The Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation initiated the following ‘Nuclear Testing Alert’ letter in response to mounting threats from the Trump administration that it will resume nuclear testing. We will publish any responses received and will cover the issues in more detail in the next issue of End Info (July 2020).
Recipients:
State Signatories to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
Josep Borrell Fontelles, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations
29th June 2020
Nuclear Testing Alert
Dear Ambassador/High Commissioner,
The United States last exploded a nuclear device in 1992. For several years, there was an international halt to nuclear testing until 2006, when North Korea exploded the first of six devices. Now, the Trump Administration openly discusses the US also conducting new nuclear tests.
Of approximately 2,000 nuclear tests to date, more than 1,000 were carried out by the US. Each nuclear test not only has geopolitical significance and associated risks, but also causes substantial human and environmental consequences. The legacies of harm from such testing are widespread and well documented.
President Trump may view nuclear testing as a means by which to boost his standing – domestically and internationally. It is deeply worrying that, during election year, deterioration in President Trump’s domestic support makes it thinkable that he will resort to even more extreme measures.
We call on the United States to abide by the international prohibition on nuclear testing. We call on those many states that have signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty to uphold and defend its provisions. We call on all concerned parties to raise the alarm on the risks associated with a resumption of nuclear testing before it is too late.
Yours sincerely,
Tony Simpson Tom Unterrainer
Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation
Supporting Organisations:
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (UK)
International Peace Bureau
Signatories:
Dr Becky Alexis-Martin, Author of Disarming Doomsday, L.H.M.Ling Outstanding First Book Prize Winner, UK.
Colin Archer, Secretary-General, International Peace Bureau (Retired), UK.
Ludo De Brabander, Vrede vzw, Belgian Peace Organization, Belgium.
Reiner Braun, International Peace Bureau, Germany.
Christopher Butler, Chair, Shipley CND, UK.
Noam Chomsky, USA.
Dr Jenny Clegg, National Council, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, UK.
Tamara Coates, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation.
John Daniels, Bertrand Russell Peace Foundation.
Marguerite Doyle, Greece.
Dennis DuVall, First U.S. citizen to be convicted of protesting against H-bombs at NATO base Büchel, Germany.
Commander Robert Forsyth RN (Ret’d), 2nd in Command Polaris submarine, commanded two other submarines and the Commanding Officer’s Qualifying Course, UK.
Benjamin Gottberg, Coordinating Group, TIME FOR PEACE – active against war, Denmark.
Commander Robert Green RN (Ret’d), author of Security without Nuclear Deterrence, New Zealand.
John Hallam, UN Nuclear Disarmament Campaigner, Co-Chair of Abolition 2000 Nuclear Risk Reduction working group, Australia.
Geir Hem, Norway.
Dr Kate Hudson, General Secretary, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, UK.
Kristine Karch, co-chair international network “No to war – no to NATO”, Germany.
Ulla Klötzer, Coordinator of Women Against Nuclear Power, Finland.
Lizette Lassen, Coordinating Group, TIME FOR PEACE – active against war, Denmark.
Lea Launokari, Coordinator of Women for Peace, Finland.
Jeremy Lester, Clerk of the Quaker Council for European Affairs, Belgium.
Professor Catherine Rowatt, former Green MEP, UK.
Alice Slate, World Beyond War, USA.
Allan Soeborg, Coordinating Group, TIME FOR PEACE – active against war, Denmark.
Rae Street, Peace Activist, UK.
Earl Turcotte, Chair, Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Canada.
Carol Turner, Vice Chair, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, UK.
Andy Vermaut, Human Rights Activist, President of {PostVersa}, Belgium.
Professor Dave Webb, Chair, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, UK.
Julie Ward, former Labour MEP, UK.
Lucas Wirl, Executive Director International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms, Germany.
Michael Youlton, Chairperson of the Irish Anti War Movement, Ireland.
Safardeen Yusuf, Student and Activist, Cyprus.
The statement was first published on the website of ENDINFO