IALANA Deutschland – Vereinigung für Friedensrecht

IALANA members Professor Manfred Mohr, Dr. Daniel Rietiker, Toshinori Yamada, and Lawyer John Kierulfparticipated as Presenters and Discussants in the Second International Forum for the Preparation of the International People’s Tribunal to Hold the US Accountable for Dropping A-Bombs. The Forum was held in Hiroshima on 7-8 June 2024, organized by SPARK (Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea). View all presentations of the forum here: https://spark946.org/english/board/?tpf=board/view&board_code=11&code=27652

SPARK is a non-governmental organization in South Korea, formed in June 1994. SPARK works towards national self-determination, peace and disarmament, establishment of a peace structure, and the reunification of Korea. The organization has 1,900 members from nearly every region of South Korea. SPARK is working to replace the unequal Korea-U.S. relationship with a relationship based on equality, also working for revision or abolition of the unfair treaties like the Korea-U. S. Mutual Defense Treaty, the ROK-US Agreement on Status of U.S. Forces in Korea, and gradual withdrawal of United States Forces in Korea.

The First Forum was held in South Korea in June 2023. The Forum explored the political and military meaning of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 from the perspective of Korean atomic bomb victims. The Forum also established the illegality of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki under the conventional and customary international law as of 1945.

The Second Forum had as its main themes the illegality of the use of nuclear weapons and extended deterrence by nuclear-weapon states under international law – specifically international humanitarian law (IHL) – that has evolved since 1945.

The two preparatory fora were established with the purpose of preparing the formation of the International People’s Tribunal to Hold the US Accountable for the 1945 Atomic Bombings. The background for the A-Bomb Tribunal is the Korean atomic bomb victims. It is estimated that 70,000-100,000 Koreans fell victim to the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Korean atomic bomb victims have demanded accountability from the United States and sought justice (apology) and reparation.

The primary purpose of the A-Bomb Tribunal is to condemn the illegal atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States in 1945, establish the legal basis for holding the US accountable, and obtain the United States’ apology to the victims. The Tribunal is also expected to reinforce the illegality of nuclear weapons and prohibition of their use, and to promote the achievement of peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The Tribunal is planned for April or August 2026 in New York.      

At the Second Forum in Hiroshima Dr. Daniel Rietiker and Professor Manfred Mohr were Presenter and Discussant in the Panel on the topic of The Illegality of the Use of Nuclear Weapons under International Law – Particularly International Humanitarian Law – after the United States Atomic Bombings of 1945. Lawyer John Kierulf was Discussant in the panel on the topic of the Illegality and Incompatibility of (Extended) Deterrence with Peace in the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia.

The Second Forum established that the use and threat of use of nuclear weapons is illegal under international law.

The 2nd Forum was attended by approximately 150 students, scholars and Korean and Japanese public.

All the presentations papers from the Presenters and Discussants can be found at:

https://spark946.org/english/board/?tpf=board/view&board_code=11&code=27652

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The day before the convening of the Forum an emotional commemoration for the Korean nuclear bombing victims was held at the site of the monument in Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park for the victims. Descendants of Korean victims and peace activists held touching speeches, and there were performances by singers and a “peace-dancing” lady.     

In the run-up to the European Parliament elections, some politicians and experts have initiated a discussion about "nuclear weapons for the EU". Whatever the background to this may be, IALANA emphasises that such plans are not only morally questionable, but also contravene applicable law.

Nuclear weapons are - as emphasised many times in resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly - a threat to the whole of humanity and the peaceful coexistence of states. Their use is associated with immeasurable suffering, is contrary to the UN Charter and constitutes a crime against humanity. In its 1996 judgement, the International Court of Justice ruled that the threat and use of nuclear weapons generally violates international humanitarian law. Even in extreme circumstances of self-defence, states may only defend themselves with weapons that fulfil the conditions of international humanitarian law, according to the ICJ Advisory Opinion. Nuclear weapons do not fulfil them. In its General Comment No. 36, the International Human Rights Committee emphasises the prohibition of nuclear weapons, which also results from the right to life.

An additional prohibition of the acquisition and possession of nuclear weapons under international law results from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), to which all EU member states are party. The NPT also prohibits France, a nuclear weapons state, from directly or indirectly transferring nuclear weapons or control over such weapons to any recipient whatsoever . It also obliges the state parties to persue negotiations in good faith on complete nuclear disarmament.

In 2003, the EU as a confederation of states also fully committed itself to the non-proliferation regime enshrined in the NPT as part of its Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) (Common Position 2003/805/CFSP of the Council of the European Union). This policy of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction corresponds to the peace imperative contained in the EU Treaty and the UN Charter. For Germany, the Peace Imperative is also enshrined in the Basic Law, and against this backdrop Germany has reaffirmed its renunciation of the "production and possession of, and control over, nuclear, biological and chemical weapons" in the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany (Two Plus Four Treaty).

Two other EU member states - Austria and Ireland - have gone one step further and ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

We appeal to all candidates and parties in this European Parliament election to distance themselves from the idea of the EU having its own nuclear weapons and instead to campaign for an end to the nuclear sharing practised by Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, for all EU Member States to join the TPNW and for a world free of nuclear weapons. Only through the joint efforts of the international community can we achieve a future without the constant threat of nuclear weapons.

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Statement in German