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On 27-28 August, Kazakhstan is hosting a meeting for all Nuclear Weapons Free Zones (NWFZ), to foster cooperation, enhance consultation mechanisms and explore how NWFZ can contribute to efforts to respond to existing and emerging security threats related to nuclear weapons. Hon. Melissa Parke, Executive Director of ICAN, delivered the following remarks:
Measures to Strengthen Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones
Excellencies, distinguished colleagues,
It is my honour to deliver some brief remarks today on behalf of ICAN, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.
Let me begin by thanking our host, Kazakhstan, for its tremendous leadership over many years in advancing the cause of nuclear disarmament. It has demonstrated, through its actions, that a country is better off without these horrific, earth-endangering weapons. That disarmament can be done, and must be done.
Of course, the people of Kazakhstan – having suffered the devastating consequences of decades of Soviet nuclear testing – understand all too well why disarmament is a humanitarian necessity.
Like the hibakusha of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear test survivors here and in other parts of the world have courageously shared their personal testimonies time and again, in the hope that no one else will ever suffer as they have. It is time to heed their warnings.
ICAN is delighted that Kazakhstan will preside over the third meeting of states parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, or TPNW, in March 2025 – continuing its leadership in this field. Your country has an important message to share with the world, especially in these deeply troubling times, with the nuclear arms race gaining speed and the threat of nuclear war looming large over us all.
Let me also extend my thanks to each and every country here belonging to a nuclear-weapon-free zone – for having rejected nuclear weapons in your region. Many of you have also rejected them globally, by joining the TPNW. You have shown that security is achieved through cooperation, not the development and stockpiling of horrifically destructive weapons.
One of our greatest challenges, as advocates for nuclear disarmament, is to keep expectations high, even in gloomy times like these. To raise the bar even as others try to lower it.
It is easy to become despondent and pessimistic when one considers the current state of affairs. Not only are nuclear-armed states failing to fulfil their legal obligation to disarm; they are instead moving in the opposite direction by enhancing and, in some cases, expanding their nuclear forces. An affront to humanity.
But the stakes are too high to give in to despair. And nuclear-weapon-free zones can be a source of hope and inspiration. They show that a different way is possible. If large geographic regions such as Latin America and Africa and Southeast Asia can be kept free of nuclear weapons, why not, one day, the entire world?
I sometimes hear members of the public say, ignorantly, that we need nuclear weapons because everyone else has them. They seem to believe that possessing nuclear weapons is the norm, when in fact just nine out of almost 200 countries in the world have them. Being a part of a nuclear-weapon-free zone is the norm.
This workshop is an important opportunity to foster greater cooperation among the various zones, and to continue the crucial work of reinforcing the nuclear taboo and building the institutional framework needed to eliminate nuclear weapons completely.
I wish to make two specific appeals to you today:
The first is to incorporate the perspectives of civil society in your work to the greatest degree possible. ICAN has been delighted to participate in the general conferences of OPANAL and meetings of states parties to the Treaty of Pelindaba, for example, and we would warmly welcome the opportunity for further cooperation.
It is important for the public to be aware that such discussions are taking place, and for public opinion to influence decision-making. We can help to ensure both.
My second appeal is for all members of nuclear-weapon-free zones to sign and ratify the TPNW if they have not yet done so. The TPNW complements and reinforces the nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties, as well as the Non-Proliferation Treaty and Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. It is an opportunity to transform your strong regional norms into global norms.
Moreover, joining the TPNW should be a relatively straightforward process for zone members, given that the zone treaties and the TPNW have similar core obligations and objectives. Many of your countries would no doubt already have in place the necessary domestic legislation and procedures to fulfil your obligations under the TPNW.
Despite the many challenges that we face, it is essential that we continue the serious, practical work of laying the foundations for nuclear disarmament.
We must continue, with determination and urgency, the transition from nuclear-weapon-free zones to a nuclear-weapon-free world.
Thank you.