Unlike the 1980s, when there were multiple protests in Europe against nuclear weapons installed on the continent, today it appears that this issue is settled and no longer requires attention. This is a very serious error, since the nuclear threat is very present, the proliferation of these weapons continues, and their use is even threatened. For all these reasons, the fact that the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the Nihon Hidankyo organization is a success, not only to recognize those who suffered the effects of the bombs dropped in 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, but also to alert on the risks of the existence of significant nuclear arsenals.
In 2017, seven years ago, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, made up of 652 organizations from around the world and which seeks to sign and ratify a treaty banning the use of these weapons. . arm. Currently, 73 countries have already ratified it. This year’s Nobel, and unlike 2017, is because we are no longer talking about an assumed risk, but rather a serious problem since Putin threatens to use tactical nuclear weapons, has deployed missiles in Belarus and the nine countries with nuclear weapons are modernizing. their arsenals, the maintenance of which will cost $91.393 million in 2023, or $2.898 per second.
The Norwegian committee that awards the prize noted that relations between the United States, Russia and their respective allies are now at their most toxic point since the Cold War. The term toxic is relevant because the increase in deployed weapons and their modernization represents a poisoning of international relations and the possibility of deaths from poisoning. Moreover, the nuclear deterrent which has made it possible to never use nuclear weapons since 1945, due to mutually assured destruction, seems to no longer be useful today, when, in a more than senseless way, there is a threat of use this type of weapon.
I must recall that at the beginning of the year we are talking about the existence of 12,121 nuclear warheads, of which 9,585 were in military arsenals ready for immediate use. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), in addressing this subject, reminds us of the current deterioration of geopolitical relations, with the insecurity that this entails. Although 90% of these weapons are in the hands of the United States and Russia, there are concerns that China, India, Pakistan and North Korea are seeking to deploy multiple nuclear warheads on ballistic missiles, and that transparency on this issue has diminished. since the Ukrainian war. We are playing with fire. In addition, Iran is on the verge of acquiring nuclear weapons in the short term, which threatens Israel, which has 90 nuclear warheads.
As if this dynamic were not enough, we must remember that there is a setback in nuclear disarmament treaties. In February last year, Russia announced that it was suspending its participation in the 2010 Treaty on Measures to Further Reduce and Limit Strategic Offensive Arms. In response, the United States also suspended the sharing and publication of treaty data.
The new Nobel therefore comes at the right time. It recalls the risks of the current escalation, and the need to place this issue on the agenda of the foreign policy priorities of States, in addition to inviting citizens to mobilize again in favor of nuclear disarmament, today ‘now forgotten.
