The International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW) is a global coalition of 160 groups in 33 countries. ICBUW was formed in 2003 in Berlaar, Belgium [1] to promote a campaign based on reliable information on depleted uranium (DU) weapons. Until 2018 it was based in Manchester, England, [1] then the office has been transferred from Manchester to Berlin.
ICBUW campaigns for a ban on the use, transport, manufacture, sale, and export of all conventional weapon systems containing uranium (usually called depleted uranium weapons). It also seeks health monitoring and compensation for communities affected by the use of uranium weapons and the environmental remediation of such sites. [2]
In advocating for a treaty ban on uranium weapons, ICBUW states that it is following the example of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and the Cluster Munition Coalition. [2] ICBUW’s grassroots member organisations lobby at a national level, while ICBUW itself lobbies supranational bodies such as the European Parliament and the United Nations. [3] [4]
ICBUW has prepared a draft Convention for a ban on depleted uranium weapons. [5] ICBUW's Draft Convention contains a general and comprehensive prohibition of the development, production, transport, storage, possession, transfer, and use of uranium ammunition, uranium armour-plate, and of any other military use of uranium. The Convention also outlines obligations concerning the abolition of uranium weapons and the destruction of uranium weapons construction facilities. In addition it obliges states to ensure a rapid decontamination of radioactive battlefields and test ranges, emphasising the protection of, and assistance to, civilians living in these areas, and obliges states to compensate the victims. [5]
In 2011, ICBUW released an animated short film developed in cooperation with Dutch non-governmental organization (NGO) 'IKV Pax Christi'. When the Dust Settles outlines ICBUW's position and calls for a precautionary approach to the weapons. [6] In 2012, ICBUW and Dutch NGO IKV Pax Christi launched the Toxic Remnants of War Project which aims to consider and quantify the detrimental impact of war, military operations and munitions on the environment and human health, with particular focus on the release of toxic materials during military activities.
Depleted uranium is uranium with a lower content of the fissile isotope 235U than natural uranium. Natural uranium contains about 0.72% 235U, while the DU used by the U.S. Department of Defense contains 0.3% 235U or less. The less radioactive and non-fissile 238U constitutes the main component of depleted uranium.
A cluster munition is a form of air-dropped or ground-launched explosive weapon that releases or ejects smaller submunitions. Commonly, this is a cluster bomb that ejects explosive bomblets that are designed to kill personnel and destroy vehicles. Other cluster munitions are designed to destroy runways or electric power transmission lines.
The law of war is the component of international law that regulates the conditions for initiating war and the conduct of hostilities. Laws of war define sovereignty and nationhood, states and territories, occupation, and other critical terms of law.
The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) is a coalition of non-governmental organizations whose stated objective is a world free of anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions, where mine and cluster munitions survivors see their rights respected and can lead fulfilling lives.
The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction of 1997, known informally as the Ottawa Treaty, the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention, or often simply the Mine Ban Treaty, aims at eliminating anti-personnel landmines (APLs) around the world.
Helen Mary Caldicott is an Australian physician, author, and anti-nuclear advocate. She founded several associations dedicated to opposing the use of nuclear power, depleted uranium munitions, nuclear weapons, nuclear weapons proliferation, and military action in general.
The International Peace Bureau, founded in 1891, is one of the world's oldest international peace federations. The organisation was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1910 for acting "as a link between the peace societies of the various countries". In 1913, Henri La Fontaine was also awarded the Prize "[For his work as] head of the International Peace Bureau". As of 2012, eleven other Nobel Peace Prize laureates have been members of the IPB.
Uranium in the environment is a global health concern, and comes from both natural and man-made sources. Mining, phosphates in agriculture, weapons manufacturing, and nuclear power are sources of uranium in the environment.
War can heavily damage the environment, and warring countries often place operational requirements ahead of environmental concerns for the duration of the war. Some international law is designed to limit this environmental harm.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons is a global civil society coalition working to promote adherence to and full implementation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The campaign helped bring about this treaty. ICAN was launched in 2007. In 2022, it counted 661 partner organizations in 110 countries.
The Battle of Basra lasted from 21 March to 6 April 2003 and was one of the first battles of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The British 7 Armoured Brigade fought their way into Iraq's second-largest city, Basra, on 6 April coming under constant attack by the Iraqi Army 51st Division and Fedayeen Saddam, while elements of the Parachute Regiment cleared the 'old quarter' of the city that was inaccessible to vehicles. Entering Basra had only been achieved after two weeks of conflict, which included the biggest tank battle of the war by British forces when the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards destroyed 14 Iraqi tanks on the 27 March.
Professor Siegwart Horst Günther was a German physician and activist. He once worked with Albert Schweitzer in Africa. He was a prominent proponent of the claim that the use of depleted uranium in munitions causes cancers, birth defects and other pathologies. In 2007 the Nuclear-Free Future Award honored for the third time Prof. Günther for refusing to back down to pressure and for visiting Iraq to study the real-life consequences of depleted uranium use.
Nuclear weapons testing, uranium mining and export, and nuclear power have often been the subject of public debate in Australia, and the anti-nuclear movement in Australia has a long history. Its origins date back to the 1972–1973 debate over French nuclear testing in the Pacific and the 1976–1977 debate about uranium mining in Australia.
Widad Akreyi is a Kurdish health expert and human rights activist. She has co-founded the human rights organization Defend International and is the author of several books about both health issues and human rights.
Bulgaria has developed weapons of mass destruction, most notably chemical weapons. Chemical weapons production was concentrated in Smyadovo. As of 2016, Bulgaria does not possess any weapons of mass destruction.
A nuclear weapons convention is a proposed multilateral treaty to eliminate nuclear weapons. This might include prohibitions on the possession, development, testing, production, stockpiling, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, such as those in the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, along with provisions for their verified elimination. It could be similar to existing conventions outlawing other categories of weapons, such as biological weapons, chemical weapons, anti-personnel mines and cluster bombs.
Study of the environmental impact of war focuses on the modernization of warfare and its increasing effects on the environment. Scorched earth methods have been used for much of recorded history. However, the methods of modern warfare cause far greater devastation on the environment. The progression of warfare from chemical weapons to nuclear weapons has increasingly created stress on ecosystems and the environment. Specific examples of the environmental impact of war include World War I, World War II, the Vietnam War, the Rwandan Civil War, the Kosovo War and the Gulf War.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination. It was adopted on 7 July 2017, opened for signature on 20 September 2017, and entered into force on 22 January 2021.
Saudi Arabia has not officially maintained and possessed weapons of mass destruction (WMD). In 1972 Saudi Arabia signed and approved the convention on the prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of biological (bacteriological) and toxin weapons. Nevertheless, Saudi Arabia has made steps towards a nuclear program and according to some observations, they can be used to develop nuclear weapons. According to some reports, Riyadh has an alleged deal with Pakistan regarding nuclear weapons projects.