Rebecca Johnson - openDemocracy

Ukraine war shows ‘nuclear deterrence’ doesn’t work. We need disarmament

Despite leaders’ claims, nuclear weapons don’t prevent war or make life safer or more peaceful – they put the survival of the whole planet at risk

By Rebecca Johnson

/ 24 Mar 2022

Ukraine war shows ‘nuclear deterrence’ doesn’t work. We need disarmament

Nuclear disarmament : from ‘open-ended talks’ to ratification and beyond

Now the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is due to become international law, nuclear powers need to engage constructively on nuclear disarmament.

By Rebecca Johnson

/ 28 Oct 2020

Nuclear disarmament : from ‘open-ended talks’ to ratification and beyond

Stalemate for Trump and Kim, as India and Pakistan risk nuclear war over Kashmir

Through aggressive rhetoric and miscalculations nuclear war can happen by accident. As the Trump-Kim circus founders, escalating military action between India and Pakistan suggests urgency for global denuclearization.

By Rebecca Johnson

/ 28 Feb 2019

Who gains from Trump trashing the INF Treaty – Putin and Lockheed Martin!

As Trump suspends the 1987 INF Treaty, Putin retaliates. What can be done to prevent a new nuclear arms race from endangering Europe – and the world – again?

By Rebecca Johnson

/ 3 Feb 2019

As Trump and Kim shake hands, what does this mean for Koreans?

To implement the Singapore and Panmunjom commitments, what is needed is a collective plan to denuclearize security relations across North-East Asia.

By Rebecca Johnson

/ 13 Jun 2018

A new hope for a nuclear free world - but where is the UK?

A new UN treaty could make nuclear sabre-rattling and boasts of a willingness to incinerate cities, as unacceptable as threats to use chemical and biological weapons.

By Rebecca Johnson

/ 21 Sep 2017

A giant step towards a nuclear free world is in reach – but will it be sabotaged at the last minute?

A ground-breaking new UN Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty could be agreed tomorrow – or it could be consigned to the special purgatory of lost opportunities that could have saved the world.

By Rebecca Johnson

/ 6 Jul 2017

UN talks to ban nuclear weapons: what can they achieve?

What should the nuclear ban treaty include – and what difference does it make, if nuclear-armed governments refuse to join the talks?

By Rebecca Johnson

/ 19 Apr 2017

Why the UK was wrong to back Trump's envoy against UN nuclear disarmament talks

Ignoring protests from the US, UK and some NATO countries, two-thirds of UN member states appear determined to conclude a nuclear ban treaty this year.

By Rebecca Johnson

/ 10 Apr 2017

Negotiating a global nuclear ban treaty: nuclear-armed states vs the UN

UN negotiations start today in New York on a global treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons. Ignoring cross-party commitments to multilateral nuclear disarmament, the British government will be absent.

By Rebecca Johnson

/ 26 Mar 2017

Historic UN vote to negotiate a Nuclear Ban Treaty in 2017

On 27 October, the UN General Assembly's Disarmament and Security Committee voted for negotiations in 2017 on a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons, with momentous consequences for Trident renewal.

By Rebecca Johnson

/ 29 Oct 2016

Will Nagasaki be the last use of nuclear weapons?

Will the pincer movement of international humanitarian initiatives to bring into force a universally applicable Nuclear Ban Treaty, and Scotland's desire to become nuclear free, render Trident’s successor impossible? Part 3. Part 1, 2.

By Rebecca Johnson

/ 9 Aug 2016