On October 26, 2013 at the United Nations (UN), Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called for global nuclear disarmament and elimination. "No nation should possess nuclear weapons, since there are no right hands for these wrong weapons," Mr. Rouhani told the UN General Assembly meeting on nuclear disarmament. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has long issued a religious edict that forbids making, storing, and using a nuclear weapon, for it indiscriminately kills people and destroys properties.
The world could also give some attention to commercial usage of the nuclear energy remembering the tragic experience from the Japan’s nuclear meltdown at Fukushima Daiichi power plant of 2011. Its contaminated remains are still surfacing on many coasts far away from Japan. The argument that nuclear power is safe can no longer hold since such an accident, infrequent as might be, impacts the whole world. The storage of waste product of the reactors remains problematic; the waste is highly radioactive with isotopes radiating for millions of years.
In fact, the mere threat of some nations having nuclear weapons compels other nations to attain such weapons to counter any nuclear attack. The devastating effect of the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in WWII still plays on our mind. That makes the attaining of such weapons immoral, hence, unacceptable. But, in a world where dictators dominate, it is unlikely that the democracies would readily drop their ultimate defensive weapons in hope for global peace.
However, the ultimate objective should be to free the world gradually from not only weapons of mass destruction (WMD) but also national militaries. That could be accomplished through the following stages:
First, focus could be on chemical weapons. Since these arms are poor state’s bombs, their elimination could be coupled with reduction of rich state’s nuclear weapons. International chemical and nuclear watchdogs could provide oversight for such tasks.
Second, arms transfer across national borders could be strictly prohibited.
Third, any type support of authoritarian regimes, financial or otherwise, could be banned. Further, UN could effectively promote fair and free elections in all countries. If necessary, it could restrict privileges to the authoritarian regimes. Democracy would not surrender their ultimate WMD in a world ruled by despots.
Fourth, armed forces personnel reduction across the board could be reduced to reasonable levels, periodically determined through negotiation at the UN.
Fifth, UN Peacekeepers could be expanded to the necessary level to enforce international law. This may be achieved by a broader mandate given to the UN to deal more effectively with the threats to world peace and security. As UN Peacekeepers expand, all states, led by the United States, could proportionately reduce their forces and reinforce their trust in the UN.
Sixth, each state with nuclear arsenal could gradually transfer control and operation of their nuclear cache to the UN.
Seventh, the UN could survey and guarantee, except for those territories in dispute, the national boundaries of all nations. For those in dispute, the UN could form an unbiased committee, consisting of the disputing nations and the UN arbitrators, to resolve the dispute and secure agreement from the disputing parties before giving a guarantee.
Eighth, when the world is free and lives in peace, UN could take the necessary steps to eliminate all nuclear arms.
We hope that Mr. Rouhani’s call will not fall upon deaf ears and the world will move towards the elimination of nuclear arms and all other WMDs.
Dr. Mehdi Alavi, President
Peace Worldwide Organization
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