FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NUKES OUTLAWED: CANADIAN POLICY MUST CHANGE
(Toronto - July 9, 1996) The United Nations International Court of Justice (UNICJ), the supreme authority on questions of international law, yesterday declared that the threat or use of nuclear weapons in armed conflict is illegal.
The Court's consideration of the legality of using or threatening to use nuclear weapons is a result of a global popular movement known as the World Court Project. This world-wide effort was launched in Amsterdam in 1992 by three international non-governmental organizations, the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear Weapons, and the International Peace Bureau.
The Canadian Peace Alliance (CPA) was a co-sponsor of the World Court Project in Canada, which has been actively supported by some 30,000 individual Canadians, over fifty city councils - including Toronto and Vancouver - and more than 100 national and regional organizations.
"Since the dawn of the nuclear age, Canada has provided much of the infrastructure necessary for the nuclear weapons programs of its allies", said Judith Berlyn, CPA Co-Chair, "and continues to do so by:
- supporting NATO's nuclear war fighting policies;
- manufacturing and exporting delivery system components for nuclear weapons; and
- allowing Canadian territory to be used for testing and training for nuclear warfare. As of yesterday, all such policies may violate international law," she continued.
Although the Court was unable to conclude definitively whether the threat or use of nuclear weapons would be lawful or unlawful in an extreme circumstance of self-defence, the decision has considerable implications for Canadian foreign policy.
The CPA calls on the Government of Canada to take whatever unilateral steps necessary to bring its policies into immediate compliance with the Court's ruling, and to provide leadership within the international community in fully implementing the Court's decision. Accordingly, Canada should:
- oppose NATO's nuclear war-fighting policies, particularly the threat of a first use of nuclear weapons;
- end the agreement with the United States which allows nuclear weapons capable submarines to develop and test weapons at Canadian Forces Maritime Experimental Test Range in Georgia Strait, British Columbia;
- stop the manufacturing and exporting of components for nuclear weapons delivery systems; and
- prohibit nuclear armed aircraft or ships from entering Canadian territory.
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