Eliminating nuclear weapons is the democratic wish of the world’s people. Yet no nuclear-armed country currently appears to be preparing for a future without these terrifying devices. In fact, all are squandering billions of dollars on modernization of their nuclear forces, making a mockery of United Nations disarmament pledges. If we allow this madness to continue, the eventual use of these instruments of terror seems all but inevitable.

The nuclear power crisis at Japan’s Fukushima power plant has served as a dreadful reminder that events thought unlikely can and do happen. It has taken a tragedy of great proportions to prompt some leaders to act to avoid similar calamities at nuclear reactors elsewhere in the world. But it must not take another Hiroshima or Nagasaki – or an even greater disaster – before they finally wake up and recognize the urgent necessity of nuclear disarmament.

This week, the foreign ministers of five nuclear-armed countries – the United States, Russia, Britain, France, and China – will meet in Paris to discuss progress in implementing the nuclear-disarmament commitments that they made at last year’s Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference. It will be a test of their resolve to transform the vision of a future free of nuclear arms into reality.

If they are serious about preventing the spread of these monstrous weapons – and averting their use – they will work energetically and expeditiously to eliminate them completely. One standard must apply to all countries: zero. Nuclear arms are wicked, regardless of who possesses them. The unspeakable human suffering that they inflict is the same whatever flag they may bear. So long as these weapons exist, the threat of their use – either by accident or through an act of sheer madness – will remain.

We must not tolerate a system of nuclear apartheid, in which it is considered legitimate for some states to possess nuclear arms but patently unacceptable for others to seek to acquire them. Such a double standard is no basis for peace and security in the world. The NPT is not a license for the five original nuclear powers to cling to these weapons indefinitely. The International Court of Justice has affirmed that they are legally obliged to negotiate in good faith for the complete elimination of their nuclear forces.

The New START agreement between the US and Russia, while a step in the right direction, will only skim the surface off the former Cold War foes’ bloated nuclear arsenals – which account for 95% of the global total. Furthermore, these and other countries’ modernization activities cannot be reconciled with their professed support for a world free of nuclear weapons.

It is deeply troubling that the US has allocated $185 billion to augment its nuclear stockpile over the next decade, on top of the ordinary annual nuclear-weapons budget of more than $50 billion. Just as unsettling is the Pentagon’s push for the development of nuclear-armed drones – H-bombs deliverable by remote control.

Russia, too, has unveiled a massive nuclear-weapons modernization plan, which includes the deployment of various new delivery systems. British politicians, meanwhile, are seeking to renew their navy’s aging fleet of Trident submarines – at an estimated cost of £76 billion ($121 billion). In doing so, they are passing up an historic opportunity to take the lead on nuclear disarmament.

Every dollar invested in bolstering a country’s nuclear arsenal is a diversion of resources from its schools, hospitals, and other social services, and a theft from the millions around the globe who go hungry or are denied access to basic medicines. Instead of investing in weapons of mass annihilation, governments must allocate resources towards meeting human needs.

The only obstacle we face in abolishing nuclear weapons is a lack of political will, which can – and must – be overcome. Two-thirds of UN member states have called for a nuclear-weapons convention similar to existing treaties banning other categories of particularly inhumane and indiscriminate weapons, from biological and chemical arms to anti-personnel land mines and cluster munitions. Such a treaty is feasible and must be urgently pursued.

It is true that nuclear weapons cannot be uninvented, but that does not mean that nuclear disarmament is an impossible dream. My own country, South Africa, gave up its nuclear arsenal in the 1990’s, realizing it was better off without these weapons. Around the same time, the newly independent states of Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine voluntarily relinquished their nuclear arms, and then joined the NPT. Other countries have abandoned nuclear-weapons programs, recognizing that nothing good could possibly come from them. Global stockpiles have dropped from 68,000 warheads at the height of the Cold War to 20,000 today.

In time, every government will come to accept the basic inhumanity of threatening to obliterate entire cities with nuclear weapons. They will work to achieve a world in which such weapons are no more – where the rule of law, not the rule of force, reigns supreme, and cooperation is seen as the best guarantor of international peace. But such a world will be possible only if people everywhere rise up and challenge the nuclear madness.

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Editor’s Note:  The original article can be found at the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)Desmond Tutu is a Nobel Peace Prize laureate and long-time advocate for abolishing nuclear weapons.

It turns out we’ve got something extra to celebrate this holiday season. And I want you to know how important you were in ratifying the first major disarmament treaty in decades, because this is a story that begins and ends with you.

It’s people like you who’ve known that the vision of a world without nuclear weapons takes great commitment, but it’s worth working for. You made phone calls, you sent letters and emails, and when it mattered the most, you gave.

And when you supported our efforts, you made it possible for us to bring together hundreds of organizations and thousands of activists in a national coalition to hone our plans for everything from lobbying strategy to media work, and of course, grassroots mobilizing. It’s a good thing, because we had to get two-thirds of the Senate on board to ratify the treaty. That meant getting every Democrat plus at least 8 Republicans – no mean feat in this political climate.

We went up against some pretty daunting opponents, including hard right senators like John Kyl. Also some very powerful and very right-wing organizations like the Heritage Foundation and Liberty Central went full tilt to undermine the treaty. But the amazing thing was, while they had the high-priced ad campaigns and unbelievably cozy relationships with policymakers, we had you, and our grassroots efforts outpaced theirs.

With your support we mounted a huge national phonebank, teaming up with over 50 organizations around the country. We’re still tallying the numbers, but it looks like we generated close to 10,000 phone calls to Republican senators that we knew were on the fence. Throughout the campaign, I heard about Senate Republicans complaining that their phones were ringing off the hook about New START. That sure made me smile.

But like Jon said last week, it was a real nail biter until the end. We needed 8 Republicans to swing our way, but the GOP track record for supporting arms control agreements authored by Democrats has not been great. In fact, the last two Democratic presidents to try to ratify a major arms control treaty were met with defeat. But this time, when the final votes were counted, we got 13 Republicans on board and ratified New START 71 to 26!

So what does all this mean? Russia and the US have 95% of the world’s nuclear weapons. The New START treaty will lead to a 15% reduction in the global arsenal, while building momentum towards deeper reductions. This move by the world’s two largest nuclear powers is a big step towards building a worldwide consensus on nuclear disarmament. Without US and Russian progress there would not have been any possibility of a true global effort on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament. Now, that dream is still alive.

And none of this would have happened without the support of people just like you. In all the press coverage of the New START treaty, that’s one thing that isn’t getting covered. Behind any victory for peace are people just like you who take action to make it happen.

Of course, our work is never done. The party that brought us two wars, record military spending and designs for new kinds of nuclear weapons will again control half of Congress next year. 98 percent of our work is possible only because people like you chip in at the right time. And this is one of those times. Please click here to give what you can. $40 or more will get you the beautiful 2011 Peace Builders calendar.

Thank you!

As we end 2010 with a major victory, help us start 2011 with the support we need to keep moving. Give $40 or more, and we'll send you the new 2011 Peace Builders calendar. Photo credit: Chris De Bruyn – http://chrisdebruyn.zenfolio.com/

It was touch and go until the end.

But just moments ago, the Senate voted to ratify the New START treaty, taking a major step towards a world safe from the threat of nuclear weapons!

I am not kidding, this was a real nail biter. We had to get 67 senators on board to ratify the treaty, and even after more than a year of organizing, a handful of hard-right Republicans with a lot of power were pulling every string to kill it.

But together we prevailed, and we just ratified the first major disarmament treaty this nation has seen in decades.

As we celebrate this victory, we’ve got to prepare for what comes next, because in 2011 we’ll face an even tougher Congress. Will you help us keep the momentum going into the new year by making a year-end contribution? For a gift of $40 or more, we’ll send you the 2011 Peace Builders calendar as thanks.

This wasn’t an easy fight, but it was worth it. Russia and the US have 95% of the world’s nuclear weapons, and it’s crucial we lead by example by making reductions. We aim to eliminate every last nuclear weapon on earth, and if we had let this treaty fall victim to the Senate’s partisan games, it would have killed prospects for bigger steps, like a comprehensive test ban.

Legislative victories like this are often years in the making, and that takes organizations that can sustain campaigns over the long haul. Ninety-eight cents of every dollar we have to spend comes from people just like you pitching in when it matters most. We need your help to keep advancing the causes both you and I hold dear.

Please click here to give as large a gift as you can, and help us start 2011 off with the support we need. For $40, we’ll send you a thank you gift that will remind you throughout the year of your contribution to peace.

The Peace Builders calendar illustrates in full color what we stand for — peaceful alternatives to bombs and war. It highlights proven programs that, with the right resources, can help build a more safe and just world by addressing some of the root causes of war.

Thank you for sharing in this victory with us.