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A nuclear weapons free world is now possible

A nuclear weapons free world is now possible On Line Opinion by Bill Williams 28 April 9

Not such a crazy proposition really. The detonation of a small, “primitive” uranium fission weapon, concealed in a shipping container in one of Australia’s harbour cities, for instance, would obliterate the CBD, causing up to a quarter of a million fatalities and an enormous radiotoxic legacy. Meanwhile, the explosion of even a small portion of the currently available 26,500 nuclear weapons would mean global catastrophe.

New evidence from climate and vulcanology specialists suggest a “nuclear winter” could result from the detonation of less than 100 smallish nukes (i.e. Hiroshima-size) on large urban centres. Think Krakatoa meets Hiroshima and multiply accordingly. All this is well within the arsenal capacities of Russia, America, China, Israel, India, Pakistan, France and the UK.

How could such scenarios fade from the public consciousness? And what could an informed, concerned public do about it? There is an urgent need to call for a credible, universal treaty to abolish nuclear weapons.

A draft for such a treaty already exists: the “Model Nuclear Weapons Convention” (NWC) was prepared by an international consortium of legal and technical specialists, and was released and circulated by the United Nations (UN) in 1997. It was revised and published in 2007 as a key project of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear weapons (ICAN). The document, Securing our Survival, lauded by UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon and available at www.icanw.org – sets out in detail the essential steps to abolition…………………..Clearly, we will have to push the politicians if they are to instruct the diplomats to negotiate and implement a convention. Otherwise they’ll muddle on for decades, shuffling up the “incremental steps”, plastering over cracks in the disarmament edifice, wavering in the shadow of annihilation.

A nuclear weapons free world is now possible – On Line Opinion – 28/4/2009

April 30, 2009 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | 2 WORLD, weapons and war | antinuclear, nuclear, radioactive