by Daniel Rietiker (source: newsru.com) The Russian Federation proposes to convene a Conference in Moscow, no later than 1st of March 2016, in view to establishing a Zone free of nuclear weapons and other WMD in the Middle East. This derives from a statement of the representative of the Russian Federation during a press conference held last week within the…
Introduction [by Daniel Rietiker]: On 27 April, Didier Burkhalter, the Federal Councillor, delivered opening remarks on behalf of Switzerland at the 2015 NPT Review Conference. Our friends from ICAN Switzerland posted some observations on their blog (in German), observations that we largely share. Please click here! We reproduce the speech below for your consideration. Generally speaking,…
by Daniel Rietiker, PhD The facts: On 2 January 2015, Palestine deposited its instrument of accession with United Nations authorities in New York in respect of the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM). Palestine is the fourth Party to the CCM in the region – following Iraq, Lebanon,and Tunisia – to ban cluster munitions. Since 2010, Palestine has…
In a very useful paper of February 2015, International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA) outlines, in a nutshell, the ongoing discussion on nuclear disarmament. It derives from this document that, one the one hand, civil society agrees on the ultimate aim, consisting of a world without nuclear weapons but that, on the other hand, the methods and…
In a speech given to the diplomatic community in Geneva, 28 February 2015, Peter Maurer, president of the ICRC, reiterated the organization’s call for the prohibition and elimination of these weapons through a legally binding agreement: “The ICRC believes that reducing the risk of nuclear-weapon use and ensuring their elimination through a legally binding international agreement…
[Maya Brehm, Member of the scientific committee of SAFNA] Last Tuesday (13 January 2015), the Bordeaux administrative court of appeals recognized the right to compensation of nine victims of French nuclear weapons tests. The court rejected eight other claims for compensation. The legal basis for these claims is the ‘Loi Morin’ of 5 January 2008. The law…
Dear Readers, First of all, happy New Year to all of you! We thank you for the interest of our work and hope that you will be following our news also in 2015. The new year will be an significant one for nuclear disarmament. Important meetings, such as the NPT Review Conference, will be held and historical events commemorated,…
In our previous post on the Vienna Conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, we compared the ongoing process focusing on the disastrous effects of nuclear weapons on the human being and its natural environment with the Ottawa and Oslo Processes, which were both crowned by the successful conclusion of the respective international treaties…
According to a report of Human Rights Watch of 20 October 2014 (see here), cluster munitions have been used massively in the ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine. It can be recalled here that, in 2008, the Convention on Cluster Munitions (Oslo Convention), that prohibits the use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling, retainment and transfer of these weapons (Article 1 § 1),…
Dear Reader, I attended the third Conference on the “Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons”, perfectly organized by the Austrian Government in the fantastic premisses of the Hofburg on 8 and 9 December 2014. For the results of the Conference and the progressive “pledge” of the Austrian Government, please click here. What are my personal ideas and conclusions of this Conference? On…
Association of Swiss Lawyers for Nuclear Disarmament 
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