Contact us T +32 (0)2 626 07 20 | info@europeangreens.eu

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • Flickr

Donate

  • Login to your account
  • User account
  • About Us
    • Organisation
    • People
    • Networks and Working Groups
    • Guidelines
  • Our Positions
    • Positions
    • Resolutions
    • Policy Papers
    • Manifesto
  • Get involved
    • Climate Action
    • European Green Recovery Campaign
    • European Greens Podcast
    • European Ideas Lab
    • The Green Screen
    • Local Councillors' Network
    • Trans-Inclusive Feminist Campaign
  • Member Parties
  • News
    • News
    • Press Releases
    • Brand Assets
    • Communications Team
  • Events
Home
  • About Us
  • Our Positions
  • Get involved
  • Member Parties
  • News
  • Events
  • Positions
    • Foreign and Security Policy
    • Europe and Democracy
    • Climate and Energy
    • Economy and Jobs
    • Human Rights and Migration
    • Social Justice and Health
    • Environment and Food
  • Resolutions
  • Policy Papers
  • Manifesto

Resolution on Nuclear Weapons

Share
Share on FacebookShare on Twittershare on Linked Inshare on Google Plusshare via email

Adopted at the Istanbul Council, 7-9 November 2014

On Nuclear Weapons  


More than 20 years after the end of the Cold War, and nearly 70 years after nuclear weapons were first used on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there are still over 16,000 such weapons in the world, including several hundred ready for use within minutes of a command. In light of the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences of nuclear weapons, we as Greens reaffirms our commitment to achieving a world free of such weapons. 

For many years, there has been little to no progress in multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations, and the pace of nuclear disarmament is slowing down at a significant and disconcerting rate. This development is epitomised by the 17-year long deadlock in the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva and by the failure of the parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to fulfill the nuclear disarmament obligations required by the Treaty.

In recent years, we have seen the emergence of a series of initiatives highlighting the humanitarian and environmental impact of nuclear weapons. The fact-based discussions that took place at the first and second Conferences on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, convened respectively by Norway in March 2013 and by Mexico in February this year, have demonstrated that the effects of a single nuclear weapon detonation, whether through accidental or intentional use, will be catastrophic for people and environment. Even a limited nuclear war would cause a climate cooling to such an extent that the following famine could kill 1-2 billion people. [1]

The broad participation at those Conferences, with attendance most recently in Nayarit, Mexico, by 146 states, the International Committee of the Red Cross, a number of UN humanitarian organisations and civil society, reflected the recognition that the continued existence and deployment of nuclear weapons is a fundamental and global concern. We warmly welcome Austria’s announcement of a third Conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, scheduled for 8-9 December 2014.

The EGP Council believes that recent initiatives highlighting the humanitarian and environmental impact of nuclear weapons provide a unique opportunity for states and civil society to reach new international standards and norms, through a legally binding instrument prohibiting nuclear weapons. We note that nuclear weapons are the only weapons of mass destruction not yet prohibited in a universally applicable international treaty. Experience with other categories of weapons demonstrates that the elimination of weapons follows international agreements to ban them.


On this basis, the EGP Council calls on
all European governments to:

1.  Participate in an active and constructive manner at the Third International Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in Vienna, Austria on 8-9 December 2014.

2.  Highlight the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and the need for a new legal instrument prohibiting nuclear weapons in relevant international forums, including at the 2015 NPT Review Conference.

3.  Support the immediate start of negotiations for a new legal instrument prohibiting nuclear weapons as a first step towards their complete elimination. The fact that there is no explicit legal prohibition against nuclear weapons constitutes a legal anomaly among weapons of mass destruction. A new instrument prohibiting nuclear weapons would establish a strong international norm against further use, possession and deployment of nuclear weapons. A diplomatic process to achieve such an instrument should be open to all states and blockable by none, and should therefore start even if states with nuclear weapons refuse to participate.   



[1] Study by International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), 2013, second edition, LINK.

Related downloads:
AttachmentSize
PDF icon 2. Adopted Resolution on Nuclear Weapons - EGP Istanbul Council, 7-9 Nov 2014.pdf503.58 KB

Recent News

Icon:
Title:

Europe Day: Europe must go green!

Post date:
09 May 2023
Body:

73 years ago, on 9 May 1950, the Schuman declaration marked the beginning of the most ambitious peace project on the continent, a project aimed at making war in Europe "not merely unthinkable, but materially impossible". Today, we celebrate the peace and unity that we have managed to secure in the European Union over the past decades. 

Icon:
Title:

Building a stronger social Europe: Sara Matthieu talks EU Minimum Income on Labour Day

Post date:
28 April 2023
Body:

At every level, from local governments to the European Parliament, Greens promote legislation that improves working conditions and reduces inequality. In our interview with Green MEP Sara Matthieu we discuss the Minimum Income initiative which aims to ensure that no one in the EU must live below the poverty line.

Icon:
European Green Party Co-Chairs Mélanie Vogel and Thomas Waitz
Title:

One year since the full-scale illegal invasion of Ukraine

Post date:
24 February 2023
Body:

Today marks one year since the full-scale illegal invasion of Ukraine by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s forces. Since this day, Putin has continued to violate international laws and agreements as well as the human rights of the people of Ukraine. 

More News

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • Flickr
Tweet Contents:

💙 WE STAND WITH UKRAINE 💛

🫶 During the #EGPCongress in Vienna, we took a moment to express our unwavering solidarity with Ukraine. Putin’s war is also an attack on our shared European values of democracy, human rights, and freedom. https://t.co/qOd5ODkBfh

Tweet Author:
europeangreens
Creation Date:
5 days ago
Tweet Contents:

💬 Michał Smoleń from Instrat at #EGPCongress:

“We now see the shift from fossil fuels driven by tech innovation and economic interests. But to avoid climate catastrophe, we can’t just add electric cars to the status quo. We need to change the way our societies live.” https://t.co/aPvW7V2naP

Tweet Author:
europeangreens
Creation Date:
5 days ago
Tweet Contents:

🌍 @benscud, Spokesperson of @FYEG at #EGPCongress:

“We cannot allow our climate solutions to become colonial. We cannot further pollute the Global South and destroy their lands and livelihoods. Our Green transition needs to be just for everyone.” https://t.co/OdnP3r4GdA

Tweet Author:
europeangreens
Creation Date:
5 days ago

Sign up to our newsletter

CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Fill in the blank.

Take charge of your future. Donate Green.

Chip in today to help us build a Greener Europe!

Donate

  • Organisation
    • About
    • History
    • Councils
    • Congresses
    • Finance Advisory Board
    • Amendments Committee
    • Conciliation Panel
  • People
    • Committee
    • Team
    • Vacancies
    • Traineeships
  • Networks and Working Groups
    • Networks
      • Balkan
      • Mediterranean
      • Gender
      • tilt!
      • Queer
      • Local Councillors
      • Seniors
      • Disability
    • Working Groups
      • Foreign and Security Policy
      • Future of Europe
      • Trade
  • Guidelines
    • Charter
    • Statutes
    • Rulebook
    • Finances
    • Privacy Policy
  • Our Positions
    • Positions
    • Resolutions
    • Policy Papers
    • Manifesto
  • Member Parties
  • News
    • News
    • Press Releases
    • Brand Assets
    • Communications Team
  • Events
  • Campaigns
    • The Green Screen
    • Green Talking Heads
    • Trans-Inclusive Feminist Campaign
    • Climate Action for the People and the Planet
    • European Green Recovery Campaign
  • Donate
Home

Rue du Taciturne 34

B-1000 Brussels, Belgium

T +32 (0) 2 626 07 20

info@europeangreens.eu

© European Greens - With the financial support of the European Parliament. Sole liability remains with the author.

cookies