Proliferation of nuclear weapons

The claim has long been made that the development and expansion of commercial nuclear The first pathway to proliferation, see The second pathway to proliferation, reprocessing, results in the separation of plutonium from the highly radioactive spent fuel. The plutonium can then be used in a nuclear weapon. However, reprocessing is heavily guarded in those countries where it is conducted, making commercial reprocessing an unlikely pathway for proliferation. Also, it is considered more difficult to construct a weapon with plutonium versus highly enriched uranium. More than 20 countries have developed nuclear power industries without building nuclear weapons. On the other hand, countries that have built and tested nuclear weapons have followed other paths than purchasing commercial nuclear reactors, reprocessing the spent fuel, and obtaining

In testimony to Congress last June, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld joined a decade-old chorus of experts who proclaim that multiple proliferation threats are growing. Citing “some important facts which are not debatable,” Rumsfeld asserted that “the number of countries that are developing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons of mass destruction is growing. The number of ballistic missiles on the face of the Earth and the number of countries possessing them is growing as well.” To prove his point, Rumsfeld presented data that illustrated dramatic growth in the biological, chemical, nuclear, and ballistic missile threats between 1972 and 2001. While Rumsfeld’s data were accurate, his characterization of the threat is not. Indeed, contrary to conventional wisdom, globalization has not led to an increased proliferation threat from weapons of mass destruction. Wrongly assuming that the threat is expanding could lead Congress to misallocate resources both within and between government agencies. As a result, an innovative and long overdue Bush administration strategy to move the world away from classic nuclear deterrence and arms control could increase the very proliferation it is trying to eliminate or manage. A Changing, Not a Growing, Threat Careful assessment of each component of the proliferation threat?nuclear, biological, chemical, ballistic missile, cruise missile, and covert?delivered nuclear, biological, and chemical-suggests that the multiple proliferation threa...

UN_Disarmament Mr. Guterres highlighted some of the current challenges to global peace and security, with the world under greater stress due to the climate crisis, stark inequalities, conflicts and human rights violations, as well as the devastation caused by the Disarmament not disunity He “Geopolitical tensions are reaching new highs. Competition is trumping co-operation and collaboration. Distrust has replaced dialogue and disunity has replaced disarmament. States are seeking false security in stockpiling and spending hundreds of billions of dollars on doomsday weapons that have no place on our planet,” he said. Currently, almost 13,000 nuclear weapons are now being held in arsenals around the world, he added. “All this at a time when the risks of proliferation are growing and guardrails to prevent escalation are weakening. And when crises — with nuclear undertones — are festering, From the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula. To the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and to many other factors around the world.” He said today, humanity was “just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.” A new path The Secretary-General underlined the importance of the non-proliferation treaty, saying it is needed “as much as ever”, while the review meeting provides an opportunity “to put humanity on a new path towards a world free of nuclear weapons.” He outlined five areas for action, starting with reinforcing and reaffirming the norm against the use of nuc...