Further to my previous letter (We need better leaders, July 16) on the first atom bomb test, August 6 is the anniversary of the unleashing of this new megadeath machine on the world. For 75 years we have lived under the threat of a nuclear holocaust, avoided more by luck than by judgement. The longer nuclear weapons continue to exist, the greater the probability of that self-inflicted catastrophe happening, by accident, miscalculation or design. With the Doomsday Clock of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists (not the Union of Concerned Scientists, as I mistakenly said) set at 100 seconds to midnight, closer than even at the height of the Cold War, it is more urgent than ever that mankind must be freed from this scourge.
Surprisingly, of the two major existential threats (now exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic) that led the Atomic Scientists to this calculation, the nuclear one is the easier, in principle, to remove. It requires the political will of the leaders of just nine states. Of course, the lack of that political will is precisely the problem. They must be pressured to implement the following, as urgent first steps towards a nuclear-weapon-free world:
1. Individually and jointly reaffirm the Reagan-Gorbachev declaration of 1987-88, that ‘A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought’.
2. Adopt a “no first use” policy, as China has done.
3. Take all nuclear weapons off instant alert. This could be done almost overnight.
4. Physically separate warheads from their delivery systems, removing any possibility of accidental detonation.
5. Implement their commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to “pursue negotiations... to nuclear disarmament”.
6. Develop a phased programme to dismantle nuclear infrastructure and safely dispose of all fissile material.
The UK could and should take a lead in all these and more.
Frank Jackson
Former Co-chair, World Disarmament Campaign
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