An Appeal to the Governments of Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, and Turkey
World BEYOND War Petition
(February 22, 2021) — The petition in multiple languages below urges the removal of nuclear weapons from the five “non-nuclear” nations in which the United States keeps them: Germany, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, and Turkey.
On January 22, 2021, the UN nuclear weapons ban, which was adopted by 122 countries at a United Nations conference in 2017, comes into force.
To date, 86 states have signed the treaty and more than 50 countries have ratified it. The treaty prohibits the development, production, testing, acquisition, storage, transport, stationing, and use of nuclear weapons and the threat of them.
With the inclusion of the prohibition treaty in international law, the legitimacy of nuclear weapons is withdrawn. In cooperation with the international network World BEYOND War and Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) we are organizing a campaign to draw attention to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
We are working together with some organizations to rent billboards in downtown Berlin.
ACTION: Please support our demands by signing our petition!
Nuclear Weapons in Germany
International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons
Germany is one of five NATO members to host US nuclear weapons on its territory as part of a nuclear-sharing agreement. The German air force is assigned approximately 20 B61 nuclear bombs, which are deployed at Büchel Air Base.
Germany has consistently voted against an annual UN General Assembly resolutionsince 2018 that welcomes the adoption of the treaty and calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to it “at the earliest possible date”.
POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
More than 150 federal parliamentarians have pledged to work for Germany’s signature and ratification of the treaty. A cross-party working group was established in September 2019 with this objective.
In November 2020, the German Greens formalised their position in support of joining the treaty and withdrawing US nuclear weapons from German territory.
Dozens of German cities, including Berlin, Munich, and all other state capitals, have called on the German government to sign and ratify the treaty.
The former German foreign minister Joschka Fischer and former defence minister Rudolf Scharping signed an open letter in September 2020 calling on current leaders to “show courage and boldness – and join the treaty”.
Ahead of the treaty’s entry into force in January 2021, the research services division of the German federal parliament, or Bundestag, published a paper affirming that the new treaty reinforces, and does not undermine, the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty.
PUBLIC OPINION
A public opinion poll conducted by YouGov in 2019 found that 68 per cent of Germans believe that their government should join the treaty, with just 12 per cent opposed. Furthermore, a poll by Kantar in 2020 found that 83 per cent of Germans want US nuclear weapons to be removed from German territory – a requirement of the treaty.
More than 100,000 Germans have signed a petition calling on the government to sign and ratify the treaty.
TREATY NEGOTIATIONS
Germany did not participate in the negotiation of the treaty at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and thus did not vote on its adoption.
In 2016, Germany voted against the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
In a document sent to NATO members ahead of the vote, the United States “strongly encourage[d]” members, including Germany, to vote against the resolution, “not to merely abstain”. In addition, it said that, if the treaty negotiations do commence, allies and partners should “refrain from joining them”.
Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Takes Effect Without German Signature
The first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons entered into force on Friday. The international pact has been ratified by 51 states, though none are nuclear powers. Germany, which hosts US warheads, also hasn’t signed on.
(February 2021) — The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) prohibits its signatories from producing, stockpiling, selling and using nuclear weapons. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, has hailed it as a “milestone.”
Leo Hoffmann-Axthelm, ICAN’s representative in Brussels, told DW that from now on there would be “much more pressure on nuclear powers to finally make good on their old promises to disarm.”
Efforts toward nuclear disarmament have stagnated in recent years. Just a handful of powers possess the world’s estimated 13,400 nuclear warheads. Some 90% are owned by the US and Russia, with the rest shared among China, France, Britain, Pakistan, India, North Korea and presumably Israel — an undeclared nuclear power.
These states have invested a great deal into modernizing their nuclear arsenals to boost effectiveness. Indeed, they seem more interested in modernization than disarmament. However, many of the world’s non-nuclear states are no longer willing to accept this situation. In July 2017, 122 states voted in favor of the prohibition treaty being adopted — 51 have since ratified it, which is why it can now enter into force.
Are Nuclear Weapons Really a Deterrent?
So far, mainly states in Africa, Latin America and Asia have ratified the treaty. In Europe, only Ireland, Austria, Malta and Liechtenstein have joined on. The world’s main nuclear powers have so far refused to ratify it, as have NATO’s 30 member states which consider atomic weapons essential for reasons of deterrence. NATO has insisted that as long as nuclear weapons exist, it will remain a nuclear alliance.
Currently, there are an estimated 20 US nuclear bombs stored at Büchel Air Base in southwest Germany under a NATO nuclear weapons sharing agreement. In case of emergency, German air force pilots would fly the planes that drop the bombs. The scenario is rehearsed in an annual NATO nuclear exercise named Steadfast Noon that involves personnel from several allied air forces.
As a result, the German government has also refused to ratify the disarmament treaty. In October 2020, government spokesman Steffen Seibert pointed out that many countries continued to view nuclear weapons as necessary instruments of military conflict. “As long as that is the case, Germany and Europe are at risk,” he said, “It is our view that it is necessary to maintain a nuclear deterrent.”
German Population Rejects Nuclear Arms
The wider German population is less convinced. According to polls, two-thirds would like the government to ratify the prohibition treaty. About 170 lawmakers from over 100 cities and four states — including Rhineland-Palatinate, where US nuclear weapons are stored — have demanded the government do so.
While the government claims it is fundamentally in favor of a world without nuclear weapons, it says the prohibition treaty is not the right means of achieving that goal. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said that a nuclear disarmament treaty that does not involve the world’s nuclear powers is not useful. He thinks that the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is a more appropriate instrument. Germany is one of 191 state parties, which include five nuclear powers, that have joined the NPT. However, its goal is only to prevent the spread of atomic weapons, not disarmament.
Jonas Schneider, a nuclear arms expert at the Berlin-based Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), agrees with Maas. He doubts that the prohibition treaty will lead to progress, although it has received considerable praise.
“States that possess nuclear weapons profit massively from them, both in terms of defense policy and in other areas, with regard to other states,” he said. Moreover, conventional weapons could not simply replace nuclear weapons, whose “deterrence effect is unique.” He said that nuclear disarmament could only take place gradually and with the involvement of all nuclear powers.
As it comes into force, the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons remains controversial, with detractors doubting it will lead to much. But Setsuko Thurlow, an 89-year-old Japanese woman who survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, is more hopeful. She thinks that the treaty will mark the beginning of the end for nuclear weapons.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
Nuclear Weapons Out of Germany Petition
Current List of Endorsements— http://atomwaffen-sind-jetzt-illegal.de/
Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) rogerwaters.com
Deutscher Friedenrat e.V. deutscher-friedensrat.de
Bremer Friedensforum bremerfriedensforum.de
Büchel ist überall! atomwaffenfrei.jetzt atomwaffenfrei.de
Coop-Anti-War-Café Berlin coopcafeberlin.de
Friedensglockengesellschaft Berlin e.V. weltfriedensglocke-berlin.de
Berliner Arbeitskreis Uranmunition uran-munition.de
Netzwerk Friedenskooperative friedenskooperative.de
Attac Berlin attacberlin.de
Bahman Azad, Executive Secretary, U.S. Peace Council, New York uspeacecouncil.org
Black Alliance for Peace, Bronx, New York blackallianceforpeace.com
Dr. Carolus Wimmer, Parlamentarier, Vorsitz Venezolanisches Friedenskomittee COSI, Venezuela
Covid-19 Global Solidarity Manifesto covidglobalsolidarity.org
Alice Slater, New York, USA www.worldbeyondwar.org
Gar Smith, California, USA www.envirosagainstwar.org
Bärbel Brede, Künstlerin, Teltow
Telma Rinkes, Berlin
Dr. Sahra Wagenknecht, MdB Die Linke www.sahra-wagenknecht.de
Dr. Lydia Krüger, Berlin
Dr. Alexander S. Neu, Politologe / MdB, Köln www.neu-alexander.de
Mauro Valderrama, Lehrer, Berlin Frente Unido America Latina
Bernd Niereisel, Frankfurt (Oder)
Norbert G. Suchanek & Marcia Gomes de Oliveira, Rio de Janeiro, Brasilien uraniumfilmfestival.org
Dr. Edgar Göll, Zukunftsforscher, Berlin
Zaklin Nastic, MdB DIE LINKE, Hamburg www.zaklinnastic.de
Jutta Kausch-Henken, Vorsitzende FBK Freundschaftsgesellschaft Berlin-Kuba e.V. fg-berlin-kuba.de
Heinrich Bücker, Berlin
Jutta Wunderlich, Festival Produzentin IUFF Berlin uraniumfilmfestival.org
Barbara Fuchs, Berlin
Andrej Hunko, MdB DIE LINKE, Aachen www.andrej-hunko.de
Annette Groth, ex-MdB Die Linke, Stuttgart
Attac – Arbeitgruppe Globalisierung und Krieg www.attac-netzwerk.de
Sabine Scheffer, Berlin, Aufstehen AG Wohnen
Werner Lutz, 2100 KünstlerInnen gegen Rechts unruhestiften.de
Dietrich Antelmann, Diplomkameralist, Berlin
Elsa Rassbach, Berlin, Filmemacherin, Journalistin, Friedensaktivistin drohnen-kampagne.de
Ana Barbara v. Keitz, Handwerkerin, Berlin
Axel Plasa, Journalist, Berlin Frente Unido America Latina
Volker Birk, Softwarearchitekt, Winterthur, Schweiz
Andreas Brandt, Porta Westfalica
Gunnar Silberborth, Rentner, Pforzheim
Ekkehard Lentz, Sprecher Bremer Friedensforum Internet
Michael Walter, Deinste
Gregor Glass, Eberswalde
Wolfgang Herrmann, Grünow, Herausgeber Nueva Nicaragua Informe
Richard Petersen, Kiel
Jochen Scholz, Berlin
Maren Cronsnest, Freie Journalistin, Berlin
Heinz D. Kappei, Berlin
Walter Friedmann, Lehrer, Bühl
Daniel Seiderer, München
Miriam Volkmann, Berlin
Prof. Dr. Werner Ruf, Prof. i. R., Edermünde www.werner-ruf.net
Michael Lang, Berlin
Rainer Nödel, Friedberg (Bayern)
Georg Stein, Verleger, Heidelberg www.palmyra-verlag.de
Martin Eckert, Sozialwissenschaftler, Bodolz
Klaus Ried, München
Sima Kassaie-van Ooyen, Frankfurt (Main)
Klaus Stampfer, Bonstetten
Willi van Ooyen, Frankfurt (Main)
Iris Bührmann, Berlin
Ingrid Koschmieder, Berlin
Dr. Mathias Dreger, Berlin
Andrea Dreger, Berlin
Peter Deutschen, Dillingen/Saar
Heinrich Hochheimer, Rentner, Gaggenau
Helmut Kohlmann, Rentner/Agraring., Hagenow
Shirley Stachowski, Berlin
Ulrich Leonhardt, Rentner, Pingelshagen
Waltraud Leonhardt, Rentnerin, Pingelshagen
Herbert Schreivogel, Schwerin
Jochen Stopperam, Göhren
Robert Fehlandt, Schwerin
Kerstin Marten, Dipl. Umweltwissenschaftlerin, Schwerin
Susanne Ute Christine Breitenbach, Berlin
Ursula Mathern, Merxheim
Rolf Schäfer, Herzogenrath
Isabelle Casel, Bergisch Gladbach
Martin Lillich, Musiker/Komponist/Lehrer, Berlin
André Grube, Göttingen
Helga Tempel, Ahrensburg
Klaudine Oland, Berlin
Leonie Möller, Student, Norderstedt
Klaus Helms, Schwerin/Meckl.
Gregor Putensen, Hochschullehrer i. R., Greifswald
Konrad Tempel, Ahrensburg www.tempel.quakers.net
Siegfried Rückert, Ing.(grad)/OStR.l.iR., Emden
Franziska Hoven, Amberg
Elke Zwinge-Makamizile, Berlin
Dr. Klaus Germann, Arzt, Woehrden
Hartmut Drewes, Pastor i.R., Sprecherkreis bremerfriedensforum.de
Sandro Eisenhauer, Freiburg
Laurence Wuillemin, Übersetzerin, München
Rainer Leipold, Seeheim-Jugenheim
Dr. med. Irmtraud Kauschat, Ärztin Allgemeinmedizin, Trainerin Gewaltfreie Kommunikation, Darmstadt
Angelika Otto-Bauer, Berlin
Katja Jezewski, Berlin
Wolf Göhring, Bonn
Elisabeth Blättner, München
Gottfried Karenovics, Waldorflehrer i. R. für Chemie, Technologie, IT, Dortmund
Wilfried Pürsten, Berlin
Klaus Dick, Ravensburg
Christina Hartmann, Dipl. Bankbetriebswirtin, Menden
Wolfgang Nick, Nürnberg
Christa Ebeling, Diplomlehrerin inR., Wünschendorf
Stephan Braemer, Schwentinental
Wolfgang Lieberknecht, Friedensarbeiter, Wanfried
Friedrich Seifert, Würselen
Carsten Herrmann, Berlin
Rudolf Herdler, Dipl. – Ing. (TH); OStR. a. D., Bensheim
Irmgard Pehle, Herford
Arianna Carciofo, Berlin
Walter Friedmann, Bühl
Gunda Weidmüller, Hamburg
Svenja Ipsen, Übersetzerin und Dolmetscherin, Hamburg
Ursula Marek, Schwerin
Dr. Nancy Larenas Ojeda, Berlin, Coordinador Alemania, Partido Communista Chile
Marcel Redling, Pastor, Darmstadt
Brigitte Queck, Dipl. Staatswissenschaftl., Potsdam www.muetter-gegen-den-krieg-berlin.de
Claudia Karas, Frankfurt
Uwe Stahl, Drucker, Kiel www.antikriegsbuendnis-kiel.de
Norbert Kalkowski, Freier Sprecher, Berlin
Karl-Heinz Totzauer, Berlin
Anna Schmidt, Bielefeld
Brigitte Gärtner-Coulibaly, Herford
LabourNet Germany, Treffpunkt für Ungehorsame, basisnah, gesellschaftskritisch www.labournet.de
Gisela Notz, Sozialwissenschaftlerin, Berlin
Maja Tegeler, Sprecherin der Linksfraktion für Antimilitarismus, Bremen www.maja-tegeler.de
Melacio Castro Mendoza, Schriftsteller, Essen
Ortsgruppe Aufstehen Schwerin
Erich Utz, Kommunalpolitiker, München
Betty Marquardt, Sozialarbeiterin, Berlin
Timo Klemt, Verwaltung, Berlin
Dominik Mikhalkevich, Mitarbeiter am Deutschen Bundestag
Gérard Couchoud, Palaiseau
Peter P. Hoppe, Wachenheim
Daniel Meuris, Witten
Monika Mertens, Lindlar
Hannelore Morgenstern, Vorstandsmitglied Netzwerk Friedenssteuer e.V. netzwerk-friedenssteuer.de
B Dudney, M.D., Santa Rosa, California USA
Heinrich Fecher, Lehrerausbilder i.R., Rodgau-Jügesheim
Bernd Hartwich, Rentner, Tangstedt
Wolfgang Carl, Berlin
Maureen Schwalke, Mitglied der Bezirksversammlung Hamburg-Mitte, Die Linke Internet
Finian Carey, Leonberg
Renate Ansari-Dunkes, Erlangen
Gerald Warnke, Lehrer, Kassel
Florian Dieckmann, Berlin
Ulrike Udo Böttcher, Meißenheim
Robert Silz, Mechatroniker, Köln
Christina Löhrer-Kareem, Soziologin, Aachen
Klaus Martin, Kassel
Harry Heine, Düsseldorf
Dieter Rohn, Rentner, Düsseldorf
Werner Damm, Offenbach
Jordy Heinrich, Schwaigern
Dr. Matthias Müller, Allgemeinmediziner, Hemmingen
Henning Vogler, Arzt, Celle
Franz Brandl, Lam
Gerd Lange, Stuttgart
Friedemann Kiemle, Heidelberg
Roland Henkel, Hünfeld
Harald Uhlig, IT-Ingenieur, Weimar
Eberhard Kiel, Strausberg
Albrecht Geißler, Vors. Revolutionärer Freundschaftsbund e.V., Chemnitz rfb-online.org
Stephan Arndt, Berlin
Günther Lindner, Puppenspieler, Berlin
Georg Wackenhut, Stuttgart
Frieder Schöbel, Forum Crisis Prevention e.V., Berlin crisis-prevention.info
Uta-G. Lindner, Schauspielerin, Vorstand Theater o.N.e.V., Berlin theater-on.de
Dr. Christoph Seidler, Arzt, Berlin
Heinz Schmidt, Verkehrsingenieur, Sprecher schweriner-friedensbuendnis.de
Tanja Banavas, Bonn
Heinz Assenmacher, Bonn antikriegsagbonn.wordpress.com
Ludwig Luk List, Soziologe, Bezirksratsherr DIE LINKE Linden-Limmer, Hannover
Margot Van Mossevelde, yoga teacher, Gent, Belgien
Renate Christians, Omas gegen Rechts, Berlin omasgegenrechts.berlin
Bernhild Schömel, Kassel
Dr. Ingrid Hartmann, Bodenphysikerin, Berlin
Elisabeth Schneckenburger, Wangen an der Aare, Schweiz
Dany Oberholzer, Wangen an der Aare, Schweiz
Peter Weinfurth, Herausgeber von Linke Zeitung linkezeitung.de
Erika Mourgues, Rentnerin, Berlin
Werner Höhner, Berlin
Frank Wecker, Journalist, Leegebruch FW-journalist.de
Twin Moi, Sängerin, Twin Aguas del Rio (y del Mar!), Berlin
Thies Schönegge, Journalist, Hamburg
