Humanity has a serious nuclear weapons problem. We have created a weapon that is so powerful that it poses an existential threat to us as a species. Not surprisingly, the use of nuclear weapons in war has been a redline, not crossed since they obliterated Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Nuclear weapons are now in the hands of nine countries: the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, Pakistan, India, Israel and North Korea. Iran has recently been prevented from building nuclear weapons, at least for now. But the likelihood of using nuclear weapons increases as the number of countries possessing them increases.
In a sane system of international relations, no country would have the right to possess nuclear weapons. But, unfortunately, a rules-based order does not exist at the international level.
The United Nations is the world’s largest peace, justice and environmental organization. Although the UN has had success in improving international relations, in preventing and ending conflicts, and has most likely prevented World War III, it has not, unfortunately, fulfilled its central mission of ridding the world of the “scourge of war.”
We need to replace a system based on war with a system based on government and enforceable law.
One way to do this is to invoke article 109 of the UN Charter to call for a meeting of all UN member nations to revise the world organization’s charter. The goal should be to create enforceable international law through courts and a world parliament. If adopted, this charter reform would transform the UN into a limited world government―one dealing strictly with international issues.
The challenge of our time is to apply rules, laws and democratic institutions to the job of ending the chaos of international relations. This work, of course, will not build a utopia. But it could avert an apocalypse. Please stand with us to spread a new story of peace, justice and sustainability through global law.
Jerry Tetalman is a board member of Citizens for Global Solutions Education Fund.
