“There are no safe hands for nuclear weapons,” says activist Dimity Hawkins, co-founder of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
As the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States approaches on 6 and 9 August, the leading nuclear disarmament advocate warns that amid ongoing global conflicts, the threat posed by nuclear weapons is now greater than ever.
“When that bomb was dropped on Hiroshima 80 years ago, some of the first reports that came back were from doctors or medics who were witnessing the devastation, but also some of the first warnings of the inability of frontline medical workers to effectively treat victims, then, later, the ongoing harms to survivors,” explains Dimity.
“We have to remember that from the very start of the nuclear era there have been people who are borne witness to, who have spoken against and who have advocated for the end of these weapons – and yet here we are, 80 years down the track, and we are still having these same conversations.”
ICAN’s landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was adopted by the United Nations in 2017. It marked the first legally binding Treaty to ban nuclear weapons – including possessing, producing, and testing them.
While nearly 100 countries have since signed and ratified the treaty, nine nuclear-armed states including the United States, Russia, China, the UK, and France, have not joined. Even more worrying, on top of failing to get rid of their nuclear weapons, many of these large and powerful states continue to modernise their weapons and escalate their arsenals.
Despite the Labor Party publicly committing to signing the Treaty, and strong public support, Australia, too, remains a conspicuous non-signatory.
“We really stand out in our region as a very notable gap in the map,” says Dimity.
Although the banning of nuclear weapons remains the central objective of the TPNW, Dimity says the treaty also extends to broader efforts to support victims and survivors of nuclear weapons use and testing.
It’s an area that’s deeply meaningful to her, having grown up in the Pacific during a period of extensive French nuclear testing in the region where she witnessed the “sense of powerlessness people felt”.
“For me personally, one of the things that I think has been so significant in this Treaty, is watching the dynamic shift of lived experience expertise coming forth,” she says.
“So, the survivors of nuclear harms, and the intergenerational survivors and affected community members have been able to shape so much of the discourse around why we need to get rid of these nuclear weapons. We’re seeing a lot more understanding of the real long-term impacts of nuclear weapons on their communities and the importance of never letting this happen again.”
Dimity is “staggered” Australia still hasn’t signed the Treaty, especially given the nation’s experiences with nuclear testing, including British nuclear testing in the 1950s and 1960s, and most recently, French nuclear testing in the Pacific region in 1996, which sparked widespread opposition at the time.
“Over and over again, we have heard Australian governments say that we rely on the nuclear weapons of America for our security. This is called extended nuclear deterrence, and it’s a real problem,” argues Dimity.
“It’s a myth that nuclear weapons are a deterrent, and it’s a double myth that extended nuclear deterrence would actually provide us any security.”
Her stance remains unwavering: no matter the line of reasoning “nuclear weapons are never acceptable”.
“Most international law agrees that nuclear weapons are an unacceptable weapon in this world,” she says.
“They’re disproportionate. They have long-lived effects. They are often used in places and against peoples who have no power over them.
“There’s indiscriminate impacts of these weapons, which will be felt throughout whole regions where these weapons may be used. So, there’s no reason to think that this country should be supporting any regime that supports nuclear weapons.”
As we approach the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki this August, ICAN, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 for its advocacy, is calling on its supporters around Australia and the wider community to urge the Albanese Government to sign the Treaty. This includes the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF), a partner organisation of ICAN.
“Eight years is too long. Eighty years is more than enough. We must sign on and ban this weapon, says Dimity.
Learn more about the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and how you can join and support the campaign at icanw.org.au
