Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

Why in news?

United Nations has been annually observing the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26^th September.

What is the significance of Nuclear weapons elimination day?

• The decision to observe International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons was taken in 2013, by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
• It called for the “urgent commencement of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament of a comprehensive convention on nuclear weapons to prohibit their possession, development, production, acquisition, testing, stockpiling, transfer and use or threat of use, and to provide for their destruction”.
• This day is observed to make people aware across the globe about the threats posed by nuclear weapons and nuclear proliferation.

How the idea of nuclear weapons changed in recent times?

• Since the US dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki during the Second World War, the international order has fundamentally changed.
• The potency of this weapon encouraged great powers like the erstwhile USSR to join the nuclear arms race, thereby increasing their nuclear stockpiles manifold.
• Historically, it has been observed that when a nation state possesses nuclear weapons, it is less likely to go to a full scale war with another state.
• The reason being that these weapons have the capability to annihilate entire populations and the radioactive residue left behind leads to hazardous health consequences on future generations as well.
• As a result, no nation state takes the risk of going to a war with a nuclear weapon state.
• The power of a nuclear weapon state actually lies in not using the weapon, but in having it because once a state uses such weapons, it can risk the wrath of the entire international community.
• Thus now nuclear weapons aren’t weapons for offence, but for deterrence.

What is the way forward?

• The biggest threat today about nuclear weapons is the fear of these going into the hands of non-state actors, like terrorist groups, who can exploit them, inflicting tremendous harm to the humanity at large.
• Thus the important thing that responsible nation states should keep in mind is that these weapons should not go into irresponsible hands that can put the global security at a great risk.

Source: Financial Express