The destructive power of existing military arsenals is unthinkable. Most of it comes from nuclear weapons.

The current nuclear arsenal amounts to 15,000 weapons. Each has an average power of 443 kt, or 29 times the power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

The detonation of a mid-sized nuclear warhead (475 kt) over a populous city would cause 750,000 fatalities and 2.7 million injured; extreme, heavy and medium damage would happen 0.7, 5.5 and 8.8 km around ground zero, respectively.

The total power of the existing nuclear arsenal is about 6,600 mt, or 680 kg of dynamite per person on Earth.

After the unthinkable, yet comes the inexplicable.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council possess 98% of the nuclear weapons, and are the major producers of weapons in general. They have also violated a provision of the UN Charter which prohibits the use of force by one country against another.

Global military spending amounts to 1.7 trillion dollars per year. Involved countries claim its purpose is defence. If all defend, then no country would ever attack another, and military spending has no justification.

War is the most devastating human activity, and thus a major threat to sustainable development.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development makes no mention of war. The much softer term “conflict” is used instead. The Agenda foresees no action against conflicts (i.e. war) or its precursors, notably military spending.

The Agenda does recognise that peace is essential to sustainability. In fact peace is commonplace along the Agenda, from preamble to declarations, to Target 4.7 and Goal 16.

Target 4.7 ensures that all learners acquire a culture of peace and non-violence. Goal 16 promotes peaceful societies, reduces violence and death, and combats terrorism and crime. But no target or goal aims at preventing war.

On what moral grounds would governments promote peace and non-violence among society, while spending on preparedness for war?

The best way of overcoming these contradictions is direct action against the precursors of war at all levels, sustainability included.

Any future action plans on sustainable development should include goals and targets to tackle war. If the goals of the Agenda are extended beyond 2030, then the following goal should be added:

   Goal 0: Promote disarmament and demilitarization

This is a very ambitious goal, but hardly sufficient to eradicate war. Both international and national laws must change as well.

The UN Charter for example forbids the use of force, except when authorised by the Security Council or in case of self-defence. These exceptions are in practice loopholes that countries exploit to justify military forces and arsenals.

Disarmament and demilitarization are the only guarantee of permanent peace between nations. This was precisely the original purpose of creating the United Nations.

After all, the member nations of the United Nations should behave as united nations. Shouldn’t they?.


Sources:
FAS Nuclear Notebooks
NUKEMAP
Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
United Nations Charter
Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development

Mhai Selph, May 2018

© 2018 Mhai Selph  All rights reserved