|
Dear Friend,
December 10th is International Human Rights Day and a good time to
reflect about why nuclear weapons pose a threat to human rights around
the world - and what we can do about it.
Nuclear weapons have
already had devastating consequences for people around the world and
have poisoned the land, water and air and threatened the health of
future generations. These severe consequences have led UN human rights
bodies to condemn nuclear weapons and investigate their impacts in
recent years.
Nuclear weapons are a human rights issue. As the declaration of the
UN Human Rights Committee says, the threat or use of nuclear weapons
“is incompatible with respect for the right to life”. The
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
recognises the threat to the Right to Health posed by the use and
testing of nuclear weapons (pdf), while the Convention on the Elimination of
Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) links nuclear policies to gender
equity.
Recently, the Council has been investigating
the human rights implications of the nuclear legacy in the Marshall
Islands in a series of reports, to which ICAN has provided substantive
input.
With the recent confusing but alarming statement from the U.S.
President about returning
to nuclear testing, it is more important than ever to highlight
the human rights impacts of past nuclear use, and that these impacts
continue to today.
|
