Letter to our european partners: taking common action against nuclear weapons

Executive Director, Acronym Inst. for Disarmament Diplomacy (AIDD)
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Steering Group (2017 Nobel Peace Prize)
International Panel on Fissile Materials (Princeton)
Women in Black, Feminist Security, Peace and Climate activist
[email protected]
+44 773 336 0955

Dear fellow campaigners for a world free of nuclear weapons,

Our action alliance “atomwaffenfrei.jetzt” has been working in Germany and internationally for over 30 years alongside ICAN, Abolition 2000 and Mayors for Peace to encourage further accessions to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and to achieve complete global nuclear disarmament. 

In view of the dangerous trend within the European Union to rely on nuclear deterrence in its common security policy, we consider it imperative that we, as a peace movement, stand together at European level and strengthen our networks. The strategy meeting organised by ICAN in France in April is an important step in this regard. Through joint, coordinated actions, we can more effectively counter plans for nuclear rearmament.

To make this possible, we believe it would be helpful to gather basic information on the specific situation in all European countries. We therefore suggest the following questions to identify opportunities for more effective future work and to compile a European overview:

1.   How are efforts to establish a European deterrent being discussed in your country? What positions have been taken so far on NATO’s nuclear weapons policy, and by what majority?

2.   How important are considerations of international law in this context? What significance do the obligations under the NPT and the findings of the ICJ advisory opinion hold?

3.   Who are the leading voices on this issue in politics, the media and society?

4.   What opportunities do you see for influencing public opinion against any expansion of nuclear deterrence? Are there, for example, opinion polls? 

To give you a brief insight into our efforts, on the occasion of the 5th anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, we are pleased to send you an English version of our leaflet, published at the end of 2025, as an attachment. We are very keen to hear your views and comments on the relevant articles.

Please use the following email address for any feedback: [email protected]

The upcoming events, namely the NPT Review Conference in April/May, the 30th anniversary of the ICJ advisory opinion (8 July 1996) on the illegality of nuclear weapons under international law, the 30th anniversary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty in September, and the TPNW Review Conference in November/December, would provide opportunities to bring the necessity of a nuclear-weapon-free future even more strongly into the public discourse.

Best regards

Roland Blach

Campaigner

Aktionsbündnis

„atomwaffenfrei.jetzt“

Projektleitung und Koordination

Mail [email protected]

Mobil 0177-2507286

Web www.atomwaffenfrei.de

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