The Legality of Nuclear Weapons

The following is an excerpt of an article written by John Carlson, Non-Resident Senior Fellow, VCDNP. The full article was published on 16 March 2022 by the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network.

"In January 2022 the five NPT nuclear weapon states affirmed the Reagan- Gorbachev Principle that “A nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought.” They also affirmed “…that nuclear weapons—for as long as they continue to exist—should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war.” Shockingly, only two months later, Russia is threatening use of nuclear weapons to deter interference with its aggression against Ukraine.

Mr Putin’s threats highlight that, more than 30 years after the end of the Cold War, nuclear weapons remain an existential threat to the world. While public attention is focused on climate change as the greatest global threat to human civilisation, nuclear war is a danger that is greater and more immediate. In addition to devastation on an unimaginable scale, nuclear war could trigger climate consequences leading to the deaths of billions, even human extinction.

The world still faces the danger of nuclear war because the nuclear-weapon states are not trying to pursue nuclear disarmament. At best it seems they don’t believe that nuclear disarmament is achievable. At worst, it seems nuclear weapons are considered indispensable to national – and for some leaders, personal – identity and power. The situation is exacerbated by nuclear “modernisation” programs, increasing nuclear arsenals, and now nuclear threats. The world cannot afford to ignore this danger any longer, there is an urgent need to recognise the insanity of basing national security on mutually assured destruction (aptly named MAD). We must do everything we can to persuade the leaders of the NPT nuclear-weapon states, and the other nuclear-armed states, to commit to a process of reducing the risks of nuclear war and eliminating these abhorrent weapons."

Read the full article