https://www.thenational.scot/politics/24975194.keir-starmer-exposed-truth-nuclear-deterrence
Samuel Rafanell-Williams and Lynn Jamieson, Scottish CND
FROM today until Friday, representatives of countries that have signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will meet at the UN headquarters in New York. The meeting will also be attended by campaign groups, NGOs and charities from across the world who will contribute to and learn from the proceedings in order to advance the cause for a nuclear-free world.
The UN’s TPNW is the first and only instrument of international law which comprehensively bans nuclear weapons, including their development, possession, transport, stockpiling, use and threat of use. Its drafting since 2010 drew on elements of existing UN weapons prohibitions, such as the international bans on chemical weapons, anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions.
Such instruments of war have been recognised internationally as morally irredeemable in large part because the indiscriminate nature of the harm they cause: their use renders the always-tenuous distinction between civilians and combatants in wartime impossible to maintain. Given that the harm caused by the use of nuclear weapons would be not only indiscriminate but incalculable, it is shocking their possession by “privileged” states was deemed acceptable until so recently.
The coming week in New York will be the third annual iteration of what is known as the Meeting of State Parties (3MSP). The proceedings are organised according to certain core issues. Foremost of these is the issue of how to universalise the treaty, which currently has the signatures of 94 countries – almost half of the world’s nations – and gathers more signatures every year. Indonesia signed in 2024 – one of the most populous nations on Earth.
Another central element of 3MSP will concern the remediation of existing and ongoing harm resulting from the possession of nuclear weapons, in particular the legacy of immense suffering caused by nuclear testing programmes. It must not be assumed that Hiroshima and Nagasaki were the only nuclear bombs dropped. In fact, the nuclear states have collectively detonated more than 2000 nuclear bombs across the world in regions as diverse as Australia, Algeria, Siberia and across the Pacific.
The harms caused by nuclear testing, including death, disability, long-lasting irradiation of inhabited landscapes causing increased rates of cancer and other genetic disease have disproportionately affected indigenous peoples in these regions and are yet to be fully reckoned with by the perpetrating states. Thousands of UK citizens, mostly military, are also victims of the decades-long testing regime.
With the world order in turmoil due to a growing rift between the US and Europe, the dubious notion of nuclear “deterrence” has recently featured in public discourse, though unfortunately not with enough nuance. European states are panicking over the US loosening its security guarantees, and a continent-wide lean into militarism is gathering momentum.Meanwhile, few if any high-profile commentators at home have asked the question of why exactly nuclear states like the UK need to impose further austerity to boost military spending if we supposedly possess an “independent nuclear deterrent”. Starmer’s claim that we have “no choice” but to raise the military budget at the expense of foreign aid programmes actually betrays the false promise of “deterrence”: clearly even he does not believe the nuclear submarines based 25 miles from Glasgow would ward off a potential foreign threat. This, incidentally, probably has a lot to do with the fact the UK’s nuclear capability is leased from the US, and could easily be undermined with a stroke of Donald Trump’s pen. Addressing and challenging the notion of nuclear “deterrence” will be another cornerstone of 3MSP.
So what does the TPNW mean for Scotland, and why will Scottish CND be in attendance alongside so many other peace organisations? Scotland, being a devolved nation, cannot sign the TPNW. However, if sufficient support for the treaty is built within the Scottish Parliament, the Government could commit to signing it in the instance that Scotland became an independent nation. This would trigger the process of denuclearising the West Coast of Scotland, which hosts the UK’s nuclear capability. This is why we are pleased that Bill Kidd MSP will be attending 3MSP as an observer, in order to absorb the collective knowledge of nuclear-free states and strengthen Scotland’s commitment to a nuclear-free world.
But it is not only independence supporters who should take note of the TPNW. If Scottish Labour are serious about making back some of the ground they have lost to the SNP over the past decade, a good place to start would be to oppose nuclear weapons. For a party serious about regenerating our ailing public sphere, this should be a no brainer. The obscene bill for renewing the nuclear submarines based at Faslane is calculated to run up to tens if not hundreds of billions. A pragmatic political party would propose to use these resources to revitalise our ailing public sphere, and replenish the aid that the UK provides to some of the poorest parts of the world.
The TPNW is the surest path to a nuclear-free world, in which the fear of worldwide devastation would be like a bad dream consigned to the past. At a time when world leaders seem entranced by militarism and nuclear myths, shining light on such a path has never been more important.