Join Forces Against Nuclear Weapons

The world seems to be on the cusp of World War III. A dangerous scenario is emerging in the world with some nuclear powers deeply engaged in war. Russia has been at war with Ukraine for the last three years, while India and Pakistan were locked in a brief war following the Pahalgam terrorist attack on April 22. A fragile ceasefire is underway between Iran and Israel and the conflict may break out anytime between these two arch foes of the Middle East. Some countries in Africa are also locked in inter-state and intra-state armed conflict. However, the conflicts in the Middle East, Europe and South Asia will have wider repercussions. Suppose the conflict starts again between Israel and Iran in the Middle East or India and Pakistan in South Asia. In that case, its ramifications will be global, with the possibility of ultimately escalating into World War III. 

Unlike conventional wars, modern wars are more dangerous. The conventional wars are mostly close combats in which soldiers face in the battlefield. In conventional warfare, soldiers or army personnel alone suffer casualties, while collateral damage and civilians are less likely to be directly hit. But modern warfare is fought at multiple fronts, impacting wider sectors in the whole world. Similarly, multiple sectors get involved in modern war, applying all tools, including non-state actors and also nuclear weapons.  

US strikes 

The war of the 21st century may be a nuclear war. Currently, nine countries are nuclear powers, of which most are already in some way or the other at war. According to the Stockholm International Research Institute (SIPRI), nine countries (USA, Russia, UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea) hold a stockpile of over 13,000 nuclear warheads. However, Israel has, so far, neither declared itself a nuclear power nor denied it. It is said that Iran is also trying to develop nuclear weapons, for which Tehran was enriching uranium. Iran has denied the allegation and is of the view that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes. The recent US strikes in some key nuclear sites have caused significant damage to Iran’s nuclear programme.

 But Iran may continue its nuclear programme, possibly to build nuclear weapons, since it has announced not to cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and also leave the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime. Some other countries, too, may have been seeking to develop nuclear weapons. Iraq was once suspected of having developed weapons of mass destruction or nuclear arms and the United States attacked Iraq for this reason. However, it was later found that the US claim was a mere hoax and no weapon of mass destruction was found in Iraq. Now nine countries have nuclear weapons, while six countries (Italy, Turkiye, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands and Belarus) are hosting nuclear weapons. 

The IAEA is the multilateral agency responsible for monitoring and detect the nuclear materials and ensuring the secure and peaceful use of nuclear technology while seeking to prevent any alteration of nuclear technology and materials for developing weapons. This is necessary for the greater safety of humanity as nuclear arms are weapons of mass destruction. However, the IAEA seems to be unable to make the countries fully abide by the commitments on the nuclear regime.

The US, the United Kingdom and France are helping Ukraine with material and moral support in a war against Russia. The Ukraine war started following Moscow’s attack on a sovereign and relatively weaker neighbour, Ukraine, three years ago. Similarly, Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel in October 2023 triggered war in Gaza. Since then, thousands of innocent Palestinians have been killed, for which both HAMAS and Israel are responsible. Iran and Israel have been accusing one another of triggering war in the Middle East. Israel blamed Iran for using proxies to drag it into war in the Middle East.  The Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Houthis in Yemen are militant outfits whose modus operandi is terrorism and they are said to be Iran’s proxies.

Israel says its attack on Iran is a response to Tehran’s instigation of its proxies to attack Israel. Tehran does not accept this allegation and calls Israel an aggressor. Although Iran and Israel have agreed on a ceasefire but it may be short-lived given the tone and tenor of the leaders of both countries. Similarly, the US attack has caused damage to Iran’s nuclear sites but Tehran is likely to give continuity to its nuclear programme. Similarly, other nuclear-powered countries, too, appear to have continued their nuclear modernisation programmes and are upgrading their nuclear arsenal and adding newer types of nuclear weapons. 

Nuclear arsenal 

Moreover, some countries have not signed the NPT and are not obliged to abide by the NPT regime, while North Korea has withdrawn from the NPT. Thus, the nuclear war seems to be imminent if the present nuclear rat race remains unabated. If nuclear war breaks out, the entire world will be affected. The nuclear arsenal that nine nuclear powers possess is sufficient to eliminate the entire human civilisation. As the United Nations and IAEA appear to be ineffective in checking the nuclear arms race, a civil society campaign across the world is necessary to save humanity from the possible nuclear war. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is the key international civil society organisation that has been advocating total abolition of nuclear arms and accordingly exerting pressure on all governments, especially the nuclear-armed countries, to abandon their nuclear weapons and arsenals. 

It is thus high time to rise against nuclear weapons and act unitedly to exert pressure on the nuclear powers to give up their nuclear programmes and abolish nuclear weapons.  If we do not act now, it will be too late and humanity will only repent. Thus, the ICAN campaign is for the safety and security of entire humanity and civilisation and all people across the world need to join hands in this noble cause. 

(The author is a former chief editor of this daily and a former ambassador. lamsalyubanath@gmail.com)