Submitted by CNANW as a contribution to:  Chapter II. International peace and security

Canadian Network to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Steering Committee (CNANW-SC) welcomes the opportunity for civil society to make an important contribution to the upcoming UN Summit of the Future.

First, we strongly encourage the strengthening of support for the bedrock Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and goals of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and other legal restraints and obligations. But greater attention to the urgent work to eliminate nuclear weapons is required.

Second, CNANW-SC supports the nuclear disarmament proposals from civil society for the Summit of the Future  in the first round of civil society consultations facilitated by the Coalition for the UN we Need, and which are included in the Interim People’s Pact for the Future which includes the following proposals:

• Preventing war including nuclear war. Strengthening international mechanisms for the peaceful resolution of conflicts;
• Implementing Article 26 of the UN Charter through plans and action for disarmament (including nuclear disarmament) to release resources for economic and social development
• Including nuclear abolition in the post-2030 SDGs, with the goal of complete elimination by 2045

We also highlight the following proposals, which will reduce global instability: 

1)  The approval by all Nuclear Weapons States and their alliances of the policy of No-First-Use of nuclear weapons;

2)  The prioritizing of policies based on Common Security as the foundation for global governance. Restore and expand emphasis on war prevention and peaceful conflict resolution, and give priority to building the United Nations as envisaged by its Charter. Press for multilateral over unilateral responses to stave off, or hasten the repair of, breaches of the peace, to limit human suffering and environment degradation, and to thereby minimize costly military interventions.  Common security puts a premium on the machinery and diplomacy of international cooperation and favours the peaceful resolution of disputes, together with the equal right to security of all states;

3) Reliance on the International Court of Justice as a core legal instrument for the prevention of war;

4)  Sustainable earth stewardship will be enhanced by redirection of financial and human resources away from maintenance of dangerous weapons systems, including nuclear weapons modernization, and failed military doctrines, including nuclear deterrence.