Photo credit: Jamie Christiani, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
On January 24, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientist moved the hands of its iconic Doomsday Clock forward, largely (though not exclusively) because of the mounting dangers of the war in Ukraine. The Clock now stands at 90 seconds to midnight-the closest to global catastrophe it has ever been.
The Secretary General of the UN warns that humanity is “one miscalculation” away from “nuclear annihilation.” All nuclear weapon states are enhancing their arsenals, while nuclear arms control talks have come to a complete halt. Amid nuclear threats and inflammatory rhetoric, the Nonproliferation Treaty is under critical pressure. Scientific studies warn that a U.S.-Russian nuclear war could cause five billion famine deaths and usher in a “nuclear Little Ice Age.”
The NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security and the All Souls Nuclear Disarmament Task Force hosted a panel on February 28 to discuss actions to begin pulling the world back from the edge of the abyss. Watch the recording here.
Panelists:
Rene Holbach, a Political Affairs Officer in the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, has served in UNODA’s sections on weapons of mass destruction and on science, technology and international security. He holds degrees in modern history and political science from the University of London and in international relations from Cambridge University.
Jackie Cabasso, the Executive Director of Western States Legal Foundation and a “founding mother” of Abolition 2000, has been a leading expert and activist on peace and disarmament issues for four decades. She currently serves as a National Co-convenor of United for Peace and Justice and is an Executive Advisor for Mayors for Peace.
Bruce Knotts, moderator, a retired U.S. diplomat, is chair of the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security and co-chair of the NGO Committee on Human Rights.
