German and Canadian nuclear and climate policies also challenged.
Nuclear weapons policies and actions of Russia have been challenged in the UN Human Rights Council this week as being in violation of international law, especially human rights law.
The challenges have been made in a report submitted to the Human Rights Council by the Basel Peace Office, in cooperation with other civil society organizations*, as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the obligations of Russia under international human rights law including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
Despite being suspended from the Human Rights Council in response to their invasion of Ukraine, the Council review of Russia’s human rights obligations will proceed along with reviews of 13 other countries (Azerbaijan Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Colombia, Cuba, Djibouti, Germany, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu and Uzbekistan).
Basel Peace Office and partners also submitted reports to the Human Rights Council challenging nuclear weapons and climate policies of Germany and Canada.
Nuclear weapons policies:
The three submissions are a reminder of the importance to address the risks and illegality of nuclear deterrence policies, as well as the obligations of nuclear armed and allied states to work for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.
"In times of high tensions involving nuclear-armed and/or allied states, plans and preparations for the use of nuclear weapons elevate the risk of nuclear war which would be a humanitarian catastrophe, severely impacting rights of current and future generations," says Alyn Ware, Director of the Basel Peace Office. "Compliance with the Right to Life with respect to nuclear weapons is therefore an urgent matter, impacting the rights of all humanity."
Russia has made a number of specific nuclear threats to the USA and NATO countries in conjunction with their invasion of Ukraine. (12 of these are noted in the submission on Russia). However, the submissions note that the nuclear weapons policies of all three states (Russia, Canada and Germany) are in violation of the Right to Life (Article 6 of the ICCPR) as interpreted by the UN Human Rights Committee in General Comment 36, and also in violation of international humanitarian law (IHL) and laws of peace and security (most notably UN Charter Article 2) as affirmed by the International Court of Justice in 1996.
The submissions make a number of recommendations of policy actions that Russia, Canada and Germany could take to implement their obligations under international law while still ensuring undiminished security for their countries and citizens. (Indeed, the recommended measures would enhance national and international security). These include:
- Adopting no-first-use policies (all three countries);
- Joining with other G20 countries to consolidate the G20 Bali Leaders declaration - that ‘the threat or use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible”- through a joint UN Security Council and/or UN General Assembly resolution (all three countries);
- Cancelling nuclear sharing arrangements i.e. USA’s nuclear sharing arrangements with NATO countries including Germany and Russia’s recently announced nuclear sharing arrangement with Belarus;
- Cutting nuclear weapons budgets and cancelling plans to build new nuclear weapons systems (Russia);
- Ending public investments in the nuclear weapons industry (Germany);
- Engaging in multilateral negotiations on a nuclear weapons convention or package of agreements for the global prohibition and phased elimination of nuclear weapons, taking into consideration the security requirements of all (Canada, Germany and Russia);
- Welcoming the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (Canada and Germany);
- Advancing a commitment by all nuclear armed and allied states to achieve the global elimination of nuclear weapons no later than 2045, the 100th anniversary of the United Nations (all three countries).
The submission on Russia also highlights the severe transgenerational impact of the Soviet nuclear tests in Kazakhstan on the health of populations in the East and North-East regions of Kazakhstan, and it calls on Russia to “initiate a joint review, with Kazakhstan and impacted communities, of the trans-generational health, environmental and economic impacts of the USSR nuclear tests in Kazakhstan, and develop a fair compensation plan for those impacted.”
Climate change policies
(See also Russia, nuclear threats and climate change)
The world is on fire. Governments are not doing enough to prevent us from sliding into a climate collapse which threatens the survival of global ecosystems and civilization as we know it.
The submissions to the Human Rights Council note that Canada and Germany contribute disproportionately excessive amount of carbon emissions and are not doing enough to reverse this. Canada contributes five times the per capita amount of carbon emissions compared with the global average. Germany contributes twice the per capita amount compared with the global average. And the global average is heading the planet headlong into disaster!
The submissions call on Canada and Germany to:
- Participate in the proceedings of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the obligations of States in respect of climate change and prepare to implement the decision that will be rendered by the Court.
- Join the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance and implement the Alliance commitment to end new concessions, licensing or leasing rounds for oil and gas production and exploration and to set a Paris-aligned date for ending oil and gas production and exploration on the territory over which they have jurisdiction.
- Support the negotiation and adoption of a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty;
- Support the UN Secretary-General’s proposal for re-purposing the UN Trusteeship Council to provide global governance for the global commons – including the atmosphere - in order to better facilitate global implementation of obligations to protect the climate. This proposal could be discussed and adopted at the UN Summit of the Future.
Canadian Voice of Women and WILPF Canada submission
Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, a cosponsor of the submission on Canada, joined with WILPF Canada on a complementary submission which also addresses Canada's rising military spending, impact on indigenous communities of Canadian military activities, Canadian weapons, participation in NATO nuclear threat and use planning and preparation and Canada's failure to implement the Women, Peace and Security Agenda.
* Organizations co-sponsoring the submissions:
Organizations co-sponsoring the Submissions
Russia: Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace, Basel Peace Office, World Future Council and Youth Fusion
Germany: Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace, Basel Peace Office, World Future Council and Youth Fusion
Canada: Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace, Basel Peace Office, Canadian Voice of Women for Peace, ClimateFast, Religions for Peace Canada, Rideau Institute, Science for Peace, World Federalist Movement Canada, World Future Council and Youth Fusion
Russia nuclear threats and climate change
Russia, nuclear threats and climate change
The submission to the Human Rights Council on Russia focused on the nuclear weapons issue because of the active nuclear threats being made by Russia in conjunction with their invasion of Ukraine. Ending these nuclear threats is a priority for the international community in dealing with Russia, in addition to ending the war. Russia’s contribution to climate change is also a serious concern, but one that is very difficult to address effectively while their invasion of Ukraine continues, and while the government exercises comprehensive suppression of Russian peace, environmental, human rights and civic rights organizations and any media critical of the government or the war.