Diplomacy and support to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons are more necessary than ever on the proposed EU rearmament
We have just shared the visit to Spain of a delegation of hibakusha from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in mid-January this year, accompanied by Nihon Hidankyo's co-president, Mr. Shigemitsu Tanaka who, on behalf of the organisation, received the Nobel Peace Prize 2024.
A visit that toured some cities in our country and which allowed us to share our concern about the presence of nuclear weapons, the pain they cause, and the long-lasting consequences for the peoples and individuals who suffer from them. Together with this delegation, we renewed our call to the government to adhere to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), to disarmament, and to the prohibition and dismantling of all nuclear weapons arsenals, under the principle that the best guarantee of not being able to use them is not to have them. A visit that was marked by a message of peace and security, respect for human life and the integral development of humanity, through dialogue, diplomacy and nonviolent activism.
They have been very significant encounters of great empathy, brotherhood and solidarity, organised and accompanied by the Alliance for Nuclear Disarmament, of which the General Commission for Justice and Peace of Spain (GCJP) is a member, sharing with educational entities at all levels, as well as with cultural, political and religious entities, the media, NGOs and civil society. People from 8 to 90 years of age have participated in the different scenarios. The visit also recalled that this year marks the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the nuclear threat with the dropping of the atomic bombs on the citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with devastating consequences whose impact and expansion are still active today. A call to remember history, to learn from it and not to repeat mistakes and failures.
No to the Franco-British-European nuclear umbrella.
And these days, from 3 to 7 March 2025, the Third Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW has just been held at the UN headquarters in New York, bringing together governments and civil society from all over the world to continue advancing the vision of the treaty for the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Interestingly, on the same days, leaders of state and government from European countries and Canada are holding meetings and meetings in favour of extending the Franco-British nuclear umbrella and increasing military and arms spending. In this context, the European organisations associated with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), and present at this 3rd Conference of States Parties to the TPNW, express that 'This dynamic undermines decades of European commitments to nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and international law, and exposes a profound hypocrisy. One day, these states claim to defend the international security architecture, i.e. the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), and the next they openly debate nuclear armament. Their efforts to condemn the nuclear threats of others ring hollow by the day. Needless to say, if the projects go ahead, they will reduce the security of Europeans and, indeed, of all states'. They go on to say that 'nuclear deterrence can never be a responsible or sustainable security strategy. We resist any normalisation of nuclear weapons that promotes proliferation or ends the nuclear taboo since 1945. (...) It is reprehensible that any state, but especially those who claim to defend and promote democracy, should talk of putting civilian lives and livelihoods at risk. (...) The normalisation of nuclear weapons is a step in the wrong direction, especially today, when the risk of nuclear war is greater than ever before'.
In the same space at the 3rd Meeting of States Parties, the Permanent Observer to the UN of the Vatican State, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, expressed concern about the return of 'deterrence-based rhetoric' and the 'dangerous spectre of nuclear threats'. He called for a 'shift of priorities' towards security and integral human development, and appealed that 'it is imperative that a reassessment of current priorities takes place, with investments directed towards a paradigm of peace and security defined by fraternity, rather than deterrence and military escalation'. In this context he underlined the responsibility of the international community in ensuring a secure future for new generations. In today's world, where weapons of destruction are increasingly powerful, 'the time has come to say "no" to war in earnest, to affirm that wars are not just, but that only peace is just: a stable and lasting peace, not built on the dangerous balance of deterrence, but on the fraternity that unites us,' said Caccia.
We take a stand against the culture of war and weapons.
The GCJP, together with these actors present at the 3rd Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW, in synergy on the road to peace, and in the face of the proposal of the governments of European countries to increase investment in the arms industry and prepare for war, takes a strong and clear position in condemning the escalation of rearmament and the new arms race and especially the taboo of nuclear deterrence. At this key historical moment, with increased nuclear risk, States are expected to address the threat posed by nuclear weapons and the urgency of nuclear disarmament. We therefore call on them to reflect on and to consider correcting the wrong path towards arms and nuclear escalation and to work for integral human development, for a just and lasting peace, the fruit of dialogue, collaboration and diplomacy, and not of confrontation and war.
Yes to investment in integral development.
Looking ahead to Jubilee 2025 and the possible action towards debt cancellation for development, we are even more outraged by the EU's focus on defence security over the other components of human security. As Pope Francis says: 'Social inequality sooner or later generates violence that the arms race does not and will never resolve', but 'only serves to try to deceive those who demand greater security, as if we did not know today that weapons and violent repression, instead of bringing solutions, create new and worse conflicts', which need to be corrected with funding better spent from the outset on integral human development and the development of peoples.
General Commission for Justice and Peace of Spain, 11th March 2025.
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