Alyn Ware, Member of the World Future Council and Global Coordinator of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (PNND), Right Livelihood Award laureate
In 1996 the International Court of Justice ruled that the use of nuclear wepaons and the threat to use them are illegal. According to the Court negotiations about the abolition of these weapons has to start immediately. Since then Alyn Ware has worked to implement this decision. Inspite of the opposition of nuclear states like the US and Russia progress has been made, says Ware. China, India and Pakistan support negotiations about a complete ban on nukes. UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon has presented a plan for a nuclear convention. Until a ban can be reached new Nuclear-Weapon-Free- Zones (NWFZ) should be implemented. At this point there are Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zones in Latin America and the Caribean, the Antarctic, South Pacific, South East Asia and Africa.
Israel is the only state in the Near East possessing nuclear weapons – without admitting it officially however. As long as these weapons are not part of negotiations on regional security the nuclear armament in the Middle East is likely according to Ware. The nuclear energy programs of Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt could possibly serve to open an option for nuclear weapons in order to counter Israel. Negotiations on the implementation of a nuclear-weapon-free-zone in the Middle East could break these dynamics. In December a conference on the issue in Helsinki including Iran and Israel was scheduled. It was postponed indefinitely due to Israels rejection to take part at the conference.
The use of nucelar energy was and is closely linked to the option of nuclear weapons in many countries worldwide, according to Alyn Ware. Also the nuclear programs of Germany and Sweden were originally conceived as part of a military option – before both countries renounced nuclear weapons in 1969. But even the „civil“ use of nuclear energy is the worst possible investment, according to Ware, as it is extremely expensive and involves incalculable risks to health and the environment.