Newsletter February 2025
Statements
UN Secretary-General António Guterres urges governments to push for total disarmament.
On 24 February, Mr. Guterres warned delegates of heightened global security concerns, noting that trust between nations is crumbling, international law is being undermined and multilateral treaties are under strain. He calls nuclear weapons “a one-way road to annihilation. We need to avoid this dead-end at all costs.”
“Others are expanding their inventories of nuclear weapons and materials. Some continue to rattle the nuclear sabre as a means of coercion. We see signs of new arms races including in outer space,” Mr. Guterres said. “And the weaponization of Artificial Intelligence is moving forward at an alarming pace.”
Despite the grim picture, the Secretary-General highlighted the Pact for the Future adopted by world leaders at the General Assembly last September, as a sign of hope.
Read the full statement here.
Actioning President Trump’s goal of weapons reductions
Academics offer a policy package to implement President Trump’s goal of 50% military cuts. The four point package offers a secure and verifiable strategy of threat reduction that can reduce taxes and free resources.
A global missile ban led by the three most capable nuclear nations could be backed by the revolution in digital and satellite capabilities allowing verification without trust that can be extended to nuclear weapons factories and to the major weapons we see used every day. Political leaders can use methods to check on weapons first approved by the CIA and KGB and now increasingly available publicly. A draft UN agreement to seal the deal could enable the 50% cuts of President Trump’s goal. “Global weapons control is not rocket science, but would use current technology and diplomatic practice”, said Prof. Dan Plesch of SOAS University of London.
Zero Missiles is no dream but a realistic object that remove missile threats to the US and the world, that have existed since Nazi Germany’s V2 rockets and Hitler’s dream of the “New York Rocket”.
As shown in recent OSINT studies, current satellites’ capabilities facilitate inspection; this serves as the glue to implement the approach that Trump is proposing. Simultaneously, OSINT advances make verification more transparent and effective, eliminating the need for great powers to necessarily trust one another. If a more multilateral treaty is sought, for instance through the UN, specialists have developed for a decade an actionable plan that would activate a Special Session on Disarmament at the UN General Assembly.
‘The urgency is real as the ‘Doomsday Clock’ demonstrates and is considerably greater than usually acknowledged”, said Manuel Galileo from SOAS University of London. Current superior non-nuclear capabilities by the US could be perceived by China and Russia as threatening strategic stability. Trump may seek to dissuade Moscow and Beijing of this, by signaling that Washington is willing to reinvigorate arms control discussions and potentially negotiations. These signals by the world’s most powerful country may open a new page in international arms control.
Ultimately, while Trump’s vision may face challenges in reality, this pragmatic package, developed by academics over a decade for this precise moment when world leaders prioritise global arms control, appears not only hopeful but also actionable.
Event Spotlight
On 29 January, SCRAP Weapons attended a roundtable discussion titled “Called to be Peacemakers”, organized by the Bishop’s Conference of England and Wales to advance the disarmament agenda. The roundtable comprised of four Bishops representing the Catholic Church, three individuals with religious and/or secular titles, and SCRAP Weapons’ Director Prof. Daniel Plesch and Project Assistant Ashoka Phillips. Discussions were around the renewed role of the Catholic Church in limiting the proliferation of weapons in the 21st century, especially towards the reduction in small arms sales, facilitating dialogue, and promoting a nuclear detente.
SCRAP at ISODARCO
From January 12 to 19, 2025, Ms. Zahraa Kapasi, SCRAP Weapon’s Consultant, attended the 62nd ISODARCO (International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts) Course in Trento, Italy. The theme for 2025 was “Technology, War, and Nuclear Stability in an Age of Conflict.” The cohort examined the problem of safely managing nuclear weapons and technological change in this deteriorating security environment.
News and Updates
On January 28, 2025, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock was set at 89 seconds to midnight, signaling the unprecedented risk and maddening path our world is heading. The clock factors in nuclear weapons threats, the climate crisis, biological threats, disruptive technologies, and ongoing conflicts around the world. The Doomsday Clock’s time is set by the Science and Security Board (SASB) in consultation with its Board of Sponsors, which includes nine Nobel Laureates.
It is imperative, now more than ever, to restart a global conversation about the very real existential threats and convene the UN Fourth Special Session on Disarmament.