G7 Summit in Hiroshima: Addressing nuclear threats is essential Opinion by Euractiv

Holding the G7 in Hiroshima without advancing on nuclear disarmament would simply be a political failure, write Merle Spellerberg and Max Lucks in an article for Euractiv.

Merle Spellerberg and Max Lucks are Green members of the German Bundestag’s Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Caliber.Az reprints the article.

On August 8, 1945, a nuclear bomb killed 140,000 people in the city of Hiroshima. Ever since, the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Hibakusha, live with the collective understanding that nuclear weapons must never be used again.

At a time when the world faces a growing nuclear threat, their suffering must serve as a serious warning to the G7 to work towards nuclear disarmament.

Together with the survivors of nuclear testing, the Hibakusha are living proof of the disastrous humanitarian impact that nuclear weapons can cause. The indiscriminate effect of these weapons has led civil society organisations and states to push for serious arms control efforts for decades.

Thanks to their tireless commitment, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the first treaty to ban nuclear weapons globally, came into force in 2021 – but is yet to be adopted by key players.

Despite repeated commitments and promises by nuclear weapon states, including the G7 members, to disarm, there are still more than 12,000 nuclear weapons in existence. In the hands of an irrational leader, they may cause catastrophic humanitarian and ecological consequences for which no state and no society can ever be prepared.

Meanwhile, the war of aggression against Ukraine has increased the risk of nuclear weapons use dramatically. Particularly the stationing of short-range missiles in Belarus and Putin’s escalating rhetoric is shaking the widespread assumption that nuclear weapons are political and stabilising weapons.

We cannot rely on the belief that nuclear weapons prevent war, whilst the people in Ukraine see their lives destroyed by nuclear power. As UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned: “We are one miscalculation from nuclear annihilation”.

This is a reality the G7 must address in its upcoming meeting in Hiroshima. Three of its members are nuclear weapons states, and two others, including Germany, have nuclear weapons stationed on their territory.

Moreover, the G7 has shown responsibility in promoting progress in arms control.

The Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction, a G7-led initiative that marked its 20th anniversary last year under the German presidency, is just one instrument through which member states could ramp up their efforts.

Under the leadership of Japan, they have the opportunity to listen to survivors of the atomic bombings and focus their efforts on reducing the risk of nuclear weapons use.

The G7 is a powerful community of prosperous states. It can make the necessary investments to move the world towards a more peaceful place.

And it has proven in the past that it is capable of taking watershed decisions: As a consequence of Russia’s illegitimate annexation of Crimea, the G7 excluded the state from its ranks in 2014.

At the historic venue of Hiroshima, the heads of state should prove that they are serious about global peace and security: they should condemn Russia’s nuclear threats, they should agree on a pathway towards complete nuclear disarmament, and they should deliver a renewed commitment to international arms control.

Holding the G7 in Hiroshima on 19 -21 May without advancing on nuclear disarmament would simply be a political failure.

As parliamentarians, we have a responsibility to support our countries in their efforts to move towards the ultimate goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.

Beyond the G7, Germany urgently needs to work with its partners to take concrete steps towards a world free of nuclear weapons.

Numerous initiatives offer untapped potential, such as The Stockholm Initiative, the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI), the Creating the Environment for Nuclear Disarmament Initiative (CEND) and the International Partnership for Nuclear Disarmament Verification (IPNDV).

In addition, serious international efforts must be made to strengthen international agreements on arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation. These efforts include working for the preservation and a follow-up solution to arms control treaties such as New START and the Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Further, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons moves us closer towards a world free of nuclear weapons. Unlike any other treaty, the TPNW outlaws nuclear weapons.

Germany can take a leading role in this.

As Germany observes the meeting of state parties to the TPNW, it can help to narrow the gap between state parties and states that have not yet joined the Treaty. Other G7 members should join Germany in promoting a constructive dialogue on nuclear disarmament.

The bridges to nuclear abolition have been built. Now we must cross them before it is too late.