Global IssuesTOWARD A WORLD FREE OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
Crying out in opposition to war and nuclear weapons is neither emotionalism nor self-pity. It is the highest expression of human reason based on an unflinching commitment to the dignity of life, writes Daisaku Ikeda, a Japanese Buddhist philosopher and peace-builder and president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) grassroots Buddhist movement.
In this article, the author writes that a first crucial step in the process of ridding the world of nuclear weapons is to hold a US-Russia Summit on nuclear disarmament at the earliest possible moment. These two states have a historic opportunity to show strong leadership by setting targets for nuclear warhead reduction to replace START 1, ensuring a robust verification regime, and initiating talks on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT). It is also important for the US to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
Such good faith efforts on the part of the nuclear-weapon states are essential if confidence in the NPT is to be restored. Only then will it be possible to win the trust of countries outside of the NPT regime and obtain commitments on freezing and dismantling nuclear weapon development programmes. Alongside such steps, global society, working through the United Nations, should press for a Nuclear Weapons Convention (NWC) -a comprehensive ban on nuclear weapons, including their development and testing.
(*) Daisaku Ikeda is a Japanese Buddhist philosopher and peace-builder and president of the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) grassroots Buddhist movement (www.sgi.org).The full text of Ikeda's 2009 Peace Proposal can be viewed at http://www.daisakuikeda.org/
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