raynor@orca.UUCP (Raynor Christianson) (11/16/85)
DELHI DECLARATION Issued 28 January 1985 by H.E. Mr. Raul Alfonsin President of Argentina H.E. Mr. Rajiv Gandhi Prime Minister of India H.E. Mr. Miguel de la Madrid President of Mexico H.E. Mr. Julius Nyerere President of the United Republic of Tanzania H.E. Mr. Olof Palme Prime Minister of Sweden H.E. Mr. Andreas Papandreou Prime Minister of Greece Forty years ago, when atomic bombs were blasted over Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the human race became aware that it could destroy itself, and horror came to dwell among us. Forty years ago, also, the nations of the world gathered to organise the international community, and with the United Nations hope was born for all people. Almost imperceptibly, over the last four decades, every nation and every human being has lost ultimate control over their own life and death. For all of us, it is a small group of men and machines in cities far away who can decide our fate. Every day we remain alive is a day of grace as if mankind as a whole were a prisoner in the death cell awaiting the uncertain moment of execution. And like every innocent defendant, we refuse to believe that the execution will ever take place. We find ourselves in this situation because the nuclear weapon states have applied traditional doctrines of war in a world where new weapons have made them obsolete. What is the point of nuclear "superiority" or "balance" when each side already has enough weapons to devastate the earth dozens of times over? If the old doctrines are applied in the future, the holocaust will be inescapable sooner or later. But nuclear war can be prevented if our voices are joined in a universal demand in defense of our right to live. As a result of recent atmospheric and biological studies, there have been new findings which indicate that in addition to blast, heat and radiation, nuclear war, even on a limited scale, would trigger an arctic nuclear winter which may transform the Earth into a darkened, frozen planet posing unprecedented peril to all nations, even those far removed from nuclear explosions. We are convinced that this makes it still more pressing to take preventive action to exclude forever the use of nuclear weapons and the occurrence of nuclear war. In our joint statement of May 22, 1984, we called upon the nuclear weapon states to bring their arms race to a halt. We are encouraged by the world- wide response to our appeal. The international support we received, and the responses of the nuclear weapon states themselves, have been such that we deemed it our duty to meet here in New Delhi to consider ways to further our efforts. The nuclear weapon states have particular responsibility for the dangerous state of the arms race. We urge them to join us in the search for a new direction. We welcome the agreement in Geneva on January 8, 1985, between the Soviet Union and the United States to start bilateral negotiations on "a complex of questions concerning space and nuclear arms - both strategic and intermediate range - with all the questions considered and resolved in their inter-relationship". We attach great importance to the proclaimed objective of these negotiations: to prevent and arms race in space and to terminate it on earth, ultimately to eliminate nuclear arms everywhere. We expect the tow major nuclear weapon powers to implement, in good faith, their undertaking and their negotiations to produce, at an early date, significant results. We will follow their work closely and we expect that they will keep the international community informed of its progress. We stress that the agenda for and the outcome of these negotiations is a matter of concern for all nations and all people. We reiterate our appeal for an all-embracing halt to the testing, production and deployment of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems. Such a halt would greatly facilitate negotiations. Two specific steps today require special attention: the prevention of an arms race in outer space, and a comprehensive test ban treaty. Outer space must be used for the benefit of mankind as a whole, not as a battlefield of the future. We therefore call for the prohibition of the development, testing, production, deployment and use of all space weapons. An arms race in space would be enormously costly, and have grave destabilising effects. It would also endanger a number of arms limitation and disarmament agreements. We further urge the nuclear weapon states to immediately halt the testing of all kinds of nuclear weapons and to conclude, at an early date, a treaty on a nuclear weapon test ban. Such a treaty would be a major step towards ending the continuous modernisation of nuclear arsenals. We are convinced that all such steps, in so far as necessary, can be accomplished by adequate non-discriminatory measures of verification. A halt to the nuclear arms race is at the present moment imperative. Only thus can it be ensured that nuclear arsenals do not grow while negotiations proceed. However, this halt should not be an end in itself. It must be immediately followed by substantial reductions in nuclear forces, leading to the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and the final goal of General and Complete Disarmament. Parallel to this process, it is urgently necessary to transfer precious resources currently wasted in military expenditure to social and economic development. The strengthening of the United Nations must also be an essential part of this endeavor. It is imperative to find a remedy to the existing situation where hundreds of billions of dollars, amounting to approximately one and one half million per minute, are spent annually on weapons. This stands in dramatic contrast to the poverty, and in some cases misery, in which two-thirds of the world population lives. The future of all peoples is at stake. As representatives from non-nuclear weapon states, we will not cease to express our legitimate concern and make known our demands. We affirm our determination to facilitate agreement among the nuclear weapon states, so that the required steps can be taken. We sill seek to work together with them for the common security of mankind and for peace. We urge people, parliaments and governments the world over to lend forceful support to this appeal. Progress in disarmament can only be achieved with an informed public applying strong pressure on governments. Only then will governments summon the necessary political will to overcome the many obstacles which lie in the path of peace. The World Disarmament Campaign launched by the United Nations represents a very important element in generating that political will. For centuries, men and women have fought for their rights and freedoms. We now face the greatest struggle of all - for the right to live, for ourselves and for future generations. Forty years ago, in Hiroshima and San Francisco, the horror of nuclear war was matched by the hope for peace. We would like this year of 1985 to be the year when hope begins to prevail over terror. We dare to hope that by October 24, 1985, the Fortieth Anniversary of the United Nations, we might see the first concrete steps to avert the threat to the survival of humanity.