism. Reaching Critical Will released a statement on behalf of its organization, the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, emphasizing the linkages between governments’ failure to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and their excessive spending on militaries, weapons, and war. We will continue to highlight these issues throughout the upcoming session of the General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament and International Security, and look forward to the discussions and events over the coming month that aim to advance both nuclear and conventional disarmament.
In peace,
Ray Acheson, Project Director
1) UN General Assembly disarmament extracts
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is consensus-building body, where issues of international peace and security are collectively discussed among all UN member states. Its regular session convenes in September of each year. For two weeks, heads of state, foreign ministers, or other high-level representatives have the opportunity to address the entire international community with their concerns, priorities, and opinions about a variety of topics. This year’s general debate took place from 23–30 September 2010. Reaching Critical Will complied all references to disarmament, peace, and security and posted them online by country and topic. The statements from the general debate will give us an idea of the issues upon which governments will be focusing during the UNGA First Committee on Disarmament and International Security, which begins on 4 October.
A few highlights
Austria, Mr. Michael Spindelegger, Federal Minister for European and International Affairs: “[At the 2010 NPT Review Conference,] for the first time, the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the use of such weapons were recognized—an important step towards the eventual legal ban of nuclear weapons by means of a nuclear weapons convention or framework of legal instruments.”
Brazil, Mr. Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim, Minister for External Relations: “In order to achieve a secure world, the promise of total elimination of nuclear weapons must be fulfilled. Unilateral reductions are welcome but insufficient, especially when they occur in tandem with the modernization of nuclear arsenals.”
Costa Rica, Ms. Laura Chinchilla Miranda, President: “The accumulation and transference of weapons, in special nuclear, chemical and bacteriological ones, not only constitutes a threat to peace and survival. It is also an aggression to development. Each soldier who enrolls, each missile that is activated and each isotope enriched with military purposes, imply less schools and hospitals, less food programs, less roads, less wireless networks, less seeds for the farmers or less good judges to administer justice.”
Ecuador, Mr. Lenín Moreno Garcés, Vice-President: “We want a world without nuclear weapons and advocate leading by example. States demanding action in this area must also take action themselves. I call upon the international community to make a final decision: dismantle nuclear arsenals. Just as we have criminalized the production and commercialization of illicit drugs, we should criminalize the production and commercialization of weapons of mass destruction.”
Ireland, Mr. Micheál Martin, Minister for Foreign Affairs: “The global security which we all wish to achieve depends crucially on the eradication of the means of conflict.”
Japan, Mr. Naoto Kan, Prime Minister: “Japan, as the only country that has ever suffered the devastation of atomic bombings, has the moral responsibility to take concrete steps to realize a world without nuclear weapons. Japan bears a responsibility to all humankind to hand down to future generations an awareness of the catastrophic nature of nuclear weapons. With this objective, I decided to appoint atomic bomb survivors, known in Japan as hibakusha, as ‘Special Communicators for a World without Nuclear Weapons,’ and to ask them to send out messages to the world about the horror of the use of nuclear weapons and the value of peace that only those with firsthand experience can convey. Japan will coordinate with other countries and civil society to promote education on disarmament and non-proliferation issues.”
Nicaragua, Mr. Samuel Santos López, Minister for Foreign Affairs: “From our point of view, the assignment of resources released as a result of disarmament should be directed to guaranteeing national development social goals in each of our countries. If we were to gloss over the fact that trillion of dollars are spent on war, we would realize how many human problems could have been resolved, thus alleviating the pain caused by poverty and exclusion. The world economic and financial crises had little or no effect on world military spending.”
Peru, Mr. Alan García Pérez, President: “Peru understands that global security is the result of a combination of internal and external factors. Hence, we are profoundly concerned about the proliferation of nuclear weapons, but also the proliferation of conventional weapons, since it is the latter that are causing the death and destruction currently occurring around the world.... We are astounded that despite having created an instrument of integration and confidence such as the South American Community of Nations, we the ten South American members have already invested $25 billion in new weapons and spent another $150 billion on operational maintenance costs. Those same expenditures could have lifted over 50 million people out of poverty. And in the next 5 years, if we fail to stop this trend, we will spend another $35 billion on new weapons and $200 billion on other military costs, locking us in an irrational, self-perpetuating arms race. But this absurd situation that is taking hold of South America is even more severe on a global scale. How is it possible that nations continue to allocate so much capital to purchase of armaments when there are so many living in poverty? It seems almost as if the Cold War had not ended.”
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Camillo M. Gonsalves, Permanent Representative to the UN: “Saint Vincent and the Grenadines makes miniscule monetary and military contributions to the UN. But our contribution to the maintenance of international peace and security is measured in our historical aversion to wars, our culture of tolerance, peace and plurality and a small state perspective that understands that peace are not always best achieved with millions of dollars or armed enforces, but often with dialogue and small but meaningful peace building actions. Our contribution is succinctly captured in our national motto, which translated from Latin, reads simply “Peace and Justice”.
Trinidad and Tobago, Ms. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister: “Ten years ago the Security Council adopted Resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security, acknowledging that there is no sustainable peace and security without the involvement and contribution of women. Trinidad and Tobago is committed to advancing the peace and security agenda of the UN. My country’s attachment to the promotion of women is equally strong. That is why I wish to announce that Trinidad and Tobago will introduce in the First Committee of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, internal peace and security, a resolution on ‘women, disarmament, arms control and non proliferation’. I pledge the support of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago for this initiative.”
2) Report on the high-level meeting on revitalizing multilateral disarmament machinery
On Friday, 24 September 2010, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon convened a high-level meeting on “revitalizing the work of the Conference on Disarmament and taking forward multilateral disarmament negotiations”. Seventy-four foreign ministers and other high-level officials addressed the meeting, in addition to representatives from three groups of states, three international organizations, the UN Secretary-General, the President of the General Assembly, and the President of the Conference on Disarmament (CD). (Reaching Critical Will notes that of the 83 speakers, only three were women.)
While the majority of interventions focused on the need to find creative ways to revitalize the CD, divergences clearly remain over how best to do this. Some delegations believe the working methods and structure of the CD need to undergo modifications; others believe that the trouble lies with government priorities and (lack of) political will. The only clear area of agreement is that multilateral disarmament negotiations are suffering from the impasse in the CD, to the detriment of international peace and security.
Highlights
10 delegations indicated that they are ready to set a deadline for the CD’s resumption of work and to take disarmament negotiations outside of the forum if it fails to get back to work, while 8 delegations insisted that the CD should remain the sole multilateral disarmament negotiating body. Four delegations indicated they recognized going outside the CD as a potential result of continued stalemate, but didn’t express their position on this possibility.
12 delegations explicitly called for a review of the CD’s rules of procedure while 11 delegations, plus the Non-Aligned Movement, argued that the rules of procedure are not the problem.
Many delegations called for a comprehensive review of the CD and other disarmament machinery; they made a variety of suggestions for how this could be done, including through a fourth special session on disarmament, a working group of the General Assembly, or an eminent persons panel.
States still hold differing priorities for the substantive work of the CD, though the majority are interested in pursuing nuclear disarmament and a fissile material (cut-off) treaty.
Eight delegations, and the European Union, called for broader participation of civil society in the work of the CD.
Most delegations agreed that the CD needs to expand its membership; 15 delegations, along with the European Union, Non-Aligned Movement, and Informal Group of Observer States to the CD, called for the appointment of a special coordinator to expand the CD’s membership by the start of its 2011 session.
The UN Secretary-General issued a Chair’s Summary of the meeting, in which he also suggested four follow-on actions, including that: the 2011 session of the CD adopt the 2009 programme of work; the 2011 session of the General Assembly include an item on the follow-up to this high-level meeting, to be considered in plenary and First Committee; the Secretary-General will ask his advisory board on disarmament matters to “undertake a thorough review of issues raised” at the high-level meeting, including the possible establishment of a high-level panel of eminent persons to focus on the functioning of the CD; and that the Secretary-General will report on this meeting and subsequent follow-up to the first preparatory committee of the 2015 NPT Review Conference.
Read the complete report online.
Also see all statements available from the meeting, and read a paper (pdf) produced in advance of the meeting by Reaching Critical Will and the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy.
Also, check out this Associated Press article that quotes Reaching Critical Will.
3) UN General Assembly First Committee: coming up next
The General Assembly’s work on disarmament is conducted through one of its main committees, the First Committee on Disarmament and International Security. The First Committee provides space for each state to discuss their positions on disarmament-related matters, to build consensus on the issues or highlight divergences, and to table and adopt non-binding resolutions. Of course, the First Committee often fails to make good use of its potential, but it provides one of the best opportunities for outreach, education, and advocacy efforts on disarmament and non-proliferation issues.
First Committee 2010: 4 October–1 November
Chairperson: Ambassador Miloš Koterec (Slovakia)
Vice-Chairpersons and Rapporteur: Hossam Eldeen Aly (Egypt), Enrique Ochoa (Mexico), Herman Schaper (Netherlands), Carlos Sorreta (Philippines)
Draft programme of work and timetable
Contributing to the First Committee Monitor
What to do if you're not in New York
Official information note about NGO participation in First Committee (pdf)
Side events
Side events are an excellent way to educate each other, delegations, and members of the Secretariat on a broad range of disarmament and security issues. NGO side events are becoming increasingly popular with both diplomats and civil society.
Every event must be co-sponsored by either the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs or a member state.
The deadline for seeking UNODA sponsor has passed.
For those NGOs who already have government sponsors and are requesting rooms and technical setup for their event, please fill out the room request form (doc) and submit it to the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, Information and Outreach Branch:[email protected].
A calendar of events is available online. Please note that dates, times, and locations are tentative and subject to change. Please check back regularly for updates. If you have already booked your event, [email protected], please let RCW know so that we can add your event to the calendar, which is the number one resource for all those looking for updates on the First Committee.
Contributing to the First Committee Monitor
Since 2000, Reaching Critical Will has coordinated a group of NGOs sharing the monitoring and reporting responsibilities in an attempt to make the work of the First Committee more transparent and useful for people not directly involved in the small New York disarmament community. We edit a weekly newsletter, the First Committee Monitor, covering the broad range of issues discussed by the First Committee. The Monitor is distributed to all delegates of the First Committee, and is available on our site and through a free email-based subscription service in both PDF and HTML. It has been hailed by diplomats, UN staffers, and activists as one of the most useful resources produced during the General Assembly.
If your group would like to participate in this important collaboration, [email protected] contact the Project Director today. In the upcoming weeks, we will be holding a meeting to coordinate the various responsibilities required for such an effort.
We also encourage you to use the First Committee Monitor to publicize an important announcement, event, or project hosted by your organization.
1/4 page ad: $40
1/2 page ad: $60
full page ad: $130
back page ad: $180
Run the same ad twice and get $5 off. Run your add three times and get $10 off. Run your ad four times and get $15 off. We accept cheques, cash, PayPal, and wire transfers. Ads can be sent in .jpg, .gif, or .pdf format.
We also accept all forms of disarmament-themed artwork, to be sent in either a .jpg, .gif, or .pdf file. Cartoons, photographs, paintings, doodles, collage, mixed media, and drawings are all welcome.
Submit your advertisement or artwork by sending the [email protected] project director the following information:
Finally, if you are interested in following events at the First Committee, subscribe to receive the First Committee Monitor in your inbox each Monday morning during October.
What else can civil society do around the First Committee?
Media Outreach: While decisions taken on matters of disarmament and non-proliferation are some of the most critical issues to the world, there remains a lack of adequate coverage of these issues by the mainstream media. Many mainstream media agencies aresubsidiaries of military corporations. These agencies are never going to give positive media coverage to groups and messages that challenge their power. Notice the correspondents in the print, radio, and TV media covering nuclear or foreign policy matters. Build a data base of media contacts and keep a select group of journalists, or your entire list, informed of your activities and analysis of events and developments in this field.
Create your own media: newsletters, radio shows, video documentaries, email lists, webpages. To find out how to get involved with local independent media near you, see: www.indymedia.org.
Organize an event at home: With the First Committee in session, it is a prime teachable moment to continue your own education, outreach and advocacy efforts at home. To find out what disarmament NGOs are working in your area, check our NGO contact database.
Reach out to your representatives: Contact your representatives in New York and in your capital. Fax or email them letters urging them to support disarmament-focused resolutions. Offer them resources for more information and demand a response. For more information on writing a letter, see RCW’s action tips. Find out who represents you at our Government Contacts database.
Organize a meeting with your representatives; listen to their opinion on nuclear issues and share yours. Find out who represents you at our Government Contacts database.
4) Keep Space for Peace: Global week of action
From 2–9 October, a week of local protest events to Keep Space for Peace will be held worldwide. Each fall the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space organizes Keep Space for Peace Week: International Days of Protest to Stop the Militarization of Space. These events are intended to help educate the public about the need to prevent the arms race from moving into the heavens.
According to Global Network Coordinator Bruce Gagnon, “The space week protests represent the largest global grassroots expression against moving the arms race into space. This year we are highlighting the planned Obama administration ‘missile defense’ deployments in Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan that will be used to help the U.S. and NATO to militarily surround Russia and China. These deployments, while sold as defensive measures, are in fact key elements in the creation of U.S. first-strike attack systems. Their deployment will ensure a new arms race.”
Global Network board member Makiko Sato in Japan says, “The transformation and relocation of U.S. forces in our region has turned out to entail those of Japanese Self Defense Forces, with Patriot Missile Defense (PAC-3) systems being deployed on Japan's soil, and with Aegis warships (outfitted with missile defense) in our waters, both aimed at the neighboring Asian countries. To where is Japan being taken, away from and in distrust of our historical and cultural brother countries in East Asia?”
The October 2-9 actions are being co-sponsored by the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom and the International Network for the Abolition of Foreign Military Bases. Protests are expected at city centers and key space related factories and military bases. Educational forums will be held and space videos would be shown throughout the week.
To see the list of Space Week protest sites or to view the 2010 Space Week poster:
http://www.space4peace.org/actions/ksfpw10.htm
5) Featured News
Construction of new nuclear facility at Los Alamos faces challenge from local NGO
Attorneys at the Department of Justice (DOJ), representing officials at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and Department of Energy (DOE), have admitted that the big “Nuclear Facility” proposed for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) requires another environmental impact statement (EIS). Their September 17 letter was released today by the Los Alamos Study Group, which sued NNSA and DOE in August over the project’s lack of an applicable EIS (see Complaint, pdf), together with the Study Group’s reply.
The DOJ requests that the Study Group voluntarily drop its lawsuit, which requests a new EIS and halt to the project while a new EIS that discusses alternatives to the project is written. DOJ does not offer a new EIS, only a “supplemental” EIS (SEIS), the scope of which will be solely up to the DOE and NNSA to decide. DOJ did not offer to voluntarily halt the project, for which NNSA has requested a tripling in funding, beginning next month.
The Nuclear Facility is the second and by far the larger of the two buildings proposed in NNSA’s Chemistry and Metallurgy Research Replacement (CMRR) project. It was part of a two-building package that was proposed to Congress at a total estimated cost of $350 to $500 million (for both buildings) in 2002. By February of this year the estimated cost for the Nuclear Facility alone had increased to $3.4 billion (pdf). Costs in excess of $4 billion have been repeatedly reported in the trade press this year and there are now reliable reports, partially confirmed by the Study Group, that current estimates exceed $5.5 billion.
Estimated completion has been pushed back a decade so far. Construction is slated to start in the coming fiscal year (FY) (pdf), even though preliminary design of the building is not expected to be complete for two or more years. According to past statements by congressional committees and the White House, the primary purpose of the facility is to facilitate large production runs of plutonium warhead cores (“pits”) for possible novel nuclear warheads (“replacement warheads”). Pits do not wear out or significantly age. The U.S. currently maintains at least a 100% redundancy in stockpiled pits and/or reserve warheads for every type of delivery system.
See the Study Group’s full press release, along with media articles covering the law suit and background information on the proposed nuclear facility.
UN Office for Disarmament Affairs has published the NGO presentations to the 2010 NPT Review Conference
The publication (pdf) compiles the statements by representatives of civil society organziations, including Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams, delivered during the NGO segment of the 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The presentations highlight the challenges and choices for a nuclear weapon free world.
6) Recommended Reading
Darwin Bond-Graham, "New START: A brief analysis of the treaty ratification process, campaign finance, and lobbying activities," Sung A Lot of Songs, 24 September 2010.