Global Zero Says G7 Statement Falls Short

Today, leaders of the Group of Seven (G7) issued a joint statement on a vision for nuclear disarmament. Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to achieving a world without nuclear weapons, condemned Russia’s nuclear threats, and acknowledged the need to reduce strategic risks. Ahead of the statement’s release, heads of government met with survivors of atomic bombings of Japan (hibakusha), visited the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, and laid wreaths at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial.

In response to the statement, Derek Johnson, Managing Partner of the Global Zero movement for the abolition of nuclear weapons, issued the following:

“While the G7 statement embraces the goal of global zero and recites a familiar list of worthwhile ambitions, none acknowledge the fierce urgency of now. The Doomsday Clock is 90 seconds to midnight and the risks of nuclear conflict have never been higher. If we are to avert this nightmare scenario, it will take more than calls for banning explosive tests or halting new fissile material production.

“This is long on vision but short on strategy; Hiroshima deserves to be more than a symbolic setting, and the world deserves more than thoughts and prayers for disarmament. As leaders return from the Summit, they must bring home the lessons of the hibakusha and take meaningful steps to ensure nuclear weapons are never used again. That means reversing course on expansive nuclear modernization plans, rejecting escalatory rhetoric and activities that move nuclear threats closer to conflict, and focusing high-level political actors and energy on arms control and disarmament. We cannot be satisfied with anything less.”