Disarming Our Planet

On April 14, 2019 the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, NJ hosted a conference on Steps To A Nuclear Weapons-Free World.

It is often stated – incorrectly – that the Chinese character for “crisis” includes the symbols for both “danger” and “opportunity.” While that may not be literally correct, the character does mean “a pivotal moment when things happen or change.” The world is at such a juncture...

While disarming our planet in today’s world includes among other things the goal of eliminating the use of weapons of mass destruction in large- and small-scale combat situations we generally describe as war, one wonders when and how did the notion of “war” and a soldier’s “...

According to a press release from the United Nations Office in Geneva, Part I of the Conference on Disarmament held on March 26, 2019 had concluded with a proposal from the United States. Its “Create an Environment for Nuclear Disarmament” Initiative hopes to bring together as...

Work to disarm our planet continues. Some good news of late reveals increasing support of the Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons with the ratification by South Africa, the 22nd country to do so with the distinction of being the only country which gave up its program to develop...

Recent news from companies like Salesforce, Google, and Microsoft has seen a segment of their work force protesting their companies’ connections with military policies in support of issues of major concern to those working for disarmament. ...

It seems time for some more good news. In opening up the homepage from the International Atomic Energy Agency website, the lead article read: “EU and IAEA Review Progress and Agree on Priorities in Nuclear Cooperation at Annual Meeting.” There it was: an actual story of...

On Feb. 1, the Trump administration announced it will pull the U.S. out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces treaty (INF), thus undoing one of the pillars of global security and potentially plunging the world into a new nuclear arms race. The 1987 signing of this treaty by U...

If you are old enough to have lived through it or have studied it, do you remember the Marshall Plan? Officially known as the European Recovery Program, the Marshall Plan was a 1948 American initiative to aid post-WWII Western Europe to rebuild their economies through economic...

This article originally appeared as the Introduction to a Special issue of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists: Spotlight on nuclear modernization on January 7, 2019, and is republished here with permission. ...

The Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty and the enterprise of nuclear arms control are at risk, as Andrew Lichterman of Western States Legal Foundation and John Burroughs of Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy explain in this opinion piece from January 2, 2019....

The following was graciously submitted by Georgina Long, the Interfaith Coordinator for the Brahma Kumaris UK, whom I had the pleasure of meeting at the World Parliament in Toronto, Canada in November. ...

The following blog is taken from a talk given by Guy Quinlan to the Harvard Club of New York City in September 2018 on the book by Daniel Ellsberg, The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner, and is reprinted with his kind permission. Please refer to this...

This blog is dedicated to the humanitarian workers of the world for their efforts to directly implement human rights values in working to disarm our planet. One such organization is the Buddhist Tzu Chi Foundation, whose Executive VP reflects here on Tzu Chi's work at a Tijuana...

The First Committee of the United Nations is a forum for countries to hold a dialogue on all disarmament-related matters. Where some countries promote disarmament to strengthen security for their population, others oppose disarmament as a threat to the security of their...

Armistice Day was renamed Veterans Day in 1954, changing the essence of the holiday to celebrating and honoring patriotism, the warriors, and the wars. What veterans really need is for society to reclaim the spirit of Armistice Day and unite in the common desire of the human...

Credit is seldom given to the daily work performed by international civil servants at the United Nations specialized agencies and programs. In the field of disarmament, the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs and others work to bring the range of weaponry and destructive conflict...

Trump's memorable visit to the United Nations in September 2018 included a conversation at the Security Council about weapons of mass destruction. During that session, many countries highlighted the need for nuclear powers to comply with existing treaties.

At a recent event at the Unitarian Church of All Souls in NYC, Chris King from the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs addressed the need for countries to come together to find a way to reduce nuclear weapons arsenals.

The risks of functionally delegating complex tasks – and associated decisions – to sensors and data-driven algorithms is one of the central issues of our time, with serious implications across sectors and societies. Nowhere are these more acute than in relation to decisions to...