Arms control regimes have been among the many casualties of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the wider context of collapsing trust between Moscow and the West. Jordan Smith argues that initiatives at multiple levels to restrain, record and verify the development and deployment of weapons by all sides of the conflict are essential to rebuilding confidence and a crucial part of any eventual peace settlement.
NPT sees Growing Response to Nuclear Weapons’ Harmful Legacy
Over the past 12 years efforts have been growing to centre the catastrophic humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, as well as their disproportionate impact on indigenous and colonised peoples, in global nuclear policy. Last month’s NPT Review Conference saw unprecedented attention given to one aspect of this – the ongoing harms from past use and testing – as the majority world sought to hold the nuclear armed states to account.
From Aleppo to Mariupol: Stopping use of explosive weapons in populated areas
Russian use of aerial, artillery and missile barrages against Ukrainian cities recalls the criminal devastation of Aleppo and other Syrian cities. Ian Davis assesses the possibilities and urgent moral imperative to protect civilians by banning the use of explosive weapons in populated areas (EWIPA).
Killer Robots: Moving beyond the UN process
Autonomous weapons systems pose a tremendous physical and ethical threat to humanity. While the majority of countries want them prohibited, a few powerful states are blocking progress. Richard Moyes and Uldduz Sohrabi argue that the time is right for a process that moves beyond the deadlocked UN process.