Nuclear Ban Treaty Beacons the End of Nuclear Age

Viewpoint by Rebecca Johnson

Dr Rebecca Johnson is founding President of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and director of the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy. She contributed this viewpoint as foreword to the publication titled 'Toward A World Without Nuclear Weapons' published by the International Press Syndicate Group with IDN-InDepthNews as its flagship agency, and the Global Cooperation Council as part of a media project with Soka Gakkai International (SGI). – The Editor.

LONDON (IDN) – If we survive this turbulent period, histories may record that 2017-18 marked the end of the nuclear age and the beginning – we hope – of a new era of peace-building and security.

A Call To 'Action Now' On United Nations Disarmament Agenda

By A.L.A. Azeez

The writer is Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva. While analysing the UN Secretary-General António Guterres' new disarmament agenda entitled, Securing Our Common Future, Ambassador Azeez calls for" the increased availability of disarmament education and fellowship opportunities" to make up for the loss of a generation of professionals and experts in many countries, resulting from "the inaction or lack of progress in disarmament over two decades.

Ulaanbaatar Forum Pleads For Denuclearization Leading To Korean Unification

By Ramesh Jaura

BERLIN | ULAANBAATAR (IDN) – Korean Unification has not been at the heart of a growing thaw in inter-Korean relations. But it was the centerpiece of the International Forum in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Entitled 'Korean Unification through Reduction of Tension and Confidence Building', the Forum on June 7-8, 2018 adopted a Statement drawing attention to "the centenary of the Korean Independence Movement" in 2019 and supporting "the goal of peaceful unification of the Korean people."

Substance Eludes Kim-Trump Historic Summit

By Sergio Duarte

The writer is Ambassador, former UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, and President of Pugwash.

NEW YORK (IDN) – The off-again, on-again meeting between President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim Jong-un which finally took place in Singapore on June 12 was undoubtedly an historic occasion. However, a sober analysis of its outcome can hardly conclude that it was either a success or a failure. Even so, the mere fact that after several weeks of mutual provocations and derogatory exchanges the two leaders agreed to meet in a cordial, almost congenial atmosphere is in itself an auspicious achievement.

The Trump-Kim Singapore Summit Relieves Tensions, Nuclear Dangers Remain

By David Krieger

The writer is President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation. He is the author and editor of many books on peace and nuclear weapons abolition, including ‘Speaking of Peace: Quotations to Inspire Action.’ This article first appeared on NAPF. – The Editor.

SANTA BARBARA (IDN) - The Singapore Summit was a dramatic turn-around from the adolescent name calling that Trump and Kim had engaged in only months before. Trump had labelled Kim as “Little Rocket Man,” and Kim had labelled Trump as “Dotard.”

Paving the Way to Denuclearization and Peace with North Korea

By Daryl G. Kimball

The author is Executive Director of the Arms Control Association. Following is the text of an Issue Brief analyzing the prospects beyond the U.S.-North Korean Summit on June 12 in Singapore.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (IDN) – The South Korean-brokered diplomatic opening between leaders from the United States and the Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea (DPRK) that began in January 2018 is a welcome shift away from the missile and nuclear tests and “fire and fury” threats of 2017 that brought the region to the brink of a catastrophic war.

The Alphabet Soup NPT, CTBT, NBT

By Paolo Cotta-Ramusino

The writer is Secretary-General of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs (Pugwash), an international organization that brings together scholars and public figures to work toward reducing the danger of armed conflict and to seek solutions to global security threats. Joseph Rotblat and Bertrand Russell founded it in 1957 in Pugwash, Nova Scotia, Canada, following the release of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto in 1955. Rotblat and the Pugwash Conference jointly won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1995 for their efforts on nuclear disarmament. – The Editor.

CTBTO Symposium Underlines Importance of Youth and Women

By Reinhardt Jacobsen

VIENNA (IDN) – "Now more than ever, this type of diplomacy has a particular importance," said Elba Rosa Pérez Montoya, Minister of Science, Technology and Environment of Cuba, in a high-level session of the 2nd CTBT Science Diplomacy Symposium at the Vienna International Centre.

UN Chief's Disarmament Agenda Faces Rough Waters

By Jayantha Dhanapala

The UN Secretary-General's new Disarmament Agenda entitled, Securing Our Common Future, "seems unlikely to secure our common future with the present actors," writes Jayantha Dhanapala, a retired Ambassador of Sri Lanka and a former UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament. "We will either have to wait for a change of actors or search among the debris of failed negotiations for a fresh start. But that depends on the unpredictable Trump and Kim Jong Un," he adds.

New Disarmament Agenda Recognizes CTBT's Intrinsic Role

Viewpoint by Izumi Nakamitsu

The author is High Representative of the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA). Following are extensive excerpts from her keynote speech on May 25, 2018 at the High Level Session of the Second Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) Science Diplomacy Symposium from May 21-June 1, 2018 in Vienna. – The Editor.

VIENNA (IDN) – The CTBTO Preparatory Commission [headed by Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo] continues to play a critical role in promoting the long overdue entry into force of the CTBT.