Search For A Nuclear Weapons Free World

I cannot die in peace until I witness the elimination of the last nuclear warhead from this world,” says Sumiteru Taniguchi, the Chairperson of the Japan Confederation of A-and H-bomb Sufferers Organisation.

Taniguchi, an octogenarian, spoke on May 7 on behalf of the 230,000 survivors of the two atomic bomb explosions in Japan during World War 11 in 1945.

The occasion was the month-long 2010 Review Conference on the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

Taniguchi never hesitates to display a photograph of his, taken just six months after the blast in Nagasaki, which daily reminds him of the physical and psychological trauma of that dark period in history!

In that photo, the octogenarian, then a 16-year-old boy, had blood parchments all over his back, having been struck down by the impact of the blast, about two kilometres away from the epicentre of the atomic explosion.

Taniguchi told an astonished audience: “I am not a guinea pig nor am I an exhibit. Those of you who are here today; please don’t turn your eyes away from me.

“Please look at me again. I have survived miraculously. We, the Hibakushas, continue to live in pain. For humanity to survive, not even one nuclear weapon should be allowed to exist on earth,’’ he said.

Analysts, however, wonder if Taniguchi’s plea to the world’s nuclear powers will ever be taken seriously in view of the proliferation of nuclear weapons since 1945.

Scientists, nonetheless, insist that nuclear energy has a wide range of beneficial applications in the areas of medicine, science and technology, among others.

They are, however, quick to point out that nuclear application in weaponry development has been a source of grave concern to pacifists the world over, who are clamouring for a total ban of nuclear arsenals.

Such concerns have undoubtedly compelled world leaders to start addressing issues relating to disarmaments, nuclear non-proliferation and other peaceful applications of nuclear energy.

Global pacifists note that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which came into effect in 1970 and to which Nigeria is a signatory, is a significant step in efforts to control the uses of nuclear energy.

They note that the NPT, reviewed every five years by signature-countries at global conferences, has somewhat provided the main legal framework for the spread and control of nuclear capacities.

At the last NPT summit in the U.S. in May, about 189 countries brainstormed on the extent of nations’ compliance with the objectives of the treaty.

Some analysts have variously described the 28-page final declaration of the participating countries as “a flicker of hope in a very dark tunnel”, especially against the backdrop of the 2005 meeting, which failed to achieve anything meaningful.

They note, however, that since the inception of the NPT, some signature-nations had broken ranks with its protocols, though many others had renewed their commitments to its objectives.

Others, they add, had been rather taciturn, deciding to “say nothing” about their nuclear intentions.

No doubt, military analysts and strategists believe that the U.S. and Russia jointly possess about 95 per cent of the world’s nuclear weapons.

It was, therefore, not surprising that the leaders of the two countries were well represented at the summit.

U.S. President Barrack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, expressed their commitment to the pursuit of peace and security of a world devoid of nuclear weapons, as they further pledged to make “deepest cuts” in their nuclear arsenals.

Analysts further note that while North Korea, which broke ranks with the treaty in 2003, had continued to advance its nuclear programme, thus defying the UN.

Other nations like Israel, Pakistan and India have remained outside the NPT, in spite of their nuclear capabilities.

Nigeria, nonetheless, made a strong showing at the summit, where its Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Odein Ajumogobia, called for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

He expressed concern that non-nuclear states like Nigeria had grown increasingly sceptical about the sincerity of the nuclear powers to achieve total nuclear disarmament.

Ajumogobia said that there was an urgent need for a renewed commitment to disarmament on the part of the nuclear powers

Nigeria’s viewpoint was shared by many Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in the U.S. which seek a nuclear-free world.

“The U.S. Congress has slashed funding for dismantlement programmes and beefed up the budgets for the nuclear weapon labs,” one of the groups said in apparent dismay.

For these groups, the statements of the U.S. President and other world leaders failed to match the reality.

Notwithstanding, Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister noted with regrets, the failure of countries with installed nuclear reactors, to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which could only come into force with its adoption by at least 44 signatory countries and ratification by their legislatures.

Many pacifists observe that to date, only 30 states have ratified the CTBT, among them, three of the five big powers — UK, France and Russia.

They also note that Israel, Pakistan and India are among the states that have yet to ratify the treaty.

Ajumogobia reiterated the need to give security assurances to non-nuclear were never inclined to developing nuclear weapons capabilities, so as dissuade them from going into the nuclear arms adventure.

However, Prof Joy Ugwu, Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, lauded Nigeria’s central role in the nuclear disarmament campaigns, saying that the country’s choice to refrain from nuclear weapons’ adventure was also salutary.

She said that Nigeria only wanted to pursue the peaceful uses of nuclear energy for human development and international cooperation.

“Nigeria has earned a clean certificate of compliance to the treaty and a commitment to peaceful uses of nuclear energy from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA),” Ugwu said.

Elsewhere, Prof. Robert Galluci, a nuclear non-proliferation advocate and President of MacArthur Foundation, has repeatedly warned that governments across the world could not afford to be complacent with issues regarding nuclear weaponry.

“ Nuclear threat is not a fantasy; it is not only possible and plausible but it is also probable over time. The global risks from nuclear weapons and nuclear terrorists loom large,’’ he said.

Galluci rejected the viewpoint in certain quarters that only cities in the U.S. or Western countries were vulnerable to nuclear attacks.

“I would say that any country that has suffered significant terrorist attacks, whether foreign or domestic, needs to take nuclear control measures very seriously,” he said.

Many analysts and strategists agree with him on the need for more people, organisations and governments to collaborate on the control of nuclear weapons, against the backdrop of increased terrorism threats across the world.

“Today, terrorists have a global reach and that makes it essential to secure nuclear-related materials.

“Countries that consider themselves as not doing well in nuclear security should learn from an international perspective about the issue and the need to do better,” he said.

In a publication, Mr George Shultz, a former U.S. Secretary of State, said: “In today’s wars, waged on the world order by terrorists, nuclear weapons are the ultimate means of mass devastation.

“Non-state terrorist groups with nuclear weapons are conceptually outside the bounds of a deterrent strategy and they present difficult new security challenges,’’ he wrote in the article.

Shultz and many others call on world leaders to give the same attention they are giving to climate change issues to nuclear control measures to ensure human survival as well as the sustainability and health of the Earth.

Experts insist that the spectre of nuclear holocaust still looms large, especially with the perceived intransigence of North Korea and Iran over their nuclear programmes.

Pacifists note that in the event of a nuclear blast, virtually all the people of world will experience its disastrous effects.

They, therefore, argue that after 40 years of the NPT, world leaders should move beyond the limited objectives of curbing nuclear proliferation and reducing existing arsenals to focusing on the attainment of a world free of nuclear weapons.

They also hold the viewpoint that stakeholders and civil society groups in Nigeria should join forces with other peoples and groups across the world to push for the abolition of nuclear arsenals.

Onwubuariri writes for NAN

Peter Onwubuariri