Conditioning nuclear cooperation with India
Summary:The question for Canada is no longer whether to resume nuclear cooperation with India, but what conditions or limits should apply.
Once the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) opened the door to civilian nuclear trade with India there was little doubt that Canadian industry would soon try to walk through it. Canada’s nuclear technology leader, AECL Ltd., has already been in India exploring options, and Saskatchewan’s uranium producing Cameco Corp is eying a major new market.[i]
The question therefore is no longer whether Canada should, after a 35 year interruption, resume nuclear cooperation with India; instead, it’s a matter of [...]
Ban Ki-moon on Nuclear Disarmament II: Negative security assurances
Summary:The UN Secretary-General’s recent major speech on nuclear disarmament endorsed the ongoing demand that nuclear weapon states formally disavow any nuclear use or threats against states without nuclear weapons. Recent history does not offer much hope that the demand will soon be heeded.
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s call is for “the Security Council's permanent members…[to] unambiguously assure non-nuclear-weapon states that they will not be the subject of the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.”
Such “negative security assurances,” as they are known, have twice made it onto the Security Council agenda. Both instances illustrate the skill of nuclear weapon states (NWS) – which are of course also the five permanent (P5) members of the Security Council – in avoiding [...]
Obama on nuclear disarmament
Summary:Yesterday’s election offers the genuine hope of a dramatic change in US approaches to nuclear weapons and the Treaties and agreements that are intended to control and eventually eliminate them.
In September the Washington-based Arms Control Association published an extensive set of responses from then Democratic candidate Barack Obama to a series of arms control questions. The complete questions and answers are available at the ACA website.[i] The following notes some of the key nuclear disarmament commitments measures which he addressed.
Support for NPT and the elimination of nuclear weapons:
“As president, I will set a new direction in nuclear weapons policy and show the world that [...]
Ban Ki-moon on Nuclear Disarmament I: Towards a Global Nuclear Taboo
Summary:As if anticipating a US election result that will boost nuclear disarmament possibilities, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has launched his own effort to “revitalizing the international disarmament agenda.”
In a recent[i]speech to the New York policy community, the Secretary-General (S-G) put forward a “five-point proposal” that highlights a range of issues that have for some time been regarded as key to recovering from the disastrous arms control posture of the Bush Administration.
It will take more than just the absence of George W. Bush to get disarmament back on track (and two follow-up postings here will examine just two of the challenges), but it is clear that there will now be new opportunities [...]Afghanistan: Overcoming the Diplomacy Deficit
Summary:An election backgrounder prepared for Citizens for Public Justice. Connect at http://www.cpj.ca/en/our-work/other-work/canadian-federal-elections for this and other election backgrounders on a range of public justice issues that should engage voters and those seeking office.
