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Abolition 2000 Europe |
Your Declaration for a Nuclear Free WorldIf you sign this Declaration for a Nuclear-Free World it will not be like signing a petition. The Declaration is a personal expression that nuclear weapons violate your basic values. Most of us have a deep sense of justice. We are outraged when huge numbers of innocent human beings are killed or maimed through no fault of their own and whose only crime is to be in the way of some merciless killing machine. This shared sense of right and wrong is recognised in international law as The Public Conscience. This concept is enshrined in global treaties and conventions Its status as a source of law was confirmed by the International Court of Justice, the court of the United Nations, in 1996. Nuclear weapons violate the Public Conscience. If they were ever used they would incinerate and irradiate vast numbers of innocent civilians and the lingering effects would last for generations. Nothing could ever justify their use. For this reason the World Court Project collected 3.8 million Declarations in 37 language signed by people all over the world and presented them to the International Court of Justice. On 8 July 1996 the Court announced that both the threat and use of nuclear weapons would generally be illegal under international humanitarian law. What is more, the Court unanimously decided that "there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control." This wording comes from the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) signed by most of the world’s states, including those who had nuclear weapons at the time. Your Declaration is a legal statement invoking the Public Conscience which can contribute towards the development of international law and help to fulfil the main objective of the NPT - to negotiate a global treaty to abolish nuclear weapons.
The World Court Project is an international citizens' network working to publicise and have implemented the 8 July 1996 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the legal status of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. |