Nuclear weapons are the most inhumane, destructive, and indiscriminate weapons of war ever.
Unlike other forms of weaponry, nuclear weapons cause large-scale destruction spread persistently, and cause radioactive fallout.
A single nuclear weapon such as a bomb detonated over a large area can kill millions of people. Usage of multiple nuclear bombs in hundreds or just tens can disrupt climate globally, resulting in widespread drought and famine.
The catastrophic environmental and humanitarian effects of using nuclear weapons can span across generations and decades.
The weapons have high production, modernization, and government maintenance costs that divert public health care funds, including those meant for disaster relief, education, and other important public services.
Some governments can threaten to use nuclear weapons to wipe out cities or people in a blink of an eye, causing mistrust and fear among nations.
Therefore, it becomes necessary to ban the inhuman weapons according to international law as part of the fight to cease nuclear weapon production.
The UN Treaty dubbed the “Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was adopted in mid-2017 to lead the world towards a future that’s free from nuclear weapons.
Other reasons to fight against the production of nuclear weapons include:
- One nuclear weapon can destroy a whole city and kill millions of its residents
- Nuclear weapon destruction isn’t limited to combatants and military targets
- Ionizing radiation from nuclear weapons contaminate the environment and sicken or kill humans exposed to it. It can cause genetic damage and cancer, among other long-term health effects.
- 1% of nuclear weapons worldwide are capable of causing nuclear famine and starving over two billion people due to disruptions in the global climate.
- A nuclear weapon disaster can strain and overwhelm disaster relief resources, making it difficult to provide a humanitarian response.
- Nuclear weapons harm the environment and human health even if they’re not detonated.
- The weapons distract limited resources from critical social services.
You can take part in the fight against nuclear weapons. If you’re not aware of how to get involved, here’re five tips to get you started:
5 Ways to Join in the Fight against
Nuclear Weaponry Production
1. Join the ICAN campaign on banning nuclear weapons
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is a global campaign aimed at stigmatizing, prohibiting, and eradicating nuclear weapons.
ICAN is a partnership of non-governmental organizations that have come together to promote compliance with and deployment of the United Nations ban treaty on nuclear weapons.
Apart from joining the campaign, you can also take other forms of actions as follows:
- Get your country to join the campaign
- Get your leaders to take the ICAN parliamentary pledge
- Encourage your city to adopt the ICAN cities appeal
- Find an ICAN event near you to join
2. Find and join another campaign near you against nuclear weaponry
If you’re unable to join ICAN for whatever reason, find and join another related campaign near you to fight against nuclear weapon production.
For instance, Action Weapon Establishment, Action Awe, is a campaign in the UK that’s fighting against atomic weapons establishment of nuclear weapons.
The campaign is against nuclear weapons being produced in the United Kingdom. If you live in the UK, you can easily join the campaign and its events to take part in the movement.
3. Donate to a campaign
Another way to be part of a campaign against nuclear weapons is to donate to a nuclear disarmament campaign.
If you’re too busy to join and take part in a campaign, your donations will go a long way in funding and supporting the activities of your chosen campaign body.
4. Begin your own movement locally
Whether you’re a social activist or not, you can establish a local non-governmental organization or social movement to create awareness about the harmful effects of nuclear weapons in your town, city, or even the entire nation.
Awareness can
help halt the operations of existing plants into producing nuclear weapons. It can also inform the young generation not to engage in such activities in the future to protect the environment and all forms of life.
5. Organize a fundraising campaign
You may lack funds to donate to a campaign and still be unable to take part in an action or movement against nuclear weapon production.
In such a case, organize your favorite game to raise funds for a campaign of your liking towards a similar cause.
For instance, you can hire or buy the best shuffleboard table to organize a game at home or wherever you prefer. The table may come with leg cabinet storage for versatile use.
What’s more, it can fit in almost any part of the room where you’d like to host the game for one-time or ongoing campaign fundraising. In the case of the former, hire a table from a local provider instead of buying one that you’ll only use once or a few times.