The Global Citizen: Disarmament

Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference Begins Monday - There is still time to sign the petition!

Meg McDermott | April 30th, 2010
Topics: Nuclear Disarmament, Prevent War

Monday May 3 will mark the beginning of the 8th Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, and 189 governments party to the treaty and hundreds of NGOs will flock to New York to discuss our world's greatest security concern - nuclear weapons. The stakes are high, with issues such as demands of disarmament and Iranian development of nuclear weapons topping the agenda. The last review conference, held five years ago, was such an abysmal failure that the pressure is strong on all parties to reach agreement on the many controversial issues.

Nuclear Posture Review sticks to the middle ground

Meg McDermott | April 6th, 2010
Topics: Nuclear Disarmament, Prevent War

Today the Obama administration released the much-anticipated Nuclear Posture Review (NPR), coinciding with the anniversary of President Obama's progressive Prague speech last April. Splitting with Bush-era nuclear doctrine, the NPR renounces the development of new nuclear weapons and states that the "fundamental purpose" of nuclear weapons is deterring other states from deploying them. The NPR is the beginning of a six week focus on nuclear issues, as President Obama signs New START on Thursday, hosts a Nuclear Security Summit in April, and the UN holds the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in May.

U.S. & Russia reach agreement for New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START)

Meg McDermott | March 25th, 2010
Topics: Nuclear Disarmament, Prevent War

After more than eight months of talks between the U.S. and Russia, negotiators have reached agreement on the terms of the New START treaty, reported the Kremlin on Wednesday. The most comprehensive arms control treaty between the U.S. and Russia in almost two decades, the treaty calls for reductions of more than one-quarter in the number of deployed strategic warheads and delivery vehicles in both countries.

New START replaces START I, the 1991 bilateral pact governing arms reduction that expired in December 2009. A new treaty was originally anticipated prior to the December expiration of START I, but disagreement over thorny issues such as the American missile defense system in Europe and the verification process for nuclear arsenals prevented the two parties from finding consensus. Officials from both countries have not disclosed detailed contents of the treaty nor have they discussed how these particular issues were ultimately resolved.

Nuclear Nonproliferation or Disarmament?

Citizens for Global Solutions | October 27th, 2009
Topics: Nuclear Disarmament, Prevent War

In light of growing threats from Iran and North Korea, the prospect of nuclear non-proliferation is on everyone's minds. But, is it even possible? If so, what would it entail? President Obama led a session at the UN in the end of September which addressed these issues, concluding that a stronger nuclear nonproliferation strategy is necessary to achieve "a world without nuclear weapons."