Changing the Nuclear Narrative

October 2021 Newsletter

Dear Friend,

Building on the June Putin-Biden summit, the United States and Russia are exploring next steps in nuclear arms control and related issues like missile defense. That’s mildly positive, though the process seems slow-moving and stuck in a bilateral mode. A very disturbing development is the emergence of arms racing, both conventional and nuclear, between China and the United States and its allies.

The nuclear powers and the world at large should heed the wise remarks UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres made on September 28, marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. He observed: “COVID-19 has taught us to expect the unexpected. Catastrophes that are unimaginable today can dominate our lives tomorrow. Against this unstable backdrop, the cloud of nuclear destruction looms largest.” So, he said, “let’s seize the opportunities” presented by next year’s NPT Review Conference and first meeting of members of the TPNW, the nuclear ban treaty – “and make sure that we move closer to our goal of eliminating these weapons.”

A personal note: this month begins a short term of parental leave for me, as my partner and I welcome the birth of our first child and take time to adjust to new life as a family of three. I’m grateful to John Burroughs, longtime LCNP Executive Director, for stepping in again as interim ED. Entering this new life chapter only strengthens my belief that the urgent work to achieve nuclear abolition must persist and must succeed. Our children’s lives and futures depend on it. Nuclear weapons have killed and maimed the people of the world for too many decades now—with a disproportionate impact on the Indigenous, people of color, and women and girls. As I begin to learn what it is to play a part in raising the next generation, I cannot help but consider that this work, while it may start at home, bleeds into every aspect of our lives and the choices we make to either strengthen or chip away at the health of our communities, and our world.

Your support of LCNP and partnership in our longstanding work to promote the rule of law against nuclear weapons reinforces the growing norm against nuclear weapons and is essential to making this world a better, safer place for us, our children, and the generations we cannot yet imagine. Thank you.

In gratitude,

Ariana Smith

Executive Director

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LCNP Presentation to UNGA First Committee: Human Rights, Nuclear Weapons, and

the Environment

Last week, LCNP Research Officer Danielle Samler delivered a statement to the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security. She stressed the importance of pursuing climate protection and nuclear disarmament in tandem, explaining:

"Environmental degradation and climate change increase the possibility of political instability and conflict, and therefore possible use of nuclear weapons. For this reason alone, states must actively work towards both environmental protection and disarmament."

And she underlined the role that human rights can play in this struggle, saying:

"We must change the narrative that nuclear weapons are a symbol of sovereignty, bring security, and promote stability and peace. In reality, we are living in a very insecure, unstable environment, above all due to actual and potential disruptions by nuclear weapons and climate change. A human rights approach can help change the narrative."

The statement was endorsed by Global Action to Prevent War; Reverse the Trend: Save our People, Save our Planet; Swiss Lawyers for Nuclear Disarmament; and Western States Legal Foundation. It can be found here.

LCNP's 40th Anniversary:

A Moment for Reflection

This year marks the 40th anniversary of LCNP, which was founded in 1981. LCNP Board members, advisors, and staff have done a remarkable amount over the four decades: spearheading the World Court Project leading to the International Court of Justice nuclear weapons advisory opinion; drafting a Model Nuclear Weapons Convention prohibiting and eliminating nuclear arms; engaging with NPT and TPNW processes; writing scholarly articles and producing policy-oriented books; supporting local activists and protesters; advocating in Washington; and much more. Learn more from this just posted Short History of LCNP.

Upcoming: IPB World Peace Congress

This month, LCNP is participating in the International Peace Bureau's World Peace Congress—a hybrid event hosted from Barcelona. The conference will present a range of panels and workshops over three days, October 15-17, to synergistically bring together international peace and justice movements.

Lucas Wirl, Executive Director of International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA), is coordinating a panel, "The Foundations of Peace: Nuclear Abolition and International Law". LCNP's newest team member, legal intern Hannah Kohn (meet her below), will talk about the intersection of nuclear disarmament and human rights law. Other panelists include Phon van den Biesen, IALANA Co-President, and Amela Skiljan, Co-Chair of German IALANA. (Saturday 16 October, 12pm CEST/6am EDT)

Danielle Samler, LCNP Research Officer, will speak in a simultaneous workshop, "The Impact of Nuclear Testing and Climate Change on Frontline Communities," on behalf of Reverse the Trend, an initiative of which LCNP is a proud partner.

LCNP strongly supports IPB's efforts to emphasize in the Congress participant representation from all continents and of all ages, ethnicities, races, gender and sexual orientations, and personal and professional backgrounds.

Welcome to Hannah Kohn:

LCNP's New Legal Intern

Hannah Kohn is a legal intern at the Lawyers Committee for Nuclear Policy and a student at the City University of New York School of Law where she is obtaining her J.D. At LCNP, Hannah is researching human rights law and nuclear abolition, with an emphasis on the disproportionate impact nuclear weapons have on marginalized communities. Hannah has previously worked with MADRE, OutRight Action International, the Global Justice Center, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the United Nations Development Programme.

We're thrilled to welcome Hannah to the LCNP team this fall. Her area of focus is the gendered impact of nuclear weapons, in particular an academic and legal exploration of the connections between gender-based violence and nuclear weapons systems and policies.

You can meet Hannah this month when she speaks at the IPB World Peace Congress about international human rights law and nuclear weapons. See above item on the three-day conference for more information.