Preventing Nuclear War

The Medical and Humanitarian Case for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

John Loretz, Marion Birch, Leo van Bergen, John Loretz, Marion Birch, Leo van Bergen

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN:
  9780367456740
• eBook ISBN:
  9781000059397
• Topic: Politique et relations internationales
• Subtopic: Histoire de l'armée et de la marine

Preventing Nuclear War: The Medical and Humanitarian Case for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons provides a window into the work of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) health professionals, advocates and activists as they persuaded diplomats, parliamentarians, the media, and the public to ban nuclear weapons.

Why are doctors speaking out about nuclear weapons and nuclear war, an issue that seems to be the exclusive province of diplomats, politicians, and security experts? This volume offers an answer in the unique perspective of health professionals on the nature of nuclear weapons, their medical and humanitarian consequences, and the responsibility to prevent what cannot be treated. On 7 July 2017, the UN successfully concluded negotiations on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The "ban treaty," emerged from a "humanitarian initiative" that shifted the focus away from deterrence-based rationales used by the nuclear-armed states and toward an evidence-based understanding of the existential threat nuclear weapons pose to humanity. Since 1980, IPPNW has been the leading medical organization primarily dedicated to the abolition of nuclear weapons. With its civil society partners in ICAN—the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons—IPPNW brought the scientific evidence about nuclear weapons and nuclear war into the treaty negotiations and into the language of the TPNW itself. The contributors to this volume show the dedication and diverse strategies that have together made up a unified and very significant contribution to ridding the world of nuclear weapons.

Reflecting honestly on what has been learnt and have the potential to contribute to wider learning outside the anti-nuclear community, Preventing Nuclear War: The Medical and Humanitarian Case for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will be of great use to medical and health professionals, humanitarian professionals, and anyone wanting to work towards a more peaceful and equitable world. The chapters originally published as a special issue of Medicine, Conflict and Survival.

Index

Note: Bold page numbers refer to tables and page numbers followed by “n” denote endnotes.

abolition of nuclear weapons 1, 4, 24, 50, 52, 74, 106, 107, 114–121

Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) 44, 48

antinuclear experience, in Greece 50–52

anti-nuclear Fashion Show 15

anti-nuclear movements 14, 23, 69

arms race, South Asia 95–96, 96

Association Des Médecins Francais pour la Prévention de la Guerre Nucléaire (AMFPGN) 40–42

atomwaffenfrei.jetzt campaign 46

Australia: bomb 17–18; ICAN in 19–20; IPPNW 18–19; ‘nuclear umbrella’ 20

Australian Medical Association (AMA) 18

Austria: anti-nuclear movement in 23; IPPNW 22–25; nuclear weapons prohibition 22; VCDNP 24

Austrian Pledge 19, 25

Bangladesh 35, 97

ban treaty 5, 30; Australian Government hostility to 20; civil society and 61; history of 6; national momentum for 18; negotiations on 19–20, 25

Black, Douglas: Nuclear Attack: Ethics and Casualty Selection 116

bridge-building 54, 55, 57

Britain’s New Nuclear Weapons Illegal, Indiscriminate and Catastrophic for Health (Medact) 116

British: decision-makers’ programme 118–120; humanitarian approach 118; International Court of Justice 118; peace movement 114; TPNW 120–121

Caldicott, Helen 4, 114

campaign: atomwaffenfrei.jetzt 46; Germany, online campaigning 46–47; ICAN Campus+ 47; in Latin America 62–63; ‘Make in India’ 95; for nuclear disarmament 62–63

Cancer and Nuclear Power Plants in Switzerland (CANUPIS) 109

Chown, A.: The Human Cost of Nuclear Weapons 115

Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) 43, 44, 48

civil society 3; and ban treaty 61; coalition for NW-free world 80; pressure on government formation 80–81; reaction to Japanese government 56–57

Cold War 2, 4, 5, 27–29, 45, 50, 66, 80, 88, 96, 115, 116

collaboration 117; constructive 81; ICAN with Australian Red Cross 19; with leading health organizations 6–7; Medact with ICAN and IPPNW 121; national 89–90; w...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Citation Information
• Notes on Contributors
• Towards abolition: a special issue from the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
• Consequences matter: why nuclear weapons had to be banned
• My Journey before and after the birth of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
• Australia: fertile ground for banning the bomb
• Austria and its efforts towards the prohibition of nuclear weapons
• Teaching about the Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons to three generations
• How Physicians for Social Responsibility - Finland has managed to grow and be active for over 35 years
• French physicians against nuclear weapons (AMFPGN) IPPNW’s french affiliate’s adventures in atomic bomb fan club country
• Promoting the nuclear ban treaty in Germany - obstacles and opportunities
• The antinuclear experience in Greece
• Can Japan be a bridge-builder between deterrence-dependent states and nuclear weapon ban treaty proponents?
• Latin America: non-nuclear weapon states at the forefront of nuclear disarmament
• Nuclear disarmament: a Malaysian experience
• International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War-Mexico (IPPNW-Mexico)
• The influence of NVMP’s medical-humanitarian arguments on Dutch nuclear weapons politics: The Netherlands can make a difference in reaching a nuclear weapons-free world
• Collaboration and confrontation: the Norwegian humanitarian initiative experience
• Nuclear disarmament, arms expenditures, and health needs in South Asia
• Swedish physicians against nuclear weapons
• PSR/IPPNW Switzerland - tackling the « radioactive Siamese twins » and considering human rights in the nuclear age
• A history of British health professionals working for the abolition of nuclear weapons
• Index