[ Citizens around the world are calling on their governments to
ratify the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty—and the United States has a
leading role to play. Nuclear weapons have no place in our future.]
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HUMANITY’S CALL TO ELIMINATE NUCLEAR WEAPONS  
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Robert Dodge
September 27, 2021
Common Dreams
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_ Citizens around the world are calling on their governments to
ratify the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty—and the United States has a
leading role to play. Nuclear weapons have no place in our future. _

At a time when the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19
pandemic with no end in sight while dealing with the coexisting
existential threat of climate change it is time to change our
thinking...Nuclear weapons have no place in our future., Photo:
Shutterstock // Common Dreams

 

SUNDAY MARKED THE INTERNATIONAL Day for the Total Elimination of
Nuclear Weapons. This 8th year commemorating the day was declared by
the United Nations as a way of bringing about awareness and education
of the imminent existential threat that hangs over all of humanity by
the continued existence of nuclear weapons. The elimination of nuclear
weapons has been a leading goal of the United Nations General Assembly
since its earliest days in 1946. 

Since the height of the arms race, there has been much progress in
reducing global arsenals
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over 70,000 in 1983 to the current range of ~13,100. Unfortunately,
the myth of deterrence remains a mainstay of defense policy in all
nuclear nations while being one of the main drivers of the new arms
race as each nuclear nation, not to be outdone, seeks to rebuild their
entire arsenals. A day of commemoration focuses on complete nuclear
elimination coming from the realization of the catastrophic
humanitarian consequences. The use of even a single nuclear weapon,
let alone the effects of a limited regional or global nuclear war
could result in the deaths of billions from the ensuing climate change
and nuclear famine
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possibly the extinction of the human race itself.

Recognizing the threat to all of humanity by the very existence of
these weapons led the non-nuclear nations to draft the Treaty on the
Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
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2017. The Treaty went into force on January 22nd of this year. Nuclear
weapons are finally joined with all other weapons of mass destruction
including chemical, biological, and land mines in being declared
illegal by international law setting a new international norm. Now
nations, led by the United States and Russia, who continue to threaten
all of humanity are being stigmatized in their refusal to meet their
legally bound obligation to work in good faith to abolish their
weapons under Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons
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Citizens around the world are calling on their governments to ratify
the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. In the United States, a national
grassroots campaign called Back from the Brink
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support as it seeks the abolition of nuclear weapons and fundamental
change in U.S. nuclear policy. Endorsed by over 386 organizations 56
municipalities and six state legislative bodies, the campaign calls
for the United States to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war
by: 

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Actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to
eliminate their nuclear arsenals 

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Renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first

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Ending the sole, unchecked authority of any U.S. President to launch a
nuclear attack

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Taking U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert

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Canceling the plan to replace the entire U.S. nuclear arsenal with
enhanced weapons

Answering this call on Thursday, September 23rd, over 300 local and
state elected officials from 41 states signed a dynamic letter 
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Congress to take bold actions on nuclear weapons endorsing the steps
noted above. This letter remains open to encourage all elected
officials invited to sign.

This year as the United States spends over $74 billion on all nuclear
weapons  [[link removed]]programs funded by the
Trump administration, President Joe Biden has not only endorsed this
spending but proposed significant increases to it as well. Yet, there
is nary a dissenting voice being heard from Congress demonstrating how
oblivious they must be to the reality these weapons present as they
unwittingly prepare for the end of life as we know it.

This week on September 30th the Presidents of Rotary International,
the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International
Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, and the U.N.
Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament
Affairs will present a historic conference on “Eliminating the
Existential Threat of Nuclear Weapons
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join. Events like this energize the work necessary to make nuclear
abolition a reality.

At a time when the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19
pandemic with no end in sight while dealing with the coexisting
existential threat of climate change, it is time to change our
thinking. Nuclear weapons have no place in our future. The only way to
eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons is by their total elimination.
As we mark this International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear
Weapons let ours be a time when we recognize the peril we have brought
upon ourselves and realize that we have a choice to make for the
future of our children and all of humanity. Let us come together now
and take the necessary steps now to abolish these weapons forever.

_[ROBERT DODGE [[link removed]], a
frequent Common Dreams contributor, writes as a family physician
practicing in Ventura, California. He is the Co-Chair of the Security
Committee of National Physicians for Social Responsibility
[[link removed]] and also serves as the President of Physicians
for Social Responsibility Los Angeles [[link removed]].]_

_Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel
free to republish and share widely._

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