Nuclear Abolition

The Nuclear Abolition project addresses one of the gravest and most enduring threats to human survival: the continued existence of nuclear weapons. Despite decades of international agreements and reductions in stockpiles, nuclear arms remain capable of inflicting irreversible devastation on humanity and the planet. Their existence represents a systemic failure to align technological power with ethical responsibility and collective security.

This initiative is grounded in the recognition that nuclear weapons do not provide genuine security. Rather than safeguarding peace, they perpetuate fear, instability, and the constant risk of catastrophic miscalculation, accident, or escalation. In an increasingly interconnected and technologically complex world, the probability of unintended nuclear use鈥攚hether through human error, system failure, or cyber interference鈥攑oses an existential risk that cannot be managed indefinitely.

The Nuclear Abolition project reframes disarmament as a moral, social, and civilizational imperative, not merely a strategic or military concern. It emphasizes that true security arises from trust, cooperation, and shared responsibility, rather than from deterrence based on the threat of mass destruction. The project seeks to advance understanding of the humanitarian, environmental, and long-term developmental consequences of nuclear weapons, highlighting their incompatibility with human security and sustainable development.

A central objective is to support a shift in global consciousness鈥攆rom acceptance of nuclear weapons as instruments of stability to recognition of them as fundamentally illegitimate. This involves strengthening ethical norms, legal principles, and public awareness that affirm the right of humanity to live free from the threat of annihilation.

The Nuclear Abolition project contributes to the broader effort to replace systems of fear with systems of cooperation, and to guide humanity toward a future in which security is achieved through peace, shared values, and the protection of life on Earth.

INTERVIEW

A Conversation With Charles Oppenheimer

New York, September 2023

The conversation between Charles Oppenheimer and WAAS President Garry Jacobs centered on the enduring “unite or perish” warning issued by J. Robert Oppenheimer at the dawn of the nuclear age. Charles reflected on his grandfather鈥檚 transition from a wartime scientist to a global advocate for international cooperation, a shift that directly led to his role in co-founding the Academy. Read more.

EVENT

Relevance of Russell-Einstein Manifesto

Online, July, 2020

This conference commemorated the 65th anniversary of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto by testing its “new way of thinking” against the complexities of the 21st century. The dialogue moved beyond the historical threat of nuclear war to address a modern “polycrisis” where climate change, pandemics, and unregulated AI have created new existential risks. Rather than focusing on military strategy, the speakers advocated for a radical shift toward Human Security, arguing that the only way to avoid global catastrophe is to prioritize our shared humanity over narrow national or ideological interests. The event served as a stark reminder that the choice first presented in 1955鈥攂etween “continual progress” and “universal death”鈥攔emains the defining challenge of our time. Read more.

EVENT

Abolishing Nuclear Weapons

UK, May 2007

Organized by WAAS in collaboration with the Global Security Institute (GSI), the World Federation of UN Associations (WFUNA), and the Mother鈥檚 Service Society (MSS), this project addressed the existential threat of nuclear weapons as a critical barrier to global peace and human security. It functioned as a high-level initiative to dismantle the psychological and political frameworks that sustain nuclear deterrence, moving toward a paradigm where such weapons are recognized as a crime against humanity. The sessions went beyond technical disarmament to explore the “force of ideas,” advocating for a fundamental shift in belief systems to overcome the inertia of national self-interest. Rather than settling for incremental arms control, the project called for a universal “No First Use” doctrine and the ultimate outlawing of nuclear use through the rule of law. Read more.

Reports & Articles


  • October 2022 鈥 March 2024

  • August 2023

  • March 2023

  • September 20, 2022

  • November 6, 2020

  • October 26, 2016

  • November 29, 2021

  • March 17, 2020

  • 28 August, 2021