Appeal of Abolition 2000 – 2017-08-31 01:46:06
http://www.abolition2000.org/en/news/2017/08/30/5826/
ACTION ALERT: Endorse the Petition
For Diplomatic Solution to US-Korea Clash
We invite you to endorse an Appeal of Abolition 2000 Members for a diplomatic approach to address the Korea nuclear crisis.
(August 30, 2017) — The escalating tensions and threat of military conflict over North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities make a diplomatic solution of vital importance and the highest priority. The increasing risk of war — and possibly even the use of nuclear weapons by miscalculation, accident, or intent — is frightening.
Below is the appeal drafted by members of Abolition 2000. We plan to send the appeal and list of endorsers to leaders of China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States, as well as to the United Nations and European Union.
Please reply to info@baselpeaceoffice.org by September 5 if you can endorse, indicating whether you endorse as an individual or on behalf of your organization.
The Abolition 2000 members listed below, representing peace and disarmament organisations from around the world, call on the United States and North Korea to step back from the brink of war in North East Asia, and instead adopt a diplomatic approach to prevent war.
We call for the immediate commencement of negotiations to prevent a military conflict from erupting, and to resolve the underlying conflicts. Such negotiations should take place both bilaterally and through a renewed Six-Party framework involving China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
The escalating tensions and threat of military conflict over North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities makes a diplomatic solution of vital importance and the highest priority. The increasing risk of war — and possibly even the use of nuclear weapons by miscalculation, accident, or intent — is frightening.
More than three million citizens of Korea, Japan, China, USA and other countries lost their lives in the Korean War from 1950-1953. Should a war erupt again, the loss of lives could be considerably worse, especially if nuclear weapons are used. Indeed, a nuclear conflict erupting in Korea could engulf the entire world in a nuclear catastrophe that would end civilization as we know it.
In supporting diplomacy rather than war, we:
1. Oppose any pre-emptive use of force by any of the parties, which would be counter-productive and likely lead to nuclear war;
2. Call on all parties to refrain from militaristic rhetoric and provocative military exercises;
3. Encourage China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States to consider the phased and comprehensive approach for a North-East Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone with a 3+3 arrangement [1] , which already has cross-party support in Japan and South Korea and interest from the North Korean government;
4. Encourage China, Japan, North Korea, Russia, South Korea and the United States to also consider options and modalities for turning the 1953 Armistice Agreement into a formal end to the 1950-1953 Korean War;
5. Welcome the call of the UN Secretary-General for a resumption of Six-Party talks and his offer to assist in negotiations;
6. Welcome also the offer of the European Union to assist in diplomatic negotiations, as they did successfully in the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program;
7. Call on the United Nations Security Council to prioritise a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
[1] The 3+3 arrangement would include Japan, South Korea and North Korea agreeing not to possess or host nuclear weapons, and would require China, Russia and the USA agreeing not to deploy nuclear weapons in Japan, South Korea or North Korea, nor to attack or threaten to attack them with nuclear weapons.
For other actions and updates on the Korea nuclear crisis please visit www.pnnd.org . Current articles include:
1. US (and other) legislators call on President Trump to step back from the nuclear brink;
2. EU High Rep offers to help a diplomatic solution in Korea;
3. Help diplomacy in Korea, reduce nuclear threats and advance nuclear disarmament.
For background on the 3+3 NE Asia NWFZ proposal please click here.
US (and Other) Legislators Call on President Trump
To Step Back from the Nuclear Brink
Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (PNND)
(August 11, 2017) — United States legislators responded yesterday to President Trump’s provocative threats against North Korea by calling on the President to step back from the nuclear brink and pursue a diplomatic solution to the escalating nuclear crisis.
On Wednesday, President Trump announced that ‘North Korea best not make any more threats to the United States’ or ‘they will be met with fire and fury like the world has never seen.’
The announcement sent diplomatic shock-waves around the world, and elevated the tensions between North Korea and the USA. North Korea responded that, if attacked, they would creat an ‘enveloping fire’ around Guam, a key US military base in the Pacific.
PNND Co-President Senator Markey responds
PNND Co-President Senator Ed Markey responded yesterday by stating that:
‘President Trump’s escalatory rhetoric is exactly the wrong response to dealing with North Korea’s provocative behavior. It unnecessarily heightens the risk of miscalculation and creates the very fog that can lead to war.
Instead of scaring our allies and the American people by always trying to top North Korea’s bellicose rhetoric, President Trump should instead immediately authorize the State Department to engage in direct discussions with North Korea.
Talking is not a concession, it’s just common sense.’
Senator Markey also used the occasion to urge the Senate to remove the President’s current authorisation to launch a first strike with nuclear weapons without having to consult the US Congress.
‘We also must ensure that President Trump cannot turn his ‘fire and fury’ rhetoric into reality with a pre-emptive nuclear strike by passing the legislation I introduced with Congressman Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) that prohibits the President from doing so without a declaration of war from Congress.’
PNND Members Barbara Lee and John Conyers lead response in US House of Reps
PNND member Barbara Lee and Ranking Member John Conyers responded to the escalating crisis by organising a letter endorsed by more than 60 of their Democratic colleagues, which was sent yesterday to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson urging the Trump Administration to exercise restraint with North Korea.
“President Trump’s belligerent rhetoric towards North Korea is dangerous. It’s imperative that President Trump de-escalate tensions and pursue diplomacy with North Korea,” said Congresswoman Lee. “Instead of saber-rattling, we should be pursuing direct talks with North Korea to prevent this crisis from spiraling out of control.”
Barabara Lee also urged the Trump Administration to acknowledge Congress’s constitutional role in authorizing war.
“The fact is that there is no military solution to this problem. Moreover, the power to declare war — or undertake any pre-emptive attack — lies with Congress. President Trump and his advisors must respect the constitutional authority of Congress to debate and vote on any war operations.”
‘Ratchet down the Rhetoric’ says UK Labour Leader
PNND Council member Jeremy Corbyn, who also serves as the leader of the UK Labour Party, today called on the USA and North Korea leaders to ‘ratchet down the rhetoric’ and ‘hold face-to-face talks in the interest of sanity and safety.’
‘We cannot play fast and loose with nuclear weapons and nuclear threats,’ Corbyn told the BBC. ‘I think it’s time that both Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un toned it all down a bit. Maybe even spoke to each other. I ask them both. Calm down. There are phone-calls that could be made, discussions that could be held. Surely, in the interest of sanity and safety over the whole world, do it.’
EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs calls for diplomacy
PNND Honorary Council Member Federica Mogherini, who currently serves as the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, in a recent address to the European Union Foreign Affairs Council, called for a diplomatic solution syaing that ‘. . . we can do more to facilitate a solution that in our view cannot be but a diplomatic and political one; for sure not a military solution for the situation in the Korean peninsula, as the South Korean have pointed out very clear.’
On August 11, 2017, Ms Mogherini announced that she will hold a special meeting of the EU Security Committee on August 14 to discuss the escalating Korean crisis and the role of the EU.
Motion in Scottish parliament for diplomacy and a NE Asian nuclear-weapon-free zone
PNND Co-President Bill Kidd submitted a motion to the Scottish parliament today calling for diplomacy to resolve the North korean crisis and highlighting the proposal for a North East Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone.
‘That the Parliament notes the increasing tensions and threat of military conflict arising from North Korea’s nuclear and missile capabilities; is supportive of a letter to President Trump, which has been endorsed by 64 members of the United States House of Representatives, reminding him that military strikes without congressional approval would violate the constitution and urging him to therefore follow a diplomatic approach, and notes also the support of US policy experts, including Morton Halperin, who it understands was a high-level policy official in the Johnson, Nixon and Clinton administrations, who support the concept of a north east Asia nuclear weapon-free zone.’
NE Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone a possible solution
In May 2010, a cross-party group of parliamentarians from Japan and South Korea proposed the negotiation of a North East Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone as a solution to the growing nuclear threat from North Korea. The group included a number of former Foreign Ministers as we as the current Foreign Minister Taro Kono, a Co-President of PNND at the time.
The group believed that a NE Asia NWFZ would be a more feasible approach than calling for North Korea to unilaterally give up its nuclear option. Informal discussions with North Korean parliamentarians and diplomats since then gives some reason to believe that they are correct in this analysis.
Katsyua Okada, one of the former Foreign Ministers who endorsed the 2010 proposal, has released a Model NE Asia NWFZ treaty based on the 3+3 model pioneered by Dr Hiromichi Umebayashi.
This model would require North Korea, Japan and South Korea to agree not to possess nuclear weapons, station them on their territory, or threaten each other with nuclear weapons. The model would also require China, Russia and the United States to commit not to threaten or use nuclear weapons against Japan, South Korea or North Korea.
Dr Umebayashi will in September this year receive the international Nuclear Free Future Awardin recognition primarily of the potential of his 3+3 NE Asia NWFZ to help resolve the nuclear crisis in the region.
“I am very pleased to receive the award for my efforts, especially for establishing a Northeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone, but I think I should be modest because establishing such zone is an on-going endeavor being tackled by many players. I do hope this award will help strengthen people’s power as a whole toward that goal.”
Japanese cities and religious leaders support the NE Asian NWFZ proposal
On August 9, 2017, Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue, called on the Japanese government to examine the NE Asia NWFZ as a possible solution to the growing nuclear crisis. The call was made in the Nagasaki Declaration, presented by Mayor Taue at the annual event commemorating the nuclear bombing of Nagasaki.
Mayor Taue is one of 545 Japanese heads of cities and 126 Japanese religious leaders who have given their support for the NE Asian NWFZ proposal.
US experts support NE Asia NWFZ
A number of US policy experts support the concept of a NE Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, including Morten Halperin, a high-level policy official in the Johnson, Nixon and Clinton administrations. See Promoting Security in Northeast Asia: A New Approach by Morton H. Halperin).
EU High Rep Offers to
Help a Diplomatic Solution in Korea
Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (PNND)
(August 15, 2017) — On August 14, 2017, Federica Mogherini, the Vice-President of the European Union and its High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, held a special meeting of the EU Security Committee to discuss the escalating Korean crisis.
The EU played a critical role in the successful negotiations on the Iran nuclear program, and could possibly also play an important role to support negotiations between the key parties in the Korean nuclear conflict.
After the meeting, Ms Mogherini released the following statement.
“There is an urgent need for a de-escalation of tensions on the situation on the Korean Peninsula. It is a priority for the European Union and for the rest of the international community. We therefore call on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to refrain from any further provocative action that can only increase regional and global tensions.
“At such a critical juncture, the European Union supports diplomatic work with our partners aimed at the de-escalation of the situation and achieving the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula through peaceful, not military, means. This is the only way to find lasting peace.
“Following my meetings with all key regional and international players during the ASEAN Regional Forum in Manila, I convened today a meeting of the Political and Security Committee to discuss on an EU common approach to the escalation of tensions and the way forward.
“It has been agreed that the European Union and its Member States will strengthen their diplomatic work by reaching out to the Republic of Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan, as well as the DPRK, to convey our messages. Maintaining the unity of the international community in addressing the challenge is indeed critical.
“The European Union is ready to support the process towards a credible and meaningful dialogue with the DPRK and the international community, with the Republic of Korea in the lead. I confirmed to Minister Kang Kyung-wha last week my readiness to support her in all possible ways in this endeavour, including putting at her disposal the technical expertise the EU has developed in negotiating nuclear-related issues.
“The DPRK’s continued acceleration of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes constitutes serious and worrying violations of the DPRK’s international obligations, as set out in several UN Security Council Resolutions. The unanimous adoption on 5 August by the UN Security Council of Resolution 2371 (2017) demonstrates that the international community is fully united behind furthering increasing international pressure to bring about a peaceful solution.
“I will continue to be in regular contact with my counterparts in the region and beyond. The EU will continue to follow the developments and will consider further appropriate measures and responses in close consultation with key partners and in line with UN Security Council deliberations.
“No diplomatic efforts must be spared in working to help avoid further escalation and to find a solution to this crisis that is putting into danger not only the overall non-proliferation regime but also the security of Asia and the world.”
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
