Celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ICJ decision on nuclear weapons

See below text of an email invite from the Unfold Zero campaign to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the ICJ Advisory Opinion on the legality of threat or use of nuclear weapons.

LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING AHEAD:
The 25th anniversary of the 1996 ICJ Advisory Opinion
on the Legality of Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons!
Online event: 8 July 2021
11am - 2pm Easten Time USA (EDT). 5pm-8pm Central European Time (CEST)

Hosted by the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms
Click here to register
 

Dear friends,

UNFOLD ZERO welcomes the 25th anniversary of the historic 1996 International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, and encourages you to join the important anniversary event organised by the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA). See below for the program.
 
Representatives of IALANA and civil society greet the New Zealand Attorney General as he arrives at the Peace Palace (International Court of Justice) in the Hague to deliver New Zealand's oral statement in the ICJ case on the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, November 9, 1995.

Background


On 8 July 1996, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) handed down its Advisory Opinion on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons. It was the first authoritative international judicial opinion on nuclear weapons since their development in the 1940s.

The ICJ affirmed that "the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, and in particular the principles and rules of humanitarian law," but with a caveat that "the Court cannot conclude definitively whether the threat or use of nuclear weapons would be lawful or unlawful in an extreme circumstance of self-defence, in which the very survival of a State would be at stake."

The Court also affirmed that "There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control".
 

July 8 online anniversary event


In this anniversary event, leading international lawyers and activists, professors of international law and experts on arms control and disarmament law will discuss the importance of the Advisory Opinion and its relevance for the present day struggle towards nuclear disarmament. 

The webinar will also address more recent developments, such as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and General Comment no. 36 on the right to life of the UN Human Rights Committee, which has opened the door to challenging nuclear armed and allied states policies amongst the broader human rights community and in the UN Human Rights Bodies. See, for example, Nuclear weapons violate the Right to Life: Using UN Human Rights Committee General Comment 36 in grassroots actions and campaigns and Canadian and French nuclear weapons policies challenged in the UN Human Rights Committee.

Finally, the event will address the question of what lessons can be drawn from the opinion regarding achievement of a world without nuclear weapons.
 
 

Inspiration for an ICJ case on climate change


The 1996 ICJ advisory opinion has provided precedent, supportive legal arguments and inspiration for a number of subsequent legal actions and initiatives, inlcuding a new campaign from the World's Youth for Climate Justice and Normandy Chair for Peace to take the issue of climate change to the ICJ. For more information see the animated video introduction to ICJ and the Climate campaign and the facebook recordings of the recent webinar on the initiative at Session A (Americas/Europe/Africa) and Session B (Asia/Pacific).


July 8 anniversary event Program


1st Session: Looking Back: General Discussion of the Advisory Opinion
  • Opening and Introductory Remarks, Phon van den Biesen,  Attorney at Law in Amsterdam, Co-President IALANA
  • The Ongoing Significance of the Nuclear Weapons Advisory Opinion, Christine Chinkin, Emeritus Professor of International Law, London School of Economics (LSE)
  • The Legal Effect of Advisory Opinions, Paolo Palchetti, Professor of International Law, Université de Paris (Sorbonne 1)
  • General Observations, Peter Weiss, President Emeritus IALANA
  • The World Court Project. Alyn Ware, Former Executive Director, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy; Global Coordinator, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, Co-founder of UNFOLD ZERO
  • Video Message from Hiroshima. Takeya Sasaki, Co-president IALANA
BREAK

2nd Session: Looking Ahead: Current and Future Trends
  • Opening and Introductory Remarks, John Burroughs, Senior Analyst, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy, and Vice President IALANA
  • Nuclear Weapons and Human Rights, Daniel Rietiker, International Law Lecturer, Lausanne University, Co-President IALANA, Board Member of the Basel Peace Office
  • Observations re Previous Presentation, Manfred Mohr, Professor of International Law, Board Member IALANA Germany
  • Video Message from JALANA, Kenichi Okubo, President JALANA
  • Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, Amela Skiljan, Vice-chair of IALANA Germany, PhD candidate
  • Closing Remarks, Phon van den Biesen, Attorney at Law in Amsterdam, Co-President IALANA
Click here to register.
Yours sincerely
UNFOLD ZERO
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