This article was originally published by The Hill.
The U.N. just concluded the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Preparatory Committee with representatives from the 189 signatory nations and of civil society. The meeting was in preparation for next year’s NPT conference and to discuss the current status of fulfilling the obligations under the treaty and in particular, the mandate of the nuclear weapons states for global disarmament. The outcome was a continued foot dragging by the nuclear states motivating a demand for meaningful steps and progress toward disarmament by the other 184 nations in view of current international events.
Recent scientific studies by the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War on the humanitarian consequences of limited nuclear war have shed additional light on the danger these weapons pose. Describing a hypothetical conflict between India and Pakistan using less than ½ of 1 percent of the global nuclear arsenals, the studies confirm 2 billion people would be at risk of dying due to global climatic change.
Combined with recent scandals involving U.S. ICBM missile controllers and a growing accounting of nuclear mishaps and near misses in our nuclear forces over the years, the sense of urgency for disarmament is greater than ever. It has become a question of who will step forward and speak for humanity.
On April 24, the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) filed the Nuclear Zero Lawsuits in the International Court of Justice against all nine nuclear-armed nations, as well as against the United States in U.S. Federal District Court. RMI claims that the nuclear weapon states are in breach of Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which entered into force 16,121 days prior to the filing. In this David vs. Goliath action this tiny island nation has found the voice to speak on behalf of the world and the other nations signatory to the Treaty.
The case for the Nuclear Zero Lawsuit comes directly from the NPT where Article VI states: “Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.”
This was the grand bargain that convinced many non-nuclear weapon states to sign the treaty and agree not to develop nuclear weapons of their own. Forty-four years later, with no meaningful negotiations on the horizon and no end in sight to the “step-by-step” process heralded by the permanent five members of the UN Security Council (P5), the RMI has stepped in to change the discourse on nuclear disarmament.
RMI is seeking declaratory relief from the courts that will compel the leaders of the Nuclear Weapons States (NWS) to initiate good-faith negotiations for an end to the nuclear arms race and to nuclear disarmament. They are challenging the leaders of the NWS to answer, on the record, why 44 years have passed and nuclear arsenals continue to be modernized, national security strategies continue to place nuclear weapons at the top of the list, and the P5 don’t even expect to have a “Glossary of Key Nuclear Terms” to talk about nuclear disarmament until 2015.
In addition to the five Nuclear Weapon States named in the NPT, the lawsuit also includes the four nuclear weapon states that are not parties to the NPT – Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea – which, RMI argues, are bound to Article VI obligations under customary international law.
The RMI is a small sovereign nation, among the smallest in the world. However, their courage could not be greater. Having been a testing ground for 67 nuclear tests between 1946 and 1958, the Marshall Islanders have seen their land, sea and people poisoned from radiation. These tests had an equivalent explosive force greater than 1.5 Hiroshima bombs being detonated daily for 12 years. The Marshall Islanders paid a heavy price in terms of their health and well-being for these destructive tests. They have experienced firsthand the horrible destruction caused by nuclear weapons and those that possess them. They are willing to stand up to the nine nuclear giants and say, “Never again. We have seen the destructive impact of these horrific weapons and vow to do all we can so the world never sees such atrocities again.”
The RMI does not act alone in this action. A consortium of NGOs working to highlight the legal and moral issues involved in the Nuclear Zero Lawsuit has come together around the world coordinated by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation in Santa Barbara. Respecting the courage of the plaintiff in bringing these lawsuits against some of the most powerful nations in the world they have developed a call to action.
The consortium urges everyone to join them by raising your voice in support of the Nuclear Zero Lawsuit. Go to www.nuclearzero.org, where you can read more about the lawsuits and sign the petition encouraging leaders of the Nuclear Weapon States to begin good-faith negotiations.
Williams received the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize for her work with the International Committee to Ban Landmines (ICBL) and is chair of the Nobel Women’s Initiative. Dodge is a family physician on the Board of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and Physicians for Social Responsibility – the U.S. affiliate of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War – recipient of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands has acted boldly and courageously in standing up to the nine nuclear-armed nations, and through its lawsuits asserting that all nations are required to follow the dictates of international law. Justice delayed is justice denied. In the case of nuclear arsenals, justice delayed increases the threat that nuclear weapons will be used by accident or design.Marshall Islanders know the pain and suffering caused by nuclear weapons, and they have taken legal action to assure that no country or individual will suffer in the future as they have suffered in the past and continue to suffer in the present. Before the law, all countries stand on even footing – the small and the large, the weak and the powerful.
I deeply admire the courage and conviction shown by the Marshall Islands, plaintiff in the case against known nuclear weapon states to “pursue in good faith and conclude negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament.”
I am writing on behalf of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament to express our great appreciation for your decision to institute legal proceedings against the nine nuclear weapons states. We sincerely welcome your decision to take them to the International Court of Justice for their failure to comply with Article VI of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: to ‘pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control’.
The failure of the United States to uphold important commitments and respect the law makes the world a more dangerous place. President Obama has said that ridding the world of these devastating weapons is a fundamental moral issue of our time. It is time for the United States to show true leadership by keeping the promises set forth in the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
I wholeheartedly support the people of the Republic of the Marshall Islands, in their courageous decision to file The Nuclear Zero Lawsuit against the nine nuclear-armed nations in the International Court of Justice in The Hague, and against the U.S. in Federal District Court in San Francisco. The Marshall Islanders seek to hold these countries accountable for failing to fulfill their obligations as set out in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and customary international law, to pursue negotiations for the worldwide elimination of nuclear weapons.
I had not known anything about nuclear testing in the Pacific. I was in high school in Nagasaki, and it was still a very tough time. Then in 1954, there was big news in Japan that the Bikini Islands were experiencing nuclear testing. The Lucky Dragon crew came home sick and dying. Hibakusha know about radiation. My father died from radiation exposure. Many people thought that nuclear radiation was only a problem for atomic bomb survivors, but when we learned about Pacific Islanders, we realized they suffered the same way we suffered: by becoming sick without knowing what had happened. We must work together, seeing the future to reach a peaceful world. We must learn from the Pacific Islanders. It is really important to support the 
This suit is long overdue. The U.S. has been in continuous violation of its Article VI obligations under the NPT since ratification nearly 45 years ago.
The people of the Marshall Islands have suffered from a grievous crime committed by the US military with their nuclear weapons. And these deeply traumatized people now demonstrate to the world immense courage by taking the mighty government of the United States and the other nuclear-armed nations to the International Court of Justice.May we pray that their immense suffering and courage will open the hearts of the international community to finally, once and for all, move toward rapid total nuclear disarmament.
Current nuclear expenditures and policies are genocidal, suicidal and insane. The use of nuclear weapons, knowing that large numbers of civilians will be killed, is a crime against humanity for which responsible leaders would be held accountable, civilly and criminally, in a national or international criminal court.
The new legal challenge to nuclear-armed nations from the Marshall Islands is hugely inspiring. The 
Nuclear weapons are a clear reflection of fear and paranoia and project a false sense of security. I stand with the Marshall Islands in their pursuit of negotiations for Nuclear Zero, the only safe number of nuclear weapons on the planet.
The people of the Marshall Islands, who – as a result of US nuclear weapons tests – watched their children die and saw their homeland turned into an uninhabitable radioactive exclusion zone, have full right to demand that the nuclear weapon states finally abolish their nuclear arsenals. Nuclear abolition is the central agreement of the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Within the NPT, the nuclear weapon states agreed to act in good faith to abolish their nuclear arsenals, in exchange for the promise of the non-nuclear weapon states not to build their own nuclear weapons.
The work on the Nuclear Zero lawsuits has profound value in a number of ways. It responds humanely to the pain of Marshall Islanders, which Kai Erikson and I became acutely aware of in working with them. The lawsuits are combating nuclearism, a still dangerous spiritual disease, and military stance. They are also helping to combat climate falsification, which has demonstrable links to nuclearism. And they are demonstrating a determination to take action on behalf of continuing life, rather than giving up on our planet.
Congratulations to the Marshall Islands in their bold initiative to sue the nine nuclear weapons states in the International Court of Justice, together with a separate case against the US in Federal Court. The Marshall Islanders are seeking a court order that the nuclear outlaws comply with customary international humanitarian law as well as honor the promises that were made in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to conclude negotiations to eliminate nuclear weapons on the planet. The announcement of this legal action was welcomed with applause and loud cheering in New York during the said proceedings of the NPT meeting at the UN. It is inspiring that this small island nation whose people bore the terrible catastrophic consequences of US nuclear testing in the Pacific, with genetic damage, cancer, leukemia and awful mutations caused by the radioactive fallout, has courageously challenged the unconscionable policies of the nuclear weapons states. Congratulations to the Marshall Islands for leading the way in this important new legal proceeding.
The Marshall Islands.”The weak things of the earth shall confound the strong.”The poisoned and fractured Marshall Islands shout a “broken alleluia” to the planet. This nation of 68,000 people is a victim of “nuclearism,” a terminal pathology which endangers life on earth.Nuclear ovens have a potential of indiscriminate slaughter far greater than the madness of the Third Reich.
I add my voice to the chorus of cheerleaders for the Marshall Islands in taking this on – they continue to fight the good fight, an inspiration to all of us.
The “Nuclear Nine” – U.S., Russia, UK, France, China, Israel, India, Pakistan and North Korea – were sued five days ago by the Republic of the Marshall Islands for breach of Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and related provisions of customary international law. Very little has been said thus far by representatives of the offending nations. Below is a summary of the statements of Russia, the U.S. and Israel along with some commentary.
I am writing on behalf of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament to express our great appreciation for your decision to institute legal proceedings against the nine nuclear weapons states. We sincerely welcome your decision to take them to the International Court of Justice for their failure to comply with Article VI of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty: to ‘pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control’.
The Marshallese people have one of the most important stories to tell regarding the need to avert the use of nuclear weapons, and one which should spur far greater efforts for nuclear disarmament.