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THE WAY IS NOW OPEN FOR A NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE ZONE IN NORTHERN EUROPE

by John Avery, University of Copenhagen

At the 50th Pugwash Conference in 2000, John Holdren said: “In a
rapidly-changing world, which we are certainly living in, the
establishment consensus on the necessity of nuclear weapons could
crumble quickly.” Today John’s prediction seems to be coming true.
There are indeed indications that the establishment is moving towards
the point of view that the peace movement has always held: - that
nuclear weapons are essentially genocidal, illegal and unworthy of
civilization; and that they must be completely abolished as quickly as
possible. There is a rapidly-growing global consensus that a
nuclear-weapon-free world can and must be achieved in the very near
future.

One of the first indications of the change was the famous Wall Street
Journal article by Schultz, Perry, Kissinger and Nunn advocating
complete abolition of nuclear arms [1]. This was followed quickly by
Mikhail Gorbachev’s supporting article, published in the same journal
[2], and a statement by distinguished Italian statesmen [3].
Meanwhile, in October 2007, the Hoover Institution had arranged a
symposium entitled “Reykjavik Revisited; Steps Towards a World Free of
Nuclear Weapons” [4].

In Britain, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, Lord Hurd and Lord Owen (all former
Foreign Secretaries) joined the former NATO Secretary General Lord
Robertson as authors of an article in The Times advocating complete
abolition of nuclear weapons [5]. The UK’s Secretary of State for
Defense, Des Brown, speaking at a disarmament conference in Geneva,
proposed that the UK “host a technical conference of P5 nuclear
laboratories on the verification of nuclear disarmament before the
next NPT Review Conference in 2010″ to enable the nuclear weapon
states to work together on
technical issues.

In February, 2008, the Government of Norway hosted an international
conference on “Achieving the Vision of a World Free of Nuclear
Weapons” [7]. A week later, Norway’s Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr
Stoere, reported the results of the conference to a disarmament
meeting in Geneva [8].
OnJuly 11, 2008 , speaking at a Pugwash Conference in Canada, Norway’s
Defence Minister, Anne-Grete Stroem-Erichsen, reiterated her country’s
strong support for the complete abolition of nuclear weapons [9].

Other highly-placed statesmen added their voices to the growing
consensus: Australia’s Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, visited the Peace
Museum at Hiroshima, where he made a strong speech advocating nuclear
abolition. He later set up an International Commission on Nuclear
Non-Proliferation and Disarmament co-chaired by Australia and Japan
[10].

On January 9, 2009, four distinguished German statesmen ( Helmut
Schmidt, Richard von Weizäcker, Egon Bahr and Hans-Dietrich Genscher)
published an article entitled “Towards a Nuclear-Free World: a German
View” in the International Herald Tribune [11]. Among the immediate
steps recommended in the article are the following:
- “The vision of a nuclear-weapon-free world… must be rekindled.”
- “Negotiations aimed at drastically reducing the number of nuclear
weapons must begin…”
- “The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) must be greatly reinforced.”
- ” America should ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty.”
- “All short-range nuclear weapons must be destroyed.”
- “The Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty must be restored. Outer
space may only be used for peaceful purposes.”

From the standpoint of an NWFZ in Northern Europe, the recommendation
that all short-range nuclear weapons be destroyed is particularly
interesting. The US nuclear weapons currently stationed in Holland,
Belgium and Germany prevent these countries from being (at present)
part of a de-facto Northern European NWFZ; but with an Obama
Administration in the United States, and with John Holdren advising
President Obama, this situation might be quickly altered. Both public
opinion and official declarations support the removal of US tactical
nuclear weapons from Europe [12]. Indeed the only argument for their
retention comes from NATO, which stubbornly maintains that although
the weapons have no plausible function, they nevertheless serve as a
“nuclear glue”, cementing the alliance.

The strongest argument for the removal of US tactical nuclear weapons
from Europe is the threatened collapse of the NPT. The 2005 NPT Review
Conference was a disaster, and there is a danger that at the 2010
Review Conference, the NPT will collapse entirely because of the
discriminatory position of the nuclear weapon states (NWS) and their
failure to honor their committments under Article VI. NATO’s present
nuclear weapon policy also violates the NPT, and correcting this
violation would help to save the 2010 Review Conference from failure.

At present, the air forces of the European countries in which the US
nuclear weapons are stationed perform regular training exercises in
which they learn how to deliver the weapons. This violates the spirit,
and probably also the letter, of Article IV, which prohibits the
transfer of nuclear weapons from an NWS to a non-NWS. The “nuclear
sharing” proponents maintain that such transfers would only happen in
an emergency; but there is nothing in the NPT saying that the treaty
would not hold under all circumstances. Furthermore, NATO would be
improved, rather than damaged, by giving up “nuclear sharing”.

If President Obama wishes to fulfill his campaign promises [13] - if
he wishes to save the NPT - a logical first step would be to remove
US tactical nuclear weapons from Europe. The way would then be open
for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Northern Europe, comprising the
Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland,
Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. Our final goal is, and
must remain, the complete abolition of nuclear weapons. But NWFZ’s are
steps along the road.

References and links

[1] George P. Schultz, William J. Perry, Henry A. Kissinger and Sam
Nunn, “A World Free of Nuclear Weapons”, The Wall Street Journal,
January 4, 2007, page A15 and January 15, 2008, page A15.
www.nuclearsecurityproject.org
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116787515251566636.html?mod=Commentary-US

[2] Mikhalil Gorbachev, “The Nuclear Threat”, The Wall Street Journal,
January 30, 2007, page A15.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117021711101593402.htm

[3] Massimo D’Alema, Gianfranco Fini, Giorgio La Malfa, Arturo Parisi
and Francesco Calogero, “For a World Free of Nuclear Weapons”,
Corriere Della Sera, July 24, 2008.
http://www.gsinstitute.org/pnnd/updates/20.html

[4] Hoover Institution, “Reykjavik Revisited; Steps Towards a World
Free of Nuclear Weapons”, October, 2007.
http://www.hoover.org/publications/books/online/15766737.html

[5] Douglas Hurd, Malcolm Rifkind, David Owen and George Robertson,
“Start Worrying and Learn to Ditch the Bomb”, The Times, June 30,
2008.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/guest_contributors/article4237387.ece?openComment=true

[6] Des Brown, Secretary of State for Defense, UK, “Laying the
Foundations for Multilateral Disarmament”, Geneva Conference on
Disarmament, February 5, 2008.
http://www.mod.uk/defenceinternet/aboutdefence/people/speeches/sofs/20080205layingthefoundationsformultilateraldisarmament.htm

[7] Government of Norway, International Conference on “Achieving the
Vision of a World Free of Nuclear Weapons”, Oslo, Norway, February
26-27, 2008. http://disarmament.nrpa.no/

[8] Jonas Gahr Stoere, Foreign Minister, Norway, “Statement at the
Conference on Disarmament”, Geneva, March 4, 2008.
http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/ud/dep/utenriksminister_jonas_gahr_store/taler_artikler/2008/cd_statement.html?id=502420

[9] Anne-Grete Stroem-Erichsen, Defense Minister, Norway, “Emerging
Opportunities for Nuclear Disarmament”, Pugwash Conference, Canada,
July 11, 2008.
http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fd/The-Ministry/defence-minister-anne-grete-strom-erichs/Speeches-and-articles/2008/emerging-opportunities-for-nuclear-disar.html?id=521830

[10] Kevin Rudd, Prime Minister, Australia, “International Commission
on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament”, Media Release, July 9,
2008.
http://www.pm.gov.au/media/release/2008/media_release_0352.cfm

[11] Helmut Schmidt, Richard von Weizäcker, Egon Bahr and
Hans-Dietrich Genscher, “Towards a Nuclear-Free World: a German View”,
International Herald Tribune, January 9, 2009.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/01/09/opinion/edschmidt.php

[12] Hans M. Kristensen and Elliot Negin, “Support Growing for Removal
of U.S. Nuclear Weapons from Europe”, Common Dreams Newscenter, first
posted May 6, 2005.
http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0506-09.htm

[13] David Krieger, “President-elect Obama and a World Free of Nuclear
Weapons”, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation Website, 2008.
http://www.wagingpeace.org/articles/2008/11/05_krieger_obama_elect.php