Elimination of nuclear weapons at the very latest by 2045

Posted: 24th October 2020

UNFOLD ZERO and #wethepeoples2020 update

On October 2, 2020, 77 Heads of State and Government Ministers addressed a United Nations High-Level meeting on the elimination of nuclear weapons, along with the UN Secretary-General, the President of the UN General Assembly and two representatives of civil society.

One of the proposals highlighted by some of the governments, and supported by the two civil society representatives Vanda Proskova and Saber Chowdhury, was an appeal to UN member states to commit to achieving the elimination of nuclear weapons at the very latest by 2045, the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations.

This target of 2045 for the global elimination of nuclear weapons is being promoted by two recently launched civil society appeals, one by World Beyond War which focuses its attention on the nine nuclear-armed States, and the other by #WeThePeoples2020 which focusses on all UN members.

The #WeThePeoples2020 appeal also calls for the immediate implementation of nuclear risk-reduction measures and for UN member states to cut nuclear weapons budgets, end investments in the nuclear weapons industry and redirect these budgets and investments to support climate action, COVID-19 recovery and implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. (We encourage you to endorse either or both of these appeals).

Already over 300 people have endorsed the new Appeal for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Worldincluding parliamentarians, mayors, academics, former UN and government officials, religious leaders, former military leaders, youth and representatives of civil society organisations.
Click here to add your endorsement. 

Target 2045: Building public engagement and political momentum

A follow-up article 2045: A New Rallying Call for Nuclear Abolition published last week by In-Depth News, provides background to the proposal of 2045 as the target by which to achieve nuclear weapons elimination, and explains how setting such a target could build public engagement and political momentum to ensure success. 

“2045 is the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations and also the 100th anniversary of the first use of nuclear weapons. As such, it provides a compelling symbolic date that can attract widespread political, media and civil society attention.“ 

Target 2045: Bridging the political and movement divide

The article also notes that the nuclear disarmament movement is currently divided between different strategies to achieve nuclear elimination, with some advocating for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), others advocating for a Nuclear Weapons Convention and yet others promoting incremental measures that can more likely gain the early support of the nuclear armed countries, to be followed later by nuclear abolition.

A value of the Target 2045 approach is that it does not specific how the nuclear armed States should achieve elimination, but rather by when (at the very latest). It leaves open the options for the nuclear armed States to eliminate their weapons through the TPNW or a nuclear weapons convention or a package of agreements or the Global Zero plan or another approach. In this way, the 2045 call bridges the divide between different sections of the disarmament movement and can build support from them all. 
 

Target 2045: Effecting policy change

The In-Depth News article also provides analysis on the possiblities to use this target as a way to engage those countries possessing or relying on nuclear weapons and bring about policy change.

“The Target of 2045 carries with it a burden on the nuclear-armed States to deliver. They would find it hard-pressed to deny that 100 years is more than enough time to implement the very first resolution of the UN General Assembly, adopted by consensus, setting forth the goal of nuclear weapons elimination. Besides, there is more than enough time between now and 2045 for the nuclear-armed States to address their security concerns about moving into a nuclear-weapons-free world. So, their usual excuse, that political conditions currently make it impossible to achieve a nuclear-weapons-free world falls flat on its face. They have nearly 25 years to take steps and establish mechanisms to meet their security concerns regarding relinquishing nuclear deterrence and eliminating the weapons. As such, 2045 cannot be credibly dismissed by nuclear deterrence adherents as not being feasible.”
 

Target 2045: Achieving elimination earlier

The Target 2045 proposal could effect nuclear elimination even before 2045. The key to achieving elimination is to convince the nuclear armed States to do it. Once they are convinced, the remaining political and technical hurdles will be easy to address, and elimination could proceed quite quickly. 
 

Building the Target 2045 campaign

Further events and actions to advance the Target 2045 proposal are being planned, including a webinar coming up soon. UNFOLD ZERO and #wethepeoples2020 will keep you informed.

For additional background please see Can we eliminate nuclear weapons by 2045 (or before)?Yours sincerely
UNFOLD ZERO and #wethepeoples2020