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Commentary | 15 June 2017

UN Nuclear ban treaty negotiations

Arms Control Nuclear Arms Control United Nations Global Security

On Thursday 15 June, negotiations on treaty to ban nuclear weapons resumed at the UN in New York. Ahead of these talks, the European Leadership Network commissioned expert commentaries on the ban treaty and featured open letters co-signed by ELN members from France and Italy.

See below for the analysis from network members from across Europe, as well as two appeals to the French and Italian governments.

 

Expert Commentaries

The Challenges to the Ban Treaty, by Tarja Cronberg

Dr Cronberg, Distinguished Fellow at SIPRI and member of the Executive Board of the ELN, argues that instead of focusing on the 2017 ban treaty negotiations, efforts should be channelled towards agreeing on a treaty prohibiting the development, manufacture, possession and use of nuclear weapons as verifiable international convention.

 

France, the UK and the Treaty to Ban Nuclear Weapons, by Paul Quilès and Bernard Norlain

Paul Quilès, former French Minister of Defence, and Bernard Norlain, Former Air Defense Commander and Air Combat Commander of the French Air Force, argue that France and the United Kingdom must not only participate in but help lead negotiations to establish a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons.

 

The Case for a Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons, by Francesco Calogero

Professor Francesco Calogero discusses the case for a treaty banning nuclear weapons and argues that the transition to a nuclear-weapon-free-world should be jointly pursued by the US and Russia.

 

Open Letters

Appeal to the next French president: For a leading role of France towards multilateral nuclear disarmament

Signed by over 20 French political, military, and academic leadership figures, this appeal calls for the new French president to engage in genuine action towards a world without nuclear weapons.

 

Open letter to the Italian government on the nuclear ban treaty negotiations

Signed by 15 Italian leadership figures, this appeal calls for the Italian government to review their decision not to participate in the negotiation on a Nuclear Ban Treaty.

 

The opinions articulated above represent the views of the author(s), and do not necessarily reflect the position of the European Leadership Network or any of its members. The ELN’s aim is to encourage debates that will help develop Europe’s capacity to address the pressing foreign, defence, and security policy challenges of our time.

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