AN OPEN LETTERTO THE PRIME MINISTER OF CANADA
REGARDING THE FUTURE OF NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT TREATIES
Prime Minister Jean Chretien House of Commons Ottawa, ON, K1A 0A6December 13, 2001
Dear Mr Chretien:
I am writing on behalf of the Canadian Peace Alliance to ask you to urge President Bush not to scrap the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.
We believe that the interests of Canada lie firmly with a treaty-based process to eliminate nuclear weapons, and that the ABM Treaty is at its foundation. Therefore, I was alarmed to learn yesterday that the United States plans to announce this week that it intends to withdraw from the treaty. I fear that scrapping the ABM Treaty may set back the negotiation of a number of urgent multilateral arms control agreements.
As I am sure you will agree, in the post-September 11 context, the fear that terrorists may obtain and use weapons of mass destruction including nuclear weapons seems all the more real. Only the total elimination of nuclear weapons can remove the threat of terrorist obtaining nuclear devices. The successful conclusion of a Fissile Materials Cut-Off Treaty is the single most pressing international action to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists.
As you know, such a treaty would stop the production of highly-enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium and ensure that existing stockpiles are guarded. A nuclear device cannot be made without one or the other of these materials. Since these two materials cannot be produced in secret, a leak-proof system of securing their supply is feasible and would virtually guarantee that nuclear weapons could not be obtained by terrorists. I recall that the Government of Canada has long been committed to successfully concluding such an agreement.
The entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the initiating of a Peaceful Uses of Outer Space Treaty and the further strengthening of the Non-Proliferation Treaty also will be important in protecting innocent people from weapons of mass destruction. All of these are important to the foreign policy objectives of the Government of Canada. Yet, the successful conclusion of such treaties depends on the good-will built up through decades of arms control negotiations, of which the ABM treaty remains a cornerstone.
As you know, the Canadian public is behind efforts by your government to promote total nuclear disarmament. A 1998 public opinion poll conducted by Angus Reid on behalf of the Canadian Peace Alliance found that nine in ten Canadians believe that Canada should take a leading role in advancing the negotiation of a global agreement to abolish nuclear weapons.
International legal opinion supports the total elimination of nuclear weapons. In 1996, an advisory opinion of the World Court determined that all states have an obligation under international law to pursue in good faith and conclude negotiations leading to complete nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control.
The Bush Administration’s determination to "fast-track" the proposed missile defence program, which is behind its decision to withdraw from the ABM Treaty, may soon have grave consequences. As you will recall, over the past two years, the Canadian Peace Alliance has persistently asked the Government of Canada to object to the US plans for missile defence and to urge the Government of the United States not to proceed with them. We feel that the missile defence program will be extremely expensive, technologically unfeasible and threatens world peace. The Canadian Peace Alliance has repeatedly cautioned that the program will lead to the basing of weapons in Outer Space, something we know your government opposes.
I hope that you will use your good offices to urge President Bush to reconsider his decision to withdraw from the ABM Treaty. To do so, I believe, would enhance Canada’s international reputation and overall foreign policy goals.
In peace,
Carolyn Bassett Coordinator