Newsletter June 2023
It has been a busy summer in the world of disarmament, and for SCRAP Weapons, as we continue campaigning for the activation of a Fourth Special Session on Disarmament at the United Nations General Assembly.
On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the New Agenda Coalition, Brazil hosted the seminar “The Crisis of the Nuclear Disarmament and Arms Control Regimes and the Role of the NAC”, with the Fundação Alexandre de Gusmão (FUNAG) and the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, on 20 June 2023, in Brasília. Messages that were delivered by Ministers and High Level Officials of the member states of the NAC – Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and South Africa – as well as by Madam Nakamitsu herself, provided additional stimulus for the NAC to keep pursuing, after a quarter of century, its dedicated focus on nuclear disarmament and its effective and ambitious efforts to achieve and maintain a world free of nuclear weapons.
SCRAP Weapons continues to support Brazil’s disarmament efforts in achieving the convening of SSODIV.
Webinars
Through a series of conversations, SCRAP Weapons’ Project Assistants provided an insight into the arms industry, its preoccupations and understanding of its role in the world. Global rules exist to ensure human safety, led in part by the entry into force of the Arms Trade Treaty in 2014. Yet the question remains: in what ways are these being upheld by stakeholders within the industry? Recordings of the sessions can be found here
The Feminist Leadership in Disarmament project successfully entered its third year discussing and promoting the role of women, especially from the Global South, in matters related to disarmament. Catch up on the webinar, titled ‘Gender, Environment and Disarmament,’ on our YouTube channel here.
In Conversation with SCRAP Weapons
The second episode of In Conversation With SCRAP Weapons is out!
In this episode Ben and Philip dive into some of the geopolitical contexts surrounding disarmament, particularly in the Asia-Pacific theatre, and look at various ways in which SCRAP Weapons’ strategic policy and verification tools can play a role in promoting peace, and shaping a compliance system, to uphold the implementation of a comprehensive disarmament treaty. Available on Spotify and YouTube.