August 2024

Dear Friend,

Dr. Deepshikha Vijh

Executive Director

As I write my first newsletter of 2024 as the new Executive Director, and first woman of South Asian descent in this position, I am aware of the opportunity and responsibility that comes with it. It has been an exciting yet challenging first few months as we have witnessed the risk of the use of nuclear weapons perhaps at its highest that it has been in decades. With that said, a discussion around the profound challenge to humanity posed by nuclear weapons found its way to the forefront of mainstream debates with an Oscar-winning film that delved into the nuances of the complex climate of fear perpetuated by these weapons. And from statements by Pope Francis that referred to the possession and use of nuclear weapons as immoral to declarations of G20 intergovernmental meetings that referred to threats of use of nuclear weapons as "inadmissible", we have also witnessed a strengthened discussion around the threat of nuclear weapons, and the dangers of their potential use.

Indeed, contrary to the security argument that deterrence theories propagate, nuclear weapons create an illusion of peace and a reality of insecurity. LCNP has strived over decades to demonstrate the illegality of nuclear weapons in the context of international law and norms and will continue to do so with the generous support and efforts of our Board members, donors, and of course our team. This is a perfect segue to highlighting important works, initiatives, and events that LCNP members have undertaken and work that is in progress in the days to come.

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New Initiatives: Podcast and Youth Engagement

In a demanding environment, LCNP is working to expand its presence with new initiatives. Among them, I wish to highlight two important and exciting projects. The first is the soon to be launched LCNP Podcast that I am co-producing with a professional Podcast Producer. This podcast will focus on an intersection of international law and nuclear issues. After all, this has been at the heart of what LCNP has contributed to over several decades. The 2024 LCNP Podcast will have 5-6 episodes ranging from well-known to less talked about topics. It will include Illegality of the Threat, Use, and Possession of Nuclear Weapons; International Law; the Intersection of Arctic Security and Outer Space; AI, Drones and Nuclear Warfare; Climate Change and Nuclear Risks; and a special episode focusing on the 1996 International Court of Justice Opinion on the Legality of Nuclear Weapons, which will include conversations with eminent lawyers directly involved in the case. It’s no surprise that some of the lawyers spearheading this case in 1994 are still active LCNP members!

The second project is the LCNP Youth Initiative to enhance outreach so as to bridge the gap—a knowledge gap— between experts and non-experts; senior talent and youth leaders; technical and non-technical; legal and non-legal. This “bridging the gap” is the primary goal of both the LCNP Youth Initiative and the LCNP Podcast. We aim to launch the LCNP Podcast soon with the first episode airing this month. We also hope to launch the Youth Initiative by September of this year on the sidelines of the Summit of the Future conference at the United Nations in New York.

LCNP Engagement on Key Issues: ICBM Modernization, Nuclear Threats,

and International Law vs. Nuclear Arms

In the first half of this year, LCNP has been deeply engaged on core nuclear weapons issues. I represented LCNP at the annual “DC Days” organized by the Alliance for Nuclear Accountability in May. I was part of several meetings with members of Congress and their staff, as well as a meeting with a top official in the National Nuclear Security Administration, and distributed LCNP’s May 2024 paper, The Sentinel Missile Project: Risks and Costs. The paper, primarily authored by LCNP President Guy Quinlan, explains that land-based missiles are destabilizing because they are inherently vulnerable. Further, ongoing development of a new land-based missile, now experiencing a major cost overrun, is contrary to commitments the US has made under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and a misallocation of talent and money.

On another front, LCNP Senior Analyst John Burroughs authored a cover article, “The Inadmissibility of Nuclear Threats,” for the April 2024 issue of Arms Control Today. In the article, he explains the legal foundation for the unacceptability of nuclear threats, whether aggressive or defensive, through an analysis of the 1996 advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the legality of threat or use of nuclear weapons. The article reflects John’s long experience with the issues, going back to when he served as the LCNP/IALANA World Court Project coordinator for the 1995 hearings before the ICJ concerning the General Assembly’s request for an advisory opinion. John was also a speaker in a recent People’s Academy of International Law webinar, “Abolition of nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants” (video and texts here).

An additional LCNP-related activity was an April 2024 webinar organized by the New York State Bar Association in which Jonathan Granoff interviewed Charles Moxley on his just published book, Nuclear Weapons and International Law: Existential Risks of Nuclear War and Deterrence through a Legal Lens. Granoff and Moxley both are members of the LCNP Board of Directors. Video is here.

Hamilton Books, 2024

Your Help Needed!

Please help LCNP in our ongoing efforts and our new endeavors by making a donation! LCNP is committed to the prevention of nuclear war and to the achievement of nuclear abolition. The first objective is absolutely vital in the present time of international conflict and tension; the second is the only true solution to the problem of nuclear weapons.

At www.lcnp.org/donate, you can donate online or find information about making a transfer via Zelle or by bank-to-bank transfer. Or you can send a check to our new address: 347 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1402-381, New York, NY 10016.

Sincerely and with hope for the future,

Dr. Deepshikha Vijh

Executive Director

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