Antinuclear

Australian Government opposes efforts to ban nuclear weapons.

The bitter reality is that because of its willingness to support and assist deployment, targeting and potential use of US nuclear weapons, Australia is more part of the problem, holding back disarmament, than it is working for the solution”.

NO-NUKE AUSTRALIA THWARTS NUCLEAR FREE WORLD BY NEENA BHANDARI* | IDN-INDEPTH NEWSANALYSIS SYDNEY (IDN) – 17 Dec 13 Australia has been expressing support for a nuclear weapons-free world, but documents obtained by disarmament advocacy group, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), reveal that the Australian Government sees the increasing international focus on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons as “rubbing up against” its reliance on the United States nuclear weapons.

ICAN has obtained declassified diplomatic cables, ministerial briefings and emails under freedom-of-information laws, which show that the Australian Government plans to oppose efforts to ban nuclear weapons.

“Our freedom-of-information research has shown that Australia is worried that the increasing international focus on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons will lead to negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons,” ICAN Australia Campaigns Director, Tim Wright, told IDN.

The former Labour government did not endorse the 80-nation humanitarian statement delivered at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Second Preparatory Committee meeting held from April 22 to May 3, 2013, in Geneva. ICAN is calling on the current Liberal-National coalition government to play a more constructive role in Disarmament.

“Australia should stand on the right side of history, rather than attempting to undermine the efforts of progressive nations to ban and eliminate nuclear weapons,” said Wright.

In October 2013, another statement on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons was delivered to the 68th session of the UN General Assembly First Committee by New Zealand on behalf of 125 nations.

“Unfortunately, not only did Australia fail to sign this statement, but it introduced its own rival statement designed to steer governments away from a ban on nuclear weapons. The much weaker statement by Australia was endorsed by just a small number of US allies, and had little impact. We were pleased that the New Zealand-led statement attracted the support of a large and diverse number of governments committed to delegitimising the use and possession of nuclear weapons,” Wright told IDN.

Proponents of nuclear abolition find it disappointing that Australia appears desperate to thwart the efforts of many countries to highlight the devastating effects of nuclear weapons and the need to ensure they are never used again.

Dr Sue Wareham, Vice-President, Medical Association for Prevention of War (Australia) told IDN: “Australia will find itself in an increasingly small band of nuclear rogue states that either possess the weapons themselves or maintain policies for their possible use. Australian governments’ claims that they want practical steps towards disarmament have never been accompanied by a plan to get to zero. Short of that, they are merely supporting a situation of nuclear haves and have-nots, despite all the rhetoric to the contrary.”

Nuclear weapons, despite having the greatest destructive capacity of all weapons, are the only weapons of mass destruction not yet prohibited by an international convention. The disarmament movement received a boost with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement adopting a resolution to work towards a legally binding global convention on nuclear abolition.

Professor Ramesh Thakur, Director of the Centre for Nuclear Non-Proliferation & Disarmament at the Australian National University, is of the opinion that there was no compelling case for Australia to have maintained distance from the NZ-led statement.

“By being seen to be disagreeing, Australia is undermining ongoing efforts in other respects. At about the time of the NZ statement, Gareth Evans and I were engaged in serious efforts to convince the policy elite in India and Pakistan (and earlier in China, Japan and South Korea too) about steps that each country can take on its own to generate some serious momentum for nuclear arms control and disarmament (for example ratifying the CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty) without first waiting for the US Senate to do so),” Professor Thakur, a former UN Assistant Secretary-General, told IDN.

Most Australians are overwhelmingly opposed to nuclear weapons. As ICAN’s International Steering Group Co-chair, Associate Professor Tilman A Ruff, said, “Australians would like to believe that their government is one of the ‘good guys’ on nuclear disarmament. The bitter reality is that because of its willingness to support and assist deployment, targeting and potential use of US nuclear weapons, Australia is more part of the problem, holding back disarmament, than it is working for the solution”.

In1995 Australia’s then foreign minister had argued that a total ban on landmines was impractical and would never be accepted. This was two years before the Ottawa Treaty banning landmines opened for signature.http://www.indepthnews.info/index.php/global-issues/1953-no-nuke-australia-thwarts-nuclear-free-world

December 17, 2013 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | AUSTRALIA - NATIONAL, weapons and war