The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP) was constituted in November
(11-13) 2000, as the national coalition of organizations and individuals in India committed to and
working for nuclear disarmament, in response to nuclear weaponisation in India, and soon after
Pakistan, against a background of the global stockpiling of nuclear weapons.
Since the November 2000 founding convention, another two national conventions have taken
place, roughly at an interval of four years. First, in November (26-28) 2004 in Jaipur. Then again
in February (1-3) 2008 in Nagpur.
While the founding charter, in no uncertain terms, provided the basic contours of the position/
policy/programme of the national coalition thus constituted, the very reason and justification for
its coming into being and continued existence; the subsequent two conventions, taking off from
this founding charter and in its emphatic reiteration, proceeded to examine the specificities of the
situations obtaining then and work out the broad roadmap for the anti-nuclear peace movement
in India in the days ahead, in tandem with the regional and global peace movements.
Collated below, in chronological order, are the major documents – the (founding) Charter, and
Jaipur and Nagpur Declarations. Read together, they present a comprehensive picture, through
the eyes of the CNDP, on the grave nuclear threats facing us – as Indians, as South Asians and
also as global citizens – the major concerns and various linkages. And, even more importantly,
how to tackle, combat and reverse such predicaments under the circumstances that obtain.
A.
The (Founding) Charter
Preamble
India’s self-proclaimed entry into the ‘nuclear weapons club’ in May 1998, when it conducted
five nuclear tests in Pokhran, Rajasthan is ethically reprehensible as well as socially, politically,
and economically ruinous. India and Pakistan have now joined the original five members of the
nuclear weapons club and Israel who, unmoved by the horrifying experience of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki in 1945, has amassed nuclear weapons. Such a legitimisation of nuclear weapons
deserves unequivocal condemnation. The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP)
was constituted in November 2000 in response to nuclear weaponisation in India and Pakistan
against a background of the global stockpiling of nuclear weapons.
Why We Must Oppose Nuclear Weapons?
(a) The Moral Dimension: Nuclear weapons are means of mass destruction regardless of who
wields them. They are weapons of genocide. They can impose horrendous sufferingon victims
across generations. They can destroy the ecosystem. The damage they do is lasting and
incurable. The sheer scale and character of the devastation they can cause makes them a
profound and distinctive evil. For this and other reasons, the possession, use, or threat of use of
nuclear weapons is absolutely immoral.
(b) Nuclear Weapons and International Law: India’s nuclear weaponisation, like the possession
of nuclear weapons by other nuclear weapons states, flies in the face of the Government of
India’s written submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 1995. The Memorandum
submitted to the ICJ stated that the use, threat of use, or possession of, and even preparation for
making nuclear weapons is immoral, illegal, and unacceptable under “any circumstances’’, and
also that “nuclear deterrence has been considered abhorrent to human sentiment since it implies
that a state if required to defend its own existence will act with pitiless disregard for the
consequences to its own and its adversarys’ people.’’ India’s nuclear weaponisation, like the
possession of nuclear weapons by other nuclear weapons states, also flies in the face of the July
1996 Advisory Opinion of the ICJ that holds that “the threat or use of nuclear weapons would
generally be contrary to the rules of international law applicable in armed conflict, and in
particular the principles and rules of humanitarian law.’’
(c) Betraying the Past: Until 1998, the official position of the Government of India consistently
saw nuclear weapons as evil, and India was a participant in initiatives to restrain, reduce, and
eliminate them. This position in favour of nuclear disarmament was abandoned in 1998, without
any tenable explanation for Pokhran II and nuclear weaponisation in its aftermath. India and
Pakistan have thus joined the ranks of Nuclear Weapons States, which pursue discriminatory and
peace-threatening agendas.
(d) The Nuclear Weapons Danger: Nuclear weapons do not provide ‘national security’ but
increase insecurity and paranoia. Time and again since the Nuclear Age began in 1945, the world
has come to the brink of a nuclear exchange by design, miscalculation or accident. If the world
continues to have nuclear weapons, it is very likely that they will be used sometime, someplace.
In this respect, the India-Pakistan nuclear face-off is an obvious danger, even if not the only one.
The myth that nuclear weapons provide security was disproved by the 1999 Kargil conflict.
Nuclear weapons and the arms race generate mutual suspicion and fear all round.
(e) The Myth of Deterrence: Nuclear deterrence is a pernicious and discredited doctrine that
seeks to legitimise the possession of nuclear weapons. Reliance on such a doctrine serves only to
heighten the danger of war and a nuclear exchange. The so-called ‘minimum credible nuclear
deterrent’ announced by the Indian Government is no exception. It is a fraud on the people. Since
a ‘minimum credible nuclear deterrent’ is not a fixed position but moves ever upward, depending
on the changing technologies and preparations of nuclear rivals, such a policy will inevitably
lead to further expansion of nuclear weaponisation.
(f) A Diversion from Real Needs: Nuclear arming is not only dangerous but also economically wasteful. It is estimated that building a ‘minimum credible nuclear deterrent’ for India over the
next decade can cost upwards of Rs. 70,000 crores. Alternative use of such resources will
eliminate illiteracy, dramatically improve health care, and provide a basic social security net for
all Indians. The economic cost of a spiraling arms race will be ruinous and push the marginalized
further to the periphery.
(g) Undermining Democracy: A nuclear weapons regime creates unacceptable levels of secrecy
and non-accountability, thus subverting democratic institutions and values. When this regime is
linked to, and reinforced by, communal, chauvinist, and militarist ideologies, as is the case in
India and Pakistan, the situation becomes qualitatively worse. The very process of nuclear
weapons production, particularly when undertaken in secrecy, can destroy soil, water, and lives.
The focus on such secretive and destructive technologies damages the project of connecting
science and technology to real social needs. The meshing of civilian and military activities in the
nuclear field undermines the possibility of ensuring any serious public accountability in the area
of nuclear safety. The absence of a nuclear safety authority that is independent of the Department
of Atomic Energy is violative of Article 8-2 of the 1994 International Convention on Nuclear
Safety to which India is a party. To make matters worse, in April 2000, the entire Health Physics
monitoring and control, and all radioactive waste processing and management, in the Bhabha
Atomic Research Centre (BARC) complex, which is the main nuclear weaponsrelated work
centre but which also includes spent-fuel reprocessing plants, was taken out of the purview of the
Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) by an Order of the Chairman of the Atomic Energy
Commission. The Order stated that “the regulatory and safety functions at BARC and its
facilities hitherto exercised by the AERB will henceforth be exercised through an Internal Safety
Committee structure to be constituted by the Director of BARC for the purpose.’’ To protect the
health and safety of workers and local residents, and to prevent degradation of the local
environment, there must be proper and full transparency with public accountability regarding all
nuclear activities of the government and its agencies. Appropriate legislative changes and
measures needed to ensure public accountability of the nuclear programme in India must be
worked upon.
(h) A Race against Time: Early nuclear disarmament is essential as a crucial link in the struggle
for an egalitarian, socially just society and world. Thus the struggle for nuclear disarmament
must connect with global, regional, national, and local concerns, particularly in the context of
internecine conflicts driven by imperialist, fundamentalist and militarist ideologies in the world
today. The people of India and all countries must comprehend the struggle as a race against time.
We owe the children of tomorrow a world free from nuclear weapons.
Building the Movement
(a) A Unified Focus: An anti-nuclear weapons focus brings together groups that share this basic
platform but may have differences of perception on related and important issues, such as how
best to handle the tensions between arms control/ abolition, between nuclear weapons/energy,
and between nuclear disarmament/general disarmament and peace. These differences of
perception can neither be hidden nor ignored but must be creatively explored and integrated into
building a united movement against nuclear weapons that is also simultaneously linked to the
various movements for social justice and development. Such a nuclear disarmament movement must encourage maximum freedom of discussion and spaces for multiple forms of co-operation
among like-minded groups and individuals. The movement must continuously deepen and
strengthen overall unity on an agreed minimum programme and platform.
(b) Unity and Diversity: The movement must steadily evolve consensus positions on the core
issue of opposition to nuclear weapons and the related matters of nuclear safety, transparency,
and public accountability. Beyond this, the movement must forge links with the broader struggles
of the people on issues of social justice, development, and security.
(c) A Broad Front: The national coalition will consist not only of organizations, groups, and
individuals that work primarily on nuclear disarmament, peace, and related issues (such as
nuclear fuel cycle-related issues). It will also include others who work in broader areas but have
nuclear disarmament and peace as a part of their agenda. These sensibilities and perspectives
need to be respected, learnt from, and integrated creatively, as do the perspectives and strengths
of anti-nuclear weapon movements world-wide.
(d) Maintaining Dialogue: It is essential for the movement to actively engage in dialogue at all
levels with political parties, and particularly with those parties and sections within political
parties opposing India’s nuclear weaponisation. The movement must also engage in dialogue
with mass organisations, professional and industry associations and groups, religious bodies, and
individuals. This dialogue must focus on the need for nuclear disarmament at the national,
regional and global levels, and for stopping all nuclear tests and weaponisation. An ongoing and
deepening dialogue with the general public is vital to building public opinion in favour of
nuclear disarmament and peace.
(e) A Global Perspective: It is necessary to keep in mind constantly the global dimension of an
Indian/South Asian struggle against nuclear weapons. Therefore, connections with movements
around the world are essential, as is the recognition and integration of all genuine trends towards
nuclear disarmament. The culpability of the Nuclear Weapons States, especially but not solely of
the United States, must be recognized and every effort must be made to push these states towards
rapid and total global disarmament. The 1996 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of
Justice (ICJ) unanimously recognizes that Nuclear Weapons States are obliged to negotiate
complete nuclear disarmament and, specifically, that “the legal import of that obligation goes
beyond that of a mere obligation of conduct; the obligation involved here is an obligation to
achieve a precise result – nuclear disarmament in all its aspects — by adopting a particular course
of conduct, namely, the pursuit of negotiations on the matter in good faith.’’ Further,
accomplishing the aims and objectives for which the United Nations was founded, is an
imperative.
(f) Stocktaking and Co-ordination: The Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace must take
careful stock of the various resources and capacities collectively available in avenues such as
advocacy, school and college programmes, cultural and educational activities, creating pressure
through public agitation and mobilization, interaction with the media, and so on. Such
stocktaking will enable groups to plan and carry out sustained co-ordinated activities at local,
regional, national and global levels.
The Common Agenda
A. For India:
In order to halt and roll back India’s nuclear weapons-related preparations and activities, we
demand that the following measures be implemented immediately:
- No assembly, induction or deployment of nuclear weapons.
- No acquisition, development or testing of nuclear weapons specific delivery
systems. - A halt to advanced research into nuclear weapons.
- No explosive testing, sub-critical testing, or production or acquisition of fissile materials
and tritium, for nuclear weapons purposes. - Complete transparency and independent monitoring of governmental activity in this field
and full public accountability on nuclear development and energy matters. - Proper compensation and reparation to all victims and their families for damage
done to their health and local environmental conditions by activities related to all aspects of
the nuclear fuel cycle (from uranium mining to reactor production to waste disposal). Priority
must be given to remedial measures for all environmental damage. - We demand that India go back to be among the pacesetters in all matters relating to global
nuclear disarmament and the abolition of nuclear weapons.
B. For Other Nuclear Weapons, and Nuclear Weapons- Capable, States:
- We demand similar immediate measures to halt and roll back nuclear weapons-related
preparations and activities from Pakistan. - Given the tensions and potential for war in West Asia, we demand the complete
dismantling of Israel’s nuclear weapons regime. - The five Nuclear Weapons States — the United States, the Russian Federation, the United
Kingdom, France and China — must immediately de-alert their nuclear weapons systems,
make a pledge of ‘No First Use’ (China alone, among the five, has made such a pledge), and
stop all research into advanced nuclear weapons. We oppose all efforts to construct an
anti-ballistic missile system or missile shield. - We demand the rapid, systematic and continuous reduction by the Nuclear Weapons States
of their nuclear weapons down to zero level through unilateral, bilateral, and multilateral
agreements and commitments.
We want a nuclear weapons-free world and we support all genuine efforts in pursuit of this goal. In this effort, we commit ourselves to the global movement for nuclear disarmament and abolition of nuclear weapons, and will strive to strengthen international solidarity in this endeavour.
B. Jaipur Declaration
The Second National Convention of Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace
(28 November, 2004)
. Free South Asia Of Nuclear Danger!
. Abolish Nuclear Weapons Worldwide Now!
The Second National Convention of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP),
India is held from 26th to 28th November 2004 at Jaipur, which has a glorious tradition of
mobilising for peace and had hosted numerous events including the 1956 Afro-Asian
Conference. It is held four years after the founding convention of the CNDP in Delhi and about
six and a half years after India and Pakistan declaring themselves as nuclear weapons states
following nuclear explosions in Pokhran, in India, and Chagai, in Pakistan. It may be recalled
that the era of nuclear threat began with the mindless atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki by the USA on 6th and 9th August 1945.
We, the assembled delegates at the Convention representing the peace movements in India and
coming from various corners of the country, most emphatically reaffirm our firm conviction in
reiteration of our Charter 2000: “Nuclear weapons are means of mass destruction regardless of
who wields them. They are weapons of genocide. They can impose horrendous suffering on
victims across generations. They destroy the ecosystem. The damage they do is lasting and
incurable. The sheer scale and character of the devastation they can cause makes them a
profound and distinctive evil. For this and other reasons, the possession, use, or threat of use of
nuclear weapons is absolutely immoral.” We also with equal emphasis reaffirm “that the use,
threat of use, or possession of, and even preparation for making, nuclear weapons is immoral,
illegal, and politically unacceptable under “any circumstances”.” Not only that, “nuclear
deterrence” is absolutely “abhorrent to human sentiment since it implies that a state if required to
defend its own existence will act with pitiless disregard for the consequences to its own and its
adversary’s people.’’
We note with great concern the profoundly destabilising effects of the nuclear blasts in May 98.
These have been most graphically and irrefutably demonstrated through an extremely dangerous
(undeclared) border war in less than a year followed by a ten month long eyeball to eyeball
massive confrontation all along the international border and the LoC. These confrontations were
laden with the very real threats of nuclear exchange. The rulers of these two resource-starved
countries remain unwaveringly stuck with their pernicious nuclear weapons programmes, which
are a tragic diversion from addressing vital social needs. Though there have been no further
blasts since 1998, in the teeth of massive waves of international censure – the race for
developing nuclear warhead carrying missiles goes on unabated. And the possession of nuclear
weapons is given a formal status through issuance of highly deplorable nuclear doctrines – based
on the spurious and extremely dangerous theory of ‘nuclear deterrence’.
We also note that both West Asia and Northeast Asia have emerged as the two other nuclear
hotspots. The danger of unchecked spread of nuclear weapons to sundry state, and also perhaps
non-state, actors through black market transfers of nuclear technology and fissile materials has
exponentially escalated over the recent years. This has only brought dangerously closer the
prospects of a nuclear holocaust.
Most disturbing of all, the US, the original sinner, has aggressively taken to vertical proliferation,
contemptuously throwing aside all international norms. They have, on the one hand embarked
upon developing mini-nukes for actual use in the battlefield and, on the other, are going full
steam ahead with Ballistic Missile Defence (BMD) programmes – unilaterally abrogating
international treaty obligations. The other nuclear weapons states have also done nothing to
denuclearise.
We, therefore, clearly recognise the need to rededicate ourselves to the tasks of ridding South
Asia and the world of the scourge of nuclear weapons. Towards that end, we the peace activists
from India, call for at the global, and also national, level synergetic cooperation with the
worldwide anti-war campaigns asking for immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the
US-led occupying forces from the soil of Iraq. We do recognise the pivotal role of Iraqi resistance
at this point of time, in undermining the US neo-con project for unfettered global domination,
euphemistically labelled as the ‘Project for the New American Century’ (PNAC). Hence we
undertake to carry out the most vigorous campaign against the US occupation of Iraq, to
conscientise the Indian public and pressurise the national government, as any success of the
so-called PNAC would turn the trigger happy new imperialists even more reckless and
consequently have a serious negative impact on the prospects of global peace and disarmament.
The Convention also extends its fullest support to the Palestinian people’s struggle for a secure
and independent state of their own – free from Israeli aggression and occupation, which is
backed by its mentor, the US.
We are also resolutely with the worldwide struggles for effective and total elimination of
biological, chemical and radiological weapons, which threaten our gene pool. We further
demand the universal banning of anti-personnel land mines and the ‘civilian’ use of nuclear
energy be made far more transparent, accountable and hazards free – in terms of both radiation
exposure and safekeeping of fissile materials and to keep it clearly delinked from any
weaponisation programme.
We do specifically recognise that especially in the Indian, and South Asian, context the ideology
and politics of paranoia and hatred against the ‘other’ – internal and external, acts as the major
driver for ‘nuclear nationalism’. Hence, we decide to make common cause with the myriad
ongoing struggles against the forces of irrational, mindless, hateful and oppressive violence and
towards more harmonious and inclusive social orders in order to reinforce the struggle for peace
and nuclear disarmament.
We also take special note of the importance of fighting the ideology of aggression and violence
being continually disseminated in the fields of education and popular culture and the need to
counter in a forceful and innovative manner.
At the specifically national and regional levels, we pledge our full support to the popular
initiatives for better understanding and friendship between India and Pakistan. We call upon
both the governments to pay serious heed to the popular urgings to reduce and eliminate the
risks of nuclear confrontation – accidental or intentional. In fact, even the 2000 Charter had
made detailed and specific demands asking for immediate halt and eventual reversal of nuclear
weaponisation programmes in the region, which, sadly enough, have as yet gone unheeded. The
Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan have just met. We call upon both the governments to
engage seriously in meaningful dialogue to bring about peace and amity, and also address
themselves to the problems of all of Jammu & Kashmir taking into account the authentic desires
of all sections of the people of that region.
We, similarly, pledge our full support to any and every effort to bring about better and improved
relations among the peoples and the governments of the region, particularly the SAARC
countries. We call for a yearly 10% reduction in defence expenditure by India and Pakistan and
urge the countries and peoples of South Asia to move towards the elimination of war.
At the global level, we decide, and call upon all peace activists, to join forces with the
reinvigorated global campaign for total and complete abolition of all nuclear weapons. The May
2005 NPT Review Conference is the immediate focus of intervention. The Mayors for Peace are
spearheading the global effort to eliminate nuclear weapons by the year 2020. They have a
membership of over six hundred cities spread over more than a hundred countries and are
carrying out the campaign in collaboration with peace groups and networks all the world over
and with endorsement from the European Union Parliament and also backing from some other
state actors including the constituents of the seven member New Agenda Coalition and also the
NAM – currently chaired by Malaysia. The year 2005, it is further noted, is profoundly
significant being the 60th year of the tragic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and also the
50th year of the Bandung Conference establishing the Non-Aligned Movement calling for global
disarmament.
We pledge to carry forward the campaign for freeing South Asia from the scourge of nuclear
threats, as an inalienable and critical component of the global struggle for nuclear weapons free
world, in the most vigorous manner. Towards this end, at the national level, we commit ourselves
to launching a massive campaign in various forms to educate the people about the dire threat
posed by nuclear weapons and rivalry in South Asia.
C. Nagpur Declaration
The Third National Convention of Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace
· Resist Indo-US Nuclear Deal!
· Free South Asia Of Nuclear Danger!
· Abolish Nuclear Weapons Worldwide Now!
· Resist Mindless Drive for Nuclear Power!
The Third National Convention of the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP),
India is held from 1st to 3rd February 2008 in Nagpur, which has a glorious tradition of
mobilising for peace and justice. The two earlier conventions were held in Jaipur in 2004
November and in Delhi four years earlier. It bears reiteration that the CNDP was founded to
consolidate the nationwide protests conducted in response to the May 1998 nuclear weapon tests
by India, and then Pakistan. The CNDP opposes these tests and the acquisition of nuclear
weapons by any country including India. It may be recalled that the era of nuclear threat began
with the mindless atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the USA on 6th
and 9th August 1945.
We, the assembled delegates at the Convention representing the peace movements in India
and coming from various corners of the country, most emphatically reaffirm our firm conviction
in reaffirmation of the Jaipur Declaration and our foundational Charter 2000: “Nuclear weapons
are means of mass destruction regardless of who wields them. They are weapons of genocide.
They can impose horrendous suffering on victims across generations. They destroy the
ecosystem. The damage they do is lasting and incurable. The sheer scale and character of the devastation they can cause makes them a profound and distinctive evil. For this and other
reasons, the possession, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons is absolutely immoral.” We also
with equal emphasis reemphasise “that the use, threat of use, or possession of, and even
preparation for making, nuclear weapons is immoral, illegal, and politically unacceptable under
“any circumstances”.” Not only that, “nuclear deterrence” is absolutely “abhorrent to human
sentiment since it implies that a state if required to defend its own existence will act with pitiless
disregard for the consequences to its own and its adversary’s people.”
We again note with great concern the profoundly destabilising effects of the nuclear blasts in
May 98. These have been most graphically and irrefutably demonstrated through an extremely
dangerous (undeclared) border war in less than a year followed by a ten month long eyeball to
eyeball massive confrontation all along the international border and the LoC. These
confrontations were laden with the very real threats of nuclear exchange. Despite this experience
and much opposition from the peace movements and civil society, the rulers of these two
resource-starved countries persist with their pernicious nuclear weapons programmes, which are
a tragic diversion from addressing vital social needs. Though there have been no further blasts
since 1998, in the teeth of massive waves of international censure, the continuing flight tests of
the Agni and Hatf missiles show that the race for developing nuclear warhead carrying missiles
goes on unabated.
The recent political turmoil in Pakistan has graphically underscored the horrifying possibilities of
nuclearisation of South Asia spearheaded by India’s ugly ambitions. Nevertheless, the most
dangerous development since the last CNDP convention has been the Indo-US Nuclear Deal,
which is (still) in the process of operationalisation. Starting with the July 18 2005 joint statement
issued by George Bush – Manmohan Singh in Washington DC, the process of trying to fashion
and complete a deal has aggravated the nuclear danger both globally and also regionally. It, on
the one hand, severely undermines the prospects of global nuclear disarmament by (selectively
and arbitrarily) legitimising India’s nuclear status and, in the process, the possession of nuclear
weapons by the existing Nuclear Weapon States – both recognised and unrecognised – and also
the aspirations of other actual and potential aspirants. On the other, it would also further
intensify the arms race between India and Pakistan – both nuclear and conventional. Pakistan,
in fact, made a strong plea for a similar deal. And the brusque refusal by the US, instead of
dissuading it, would only further inflame its passions and thereby turn the dangerous nuclear
mess in South Asia all the more dangerous. Furthermore, the consequent shift in focus in favour
of highly expensive nuclear power, as and when and if at all the deal comes into operation, will
significantly distort India’s energy options at the cost of efforts to develop environmentally
benign and renewable sources of energy. This deal is also an utterly reprehensible move to bring
India closer to the US orbit as a regional ally to facilitate the execution of its global imperial
ambitions. The CNDP remains unwavering in its consistent and high-pitched opposition to
this deal.
With this deeply disturbing background in mind, the Convention further resolves as under:
I. Nuclear Weapons Free Region in South Asia
The CNDP, in active collaboration with other peace movements in the South Asian region and
the Pakistan Peace Coalition in particular, will work towards a Nuclear Weapons Free Region in
South Asia. It will also try to promote the idea of Nepal as a ‘nuclear weapon-free-nation’ on the
lines of Mongolia and Austria to initiate and reinforce move in that direction. CNDP will also
similarly work towards declaration of the whole of erstwhile state of Kashmir, both under Indian and Pakistani control, as a zone of peace.
This move is expected to provide a clear focus and strong momentum to the peace movements in
the region and reinforce the forces of peace and radically bring down the nuclear danger by
working on a concrete and workable action plan. This is also expected to deeply affect the global
mindset and provide a strong, if not decisive, push towards universal nuclear disarmament – our
central and abiding goal
A regional convention of the peace activists from the region will be convened in the near future
to work out a collective charter.
II. Global Convention on Nuclear Disarmament
The CNDP, in tandem with the essence of Rajiv Gandhi action plan for “A World Free of
Nuclear Weapons” – which was submitted to the United Nations on June 9 1988, will work
towards a global disarmament convention, under the auspices of the UN, in collaboration with
global peace movements towards this objective. The CNDP, in this context, notes with serious
concern the total eclipse from the agenda of the UN of the McCloy-Zorin accord on general and
complete Disarmament, which had been adopted by the United nations General Assembly on
December 20 1961.The CNDP urges the UN to forthwith reinitiate action on the same.
The projected global disarmament convention would chart out a clear and unambiguous
road-map towards universal, complete and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament within a
defined time-frame. This would also enforce, in the run up to the final goal, all nuclear weapon
states – declared and undeclared, immediately commence on progressively lowering down the
operating statuses of their nuclear weapons, continue with the moratorium on explosive nuclear
tests, freeze the programmes for developments of upgraded nuclear warheads and
delivery/interception systems, freeze production of fissile materials, provide negative security
assurance to all non-nuclear states outside of any “nuclear umbrella”, credibly commit to
“no-first-strike” and such other measures in consonance with the goal of nuclear disarmament.
The CNDP will proactively coordinate with various sections of global anti-nuke peace
movements and unwaveringly work towards this goal.
III. Intensification of Struggles against Ignoring Safety and Hazardous Impact of Nuclear Power
The, yet to be operationalised, Indo-US nuclear deal has radically fired up the fantasies of the
Indian nuclear establishment. Undeterred by its appalling past performance in terms of power
production and also safety records, it is all set to embark upon a very ambitious plan of setting up
mega nuclear plants dotting the entire coastal belt criminally unmindful of severely traumatic
social and potentially disastrous ecological impacts. The CNDP, in keeping with its consistent
track record and the mandates of its founding Charter, will actively collaborate with the
grassroots people’s movements, many of whom are its constituent members, to resist such
mindless moves – singularly lacking in transparency and accountability, and provide all
necessary and possible assistances in this regard.
IV. Demand for End of US Occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan, Just Resolution of the Palestine Issue to Ensure Global Peace and Facilitate Nuclear Disarmament
The ugly ambitions of the US ruling elite to establish its unilateral dominance over the whole of
the globe by foregrounding its awesome military might, including its nuclear arsenal, to
compensate for the increasing inadequacies of its otherwise huge diplomatic/political clout and
economic muscles has emerged as the most major threat to the prospects of global nuclear
disarmament. The wars on and occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan are vital components of this grand project, also known as the Project for the New American Century (PNAC). The continuing
US support for the apartheid Zionist regime of Israel and its inhuman oppression of the
Palestinian people is just another facet of this ugly venture.
Consistent with the goal of global nuclear disarmament, the CNDP demands immediate
withdrawal of occupation forces from Iraq and Afghanistan. The CNDP also solidarises with the
legitimate struggles of the Palestinian people. The CNDP consequently commits itself to actively
associate, in all possible manners, with all global, regional and local moves in these directions.
V. Other Related Issues
The CNDP clearly recognises that the spurts in national-chauvinist, majoritarian and militarist
ideologies and political practices under whatever political banner, and the state at times playing a
role of an active facilitator, by their very nature pose a major threat to anti-nuclear peace
movements in India.
The CNDP hence rededicates itself to fight all these pernicious tendencies in all its
manifestations in collaboration with other forces fighting for a just, peaceful and harmonious
order.
Consistent with its core values, the CNDP reiterates its demand that Indo-Pak peace process be
accelerated. It also demands visa-free travel facilities all over the SAARC region towards this
goal. It furthermore demands 10% progressive cuts in the so-called “defence” budgets of all the
countries in the region. The CNDP commits itself to ally itself with all regional efforts towards these goals.