It is 79 years since atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Those war crimes, perpetrated by the United States, will never be forgotten; we honour the memory of all the lives tragically cut short, and we pay tribute to the Hibaksha – the survivors – and their work for a nuclear weapons-free world. In their name, we recommit to achieving the global abolition of nuclear weapons.
And never has this work been more important. We cannot allow the horrors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be repeated, yet we seem to be heading inexorably in that direction. There are two major conflicts ongoing which raise the risk of nuclear war or nuclear use. Firstly, in Ukraine, where the possibility of a conflict between Russia and NATO increases almost daily; more nuclear weapons are being stationed in Europe, with US nuclear weapons scheduled to return to Britain in the near future, and Russian nuclear weapons now stationed in Belarus as a result.
And secondly in Gaza, where nuclear-armed Israel, with its nuclear weapons outside of all international regulation and control, commits genocide on the Palestinian people. Over the last days we have seen how Israel seems hell-bent on expanding the war to the wider region. And its nuclear weapons – and apparent willingness to use them – allows the Israeli government to act with impunity. In the peace movement in Britain, we are deeply concerned to stop these wars, and the further spread of war, yet western governments pursue policies which make nuclear war more, not less, likely.
The recent NATO summit in Washington, made this very clear, bringing a third world war closer. It had many negative outcomes, but two are particularly provocative with regard to the conflict in Ukraine:
Firstly, long-range US missiles will be sent to Germany for the first time since the Cold War, and Germany, France, Italy and Poland have agreed to develop European long-range missiles. And there are some indicators that Britain may engage with this. A new arms race is upon us, and the militarisation of Europe is intensifying.
Secondly, the summit reinforced Stoltenberg’s assertion that Ukraine’s right to self-defence includes striking targets in Russia and weapons are going to Ukraine to enable that to happen. Biden has agreed, even though he previously said this would lead to world war three, as direct conflict is now more likely between NATO and Russia.
In terms of the wider issues, there was a significant hostile focus on China, describing it as the enabler of Russia’s war, for which we see no evidence. Beyond the conflict with Russia, the primary concern of the US, and hence NATO, is to keep China down, in order to maintain its own global dominance. And it’s using increasingly confrontational initiatives to do so – the AUKUS agreement for example, which ties Australia into US military policy, with Britain and the US collaborating to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines – in breach of international law.
NATO has also committed to modernising its nuclear capabilities; this is already taking place across Europe with the imminent introduction of the upgraded US B61-12 bombs at a range of sites across the continent. And in June, Stoltenberg said that NATO was increasing its operationally available nuclear warheads.
As a result of these policies, we are seeing a massive increase in military spending. Two thirds of NATO members now spend at least 2% of GDP on the military. Spending by Canada and European members is up by 18% in 2024 alone. So public finances are being drained for weapons and war, and there is a surge towards strengthening so-called defence industries.
In the recent general election campaign, and since coming to office, the Labour government has made much of its commitment to NATO, to nuclear weapons, to war, and to increasing military spending, up to 2.5% of GDP. And it has recently announced the launch of a new Strategic Defence Review, which is likely to follow along NATO lines; this includes a major emphasis on so-called defence industries to boost Britain’s economy, even though investment in other industrial sectors would be much more productive, richer in jobs, and more beneficial to wider society. Labour has also bought into the ‘new axis’ narrative, and follows the Tory government’s approach that we are in a ‘pre-war not post-war’ world. This is deeply dangerous.
There are many challenges facing us all, and the recent surge of racist and Islamophobic, fascist-led attacks demand our urgent and united action. We have seen over the last ten months how determined and united opposition to the genocide in Gaza has resulted in enormous popular mobilisations, often in the face of government opposition, and they will bring change.
That same level of determination must be applied elsewhere.
Let us show that unity and determination to abolish nuclear weapons. The catastrophes of Hiroshima and Nagasaki must never be repeated.