United Nations to Study Impacts of Nuclear War

November 15th, 2024 in Action Alerts / Events / Weekly News Updates
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For the first time since the end of the Cold War in 1989 and with the increasing threat of nuclear war, early this month the First Committee on International Peace and Security of the United Nations passed a resolution to study the impacts of nuclear war for the first time in 35 years.  https://reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com24/resolutions/L39-.pdf

In support of the study were 144 countries,  France, the Russian Federation and the United Kingdom voted no.  Thirty countries abstained, including the United States.

United Nations Secretary General António Guterres will appoint a panel of 21 scientific experts tasked to ““engage and receive inputs from the widest possible range of stakeholders, including civil society, affected communities, and peoples from around the world” to truly understand the effects of a nuclear war at different scales, including global, regional, individual levels.

While there is already a wealth of robust research on the effects of nuclear weapons, it has not been brought together in 35 years. During this time, there has been major progress in climate and scientific modeling. There have also been major societal and planetary changes, and the resolution recognizes “today’s level of interconnectedness and the likelihood of global events having complex, cascading impacts on global systems and societies,” as well as “the fragility of those systems and our planetary boundaries.”

The UN-mandated panel will be tasked with “examining the physical effects and societal consequences of a nuclear war on a local, regional and planetary scale, including, inter alia, the climatic, environmental and radiological effects, and their impacts on public health, global socioeconomic systems, agriculture and ecosystems, in the days, weeks and decades following a nuclear war.”

Having passed the First Committee, the resolution will pass to the Fifth Committee for a review of its budgetary implications.  In December, the resolution will be submitted again to the full United Nations General Assembly for a vote.  Once the panel is appointed, work will be carried out during 2025 and 2026 with a final report expected in 2027.

Melissa Parke, Executive Director for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) welcomed the study.  She said, “This new study is an opportunity to bring our understanding of the impact of nuclear war out of the 1980s and into the 21st century.  As the world becomes increasingly more interconnected, we need to make sure that policy decisions are based on science- not dogma and scaremongering.  This study is a chance to bring that science together and guide us towards the future we want.”  https://www.icanw.org/un_approves_new_study_on_effects_of_nuclear_war

  1. Friday, November 15th at noon at the intersection of West Alameda and Sandoval for the weekly one-hour peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament. Join the weekly peaceful protest with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, New Mexico Peace Fest, Pax Christi and others. Bring your flags, signs and banners!

 

 

  1. Wednesday, November 13th through Friday, November 15th – The International Uranium Film Festival (IUFF) has been invited by the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro to present films during the meetings. Its involvement will also be part of a documentary covering the summit that is being shot by Academy Award-nominated David Lynch as executive director.

 To listen to the interview by Libbe HaLevy, Host of Nuclear Hotseat, with IUFF Founders Norbert Suchanek and Marcia Gomes de Oliviera, go to https://nuclearhotseat.com/podcast/g20-iuff-films-un-science-panel-nuke-war/

 BIG SHOUT OUT TO ADAM HOROWITZ AND HIS FILM “NUCLEAR SAVAGE:  The Islands of Secret Project 4.1” being shown.  To learn about the other films being shown, go to:  https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/en/uranium-film-festival-rio-g20-summit-2024-program

See DYK? No. 8 below about another IUFF event – this time in Hollywood!

 

 

  1. Tuesday, November 12th – Friday, November 15th – PFAS Rulemaking Hearing by the NM Oil Conservation Commission (OCC), a division of the Energy Minerals & Natural Resources Department. For more information, https://www.emnrd.nm.gov/ocd/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/Notice-of-Public-Meeting-and-Rulemaking-hearing.pdf.

 Take action at:  https://action.wildearthguardians.org/page/57741/petition/1 ; https://www.defendnmwater.org/

 

 

  1. Friday, November 15th beginning at 8:30 am to 5 pm – NM Radioactive and Hazardous Materials Committee meeting at State Capitol, Room 317, in Santa Fe. See agenda at:  https://www.nmlegis.gov/agendas/RHMCageNov15.24.pdf  LANL topics to be covered include plutonium pit production, off-site plutonium migration, chromium plume cleanup and other env’l issues, uranium reclamation, Radioactive Waste Consultation Task Force, State Emergency Response Commission Report, Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board (nuclear facility infrastructure and projects), Weapons-Grade Plutonium Transport, and Public Comment. 

 During the 8:35 am to 10:15 am session, Joni Arends, of CCNS, will present about the LANL Radioactive Liquid Waste Treatment Facility.

 You can attend in person or view through the Webcast link at https://sg001-harmony.sliq.net/00293/harmony

 

 

  1. Thursday, November 21st from 3 to 5 pm at UNM SUB Santa Ana A&B – Gail Evans, Esq. will lead an enlightening Teach-In about the profound impact of the Indigenous Peoples led Atencio et al. v. The State of New Mexico constitutional lawsuit. An Environmental Justice Speaker Series, “What You Do to the Earth, You Do to the People,” hosted by the Native American Studies Indigenous Research Group (NASIRG).   

 Join Zoom Meeting https://unm.zoom.us/j/98709571676

Meeting ID: 987 0957 1676

 

 

  1. Friday, November 22nd from 3 to 5 pm, in NAS Classroom MVH 3080 – Tommy Rock (Diné) and Dr. Jonathan Credo (Diné/Filipino) as they share their groundbreaking work on the critical study of Uranium and Oil and Gas Contamination in the Navajo Nation. An Environmental Justice Speaker Series, “What You Do to the Earth, You Do to the People,” hosted by the Native American Studies Indigenous Research Group (NASIRG).

 Join Zoom Meeting https://unm.zoom.us/j/98709571676

Meeting ID: 987 0957 1676

 

 

  1. Friday, November 22nd by 5 pm Mountain Time – Public Comments and Suggestions due to DOE/WIPP about the annual Community Relations Plan. The Plan is designed to inform communities and interested members of the public about the New Mexico Environment Department Hazardous Waste Facility Permit for the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) activities and opportunities for public participation in those activities.  To assist you in preparing your comments, please visit  https://stopforeverwipp.org/   A sample public comment letter you can use will be posted over the weekend. 

 For more information:  https://wipp.energy.gov/community-outreach.asp   Make comments on the 2025 draft Community Relations Plan at: https://wipp.energy.gov/WIPPCommunityRelations/documents/2025_CR_Plan_FINAL_DRAFT.pdf

 

 

8. Saturday, December 7th and Sunday, December 8th – The Second Atomic Age Cinema Fest in Hollywood at the Crescent Theater, co-presented by the “Kat Kramer’s Films That Changed the World” and the “International Uranium Film Festival.”  The Second Atomic Age Cinema is the final destination of the 2024 International Uranium Film Festival tour across North America that began in March 2024 in Window Rock at the Navajo Nation Museum.  For more information:  https://uraniumfilmfestival.org/en/atomic-age-cinema-fest-in-hollywood-2025

 

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