Hope for Nuclear Disarmament

March 3-7 marks Nuclear Ban Week, as the third meetings of states parties to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons takes place in New York, and the risk of nuclear war is greater than ever before. Pope Francis was a prominent proponent of the treaty, and the Holy See was the first state to ratify it.

There are hopeful signs that the new Administration will pursue nuclear arms control agreements between the United States, Russia, and China. But other signs suggest increased risk.

The stakes could not be higher.

On January 28, the Doomsday Clock was moved ahead to 89 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been to global catastrophe. The symbolic clock is set by the Science and Security Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, who moved the clock one second after two years at 90 seconds to midnight.

In a statement, the scientists called the move “a stark signal: Because the world is already perilously close to the precipice, a move of even a single second should be taken as an indication of extreme danger and an unmistakable warning that every second of delay in reversing course increases the probability of global disaster.”

The scientists’ statement outlined a number of factors threatening life on earth: the nuclear risk, along with climate change, biological threats, and disruptive technologies.

Regarding nuclear weapons, they point to several factors which have gone largely unchecked or worsened in the last year: “modernization and expansion of arsenals in all nuclear weapons countries, the build-up of new capabilities, the risks of inadvertent or deliberate nuclear use, the loss of arms control agreements, and the possibility of nuclear proliferation to new countries.”

They point in particular to Russian threats against Ukraine, China’s growing nuclear arsenal, advances in Iran’s nuclear program and tensions between Iran and Israel, increasingly aggressive nuclear posturing by North Korea, and an expensive U.S. modernization program. The also point to Russian suspension of compliance with the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) – the final bilateral nuclear arms control treaty between the United States and Russia, which is set to expire on February 5, 2026.

President Trump has made some hopeful statements on nuclear weapons, while other signs from his administration are cause for alarm.

As the White House abandons traditional norms of U.S. foreign relations, nuclear disarmament advocates seek opportunities for progress, even in situations that are otherwise alarming. For example, Trump has been pursuing peace talks on the war in Ukraine directly with Russian President Putin, without including Ukraine. Excluding Ukraine from talks and rewarding Putin’s invasion of the country and nuclear threats by granting him territory risks an unstable peace, and European allies fear it would embolden Putin to invade more countries. However, Putin has cited eastern expansion of nuclear-armed NATO as part of the reason for invading Ukraine, and military support for Ukraine as reason for refusing to engage in nuclear negotiations with the United States. Even a bad deal on Ukraine could open the door to negotiating a replacement for New START.

Meanwhile, President Trump has mentioned several times that he is concerned about the terrible danger and cost of nuclear weapons and expressed an interest in “denuclearization” negotiations with Russia and China. At the same time, advisors in his administration have expressed an interest in resuming nuclear weapons testing – a move experts deem both unnecessary and a dangerous precedent for other nuclear powers.

Building on Trump’s expressed desire to negotiate on nuclear disarmament, Representative Bill Foster of Illinois and Senators Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Jack Reed of Rhode Island have introduced joint resolutions condemning nuclear threats from Russia and any other state, and calling for strong U.S. leadership in engaging with Russia and China on arms control talks, with an eye toward replacing New START and heading off a new, costly and dangerous arms race.

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns is working with faith partners, legislators, and others throughout the next year urging the United States to pursue nuclear disarmament and negotiate a replacement for New START.

Faith in action

Urge your members of Congress to co-sponsor the joint resolution calling on the administration to pursue a new nuclear arms control framework with Russia and avoid an unrestrained nuclear arms race. https://mogc.info/Nuclear-Disarmament