Putin, don’t even PRETEND to think about starting a nuclear war! 

On April 20, Russia test-fired a nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile, accompanied by President Putin boasting that the ICBM had no equivalents anywhere in the world and would make adversaries “think twice” before making threats against Russia.* This is just the latest of a number of nuclear threats which have been made by President Putin during […]

Turn Back the Doomsday Clock: Achieve No-First-Use

by Uta Zapf * On January 20, 2022, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists will re-set the Doomsday Clock indicating the level of threat to civilisation from nuclear weapons, climate change and other existential risks. The Doomsday Clock currently stands at 100 Seconds to Midnight. In this article Uta Zapf explores how we could turn back […]

Why France still Rejects No-First Use

by Gen. Bernard Norlain and Marc Finaud * The official nuclear doctrine of France is meant to be clear and simple: nuclear deterrence is designed to protect France’s “vital interests”. Its latest formulation was presented by President Emmanuel Macron in February 2020 as follows: “Should the leader of any State underestimate France’s deep-rooted attachment to […]

Dear nuclear powers: Don’t even THINK about starting a nuclear war!

Some plain speaking in conjunction with the release of a NoFirstUse Global Open Letter to the States Parties of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons  By Aaron Tovish, Director, Zona Libre. Member, NoFirstUse Global Steering Committee Dear President Biden, President Putin, President Xi, Prime Minister Johnson and President Macron (with copies to Prime Minister Modi, Prime Minister Khan, Prime Minister Herzog and Supreme Leader Kim),  […]

A ‘wind of change’ could move states never to initiate a nuclear war

By Carlo Trezza, Member of the European Leadership Network.* For decades the issue of a commitment by nuclear armed states not to be first users of nuclear weapons in a conflict has been a subject of discussion in international fora dealing with security and arms control. If adopted by all nuclear weapons states, the concept […]

Gareth Evans: The Case for No First Use of Nuclear Weapons

Presentation by Professor the Hon Gareth Evans, Chair, Asia Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN), to GCSP/PNND International Webinar on “Is it Time for No First Use Policies in the USA and Globally?”, 29 April 2021