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15th World Congress
Washington, DC, May 3–May 5, 2002 Summit
for Survival:
The Washington Declaration[Adopted by the 15th
World Congress of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
(IPPNW) hosted by Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) Washington, DC May
3 - May 5, 2002] We, participants in the 15th
World Congress of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War,
have been reminded that the ancient enemies of mankind - hunger, pestilence, poverty,
and war continue to claim millions of lives each year, but now are joined by new,
acute threats: weapons of mass destruction, landmines, small arms, and global
environmental damage, all driven by global inequities and the yawning gap between
the Global North and the Global South. Our world is increasingly
interdependent, and all of the great threats that humanity faces transcend national
boundaries. None can be addressed by a single nation, no matter how powerful.
These threats require international cooperation, the strengthening of international
institutions, a just and equitable economic order and of the rule of international
law. The risk of nuclear war continues to threaten human
survival. We physicians recognize that the casualties resulting from even a single
nuclear explosion would overwhelm the medical facilities in any city on Earth.
The use of nuclear weapons is morally indefensible, and the International Court
of Justice has declared their use and threatened use illegal. Yet nuclear weapons
remain part of the military strategy of many nations, and deliberate use of nuclear
weapons remains an ever-present threat, particularly in the long-standing conflict
between India and Pakistan. Nuclear war must be prevented; nuclear weapons must
be abolished. We resolutely condemn the horrifying and
unjustifiable events of September 11, the most dramatic of many recent acts of
terrorism which now threaten everyday life in many places, particularly Israel
and Palestine. We fear that such events are now being used to justify sustained
military action that risks placing the world on a permanent war footing. As health
providers and concerned global citizens, we reject reliance on any narrow military
solution to terrorism or to weapons proliferation. Particularly we believe that
unilateral or pre-emptive military actions do not serve the legitimate desire
of the world's people for peace and security. A cycle of violence, whether in
language or action, erodes health and must be broken by employing non-violent
responses. We resolutely affirm the need for alternative solutions to the terrible
problems which beset humankind. Concurrently with its increased
military preparations, the US, along with many other nations. fails to support
many potentially constructive international measures to reduce conflict and the
threat of war. The US Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) undermines any progress towards
nuclear abolition by making thousands of nuclear weapons a permanent feature of
US military strategy, and by ignoring the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and other
multilateral agreements. It promotes the militarization of space; seeks to justify
the use of nuclear weapons against non nuclear states; and encourages new kinds
of tactical nuclear weapons in ways that blur the moral and legal line between
nuclear weapons and conventional weapons. As the strongest barrier against the
use of nuclear weapons for 56 years, this line must not be blurred and must not
be crossed. We physicians from 32 nations affirm the UN
Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: We renounce war and seek
diplomatic, peaceful solutions to war and conflict. Current
human military conflicts are characterized by civilian casualties, whether deliberate
or unintentional. The global proliferation of small arms and light weapons has
caused unspeakable carnage in both armed conflicts and domestic violence. Small
arms target particularly the most vulnerable populations - the economically depressed
and politically unstable. With the adoption of the Mine
Ban Treaty the toll exacted by antipersonnel landmines has diminished. But many
key nations, including the US and Russia, still refuse to sign the Treaty, while
landmines continue to devastate the lives of individuals, families, and whole
societies. This is an inexcusable humanitarian tragedy. Global
climate change, like nuclear war, threatens the health and very survival of humanity.
The United States, consuming 25% of the world's energy and producing over 20%
of the world's carbon emissions. has eschewed international efforts to address
this threat. At the same time, some new technologies are breeding new threats
to health and toxic chemicals increasingly bio-accumulate in the food chain, undermining
the well-being of both humans and animals. A code of scientific and medical ethics,
based on the precautionary principle, would protect humankind and the biosphere
from the unpredictable consequences of weapons and biotechnology. These
are daunting assaults on peace, security, and our collective health. Taken together,
they threaten our very survival.. Piecemeal solutions will be ineffective, yet
we have the scientific and medical knowledge, the productive capacity, the international
institutions, and the moral and legal norms to create a decent and sustainable
life for all humankind. The increasing gap between the
rich and the poor of the world is the critical fuel for global conflict and must
be narrowed. This will require that developed nations increase their contributions
to international development and aid, and forgive indebtedness in the developing
world. Further reform and democratization of the world's international financial
mechanisms, and the promotion of clean and efficient technologies is mandatory. We
call upon our colleagues in the health professions, the nations of the world,
their leaders, and the people of the Earth to join us in a tireless advocacy to
these ends: - Renunciation of the use and possession
of nuclear weapons by all States, particularly by the declared nuclear weapons
states in order to fulfil their legal obligations under Article Vl of the NPT,
and negotiation and adoption of a Nuclear Weapons Convention.
- Adherence
to and strengthening of the chemical and biological weapons conventions by all
nations and groups, and implementation of effective verification mechanisms where
necessary.
- Collection and reporting by health professionals of accurate
data on small arms injury and death, including what is available from official
records and health institutions, and education of peers and policy makers about
prevention; assurance by governments that researchers will have access to data;
support for a convention on arms brokering and an international framework agreement
on arms transfers.
- Recognizing that the Middle East remains the world's
most troubled situation, being dragged to the brink of war by acts of extremism
on both sides, we call for an ending of the occupation and the conflict there,
and agreement which allows Israel and Palestine to live side by side along the
June 4, 1967 border. To that end, we strongly endorse the urgent demands of the
Antalya declaration, prepared by representative physicians from the region (attached).
- Universal
accession to the Mine Ban Treaty, accelerated mine clearance, and long term funding
of victim rehabilitation programs, to end this disgraceful chapter in human cruelty.
- Ratification
and implementation of the Kyoto Protocol and of even bolder measures to protect
the Earth's climate; and ratification of the Stockholm Convention banning persistent
organic pollutants (POPs), including mechanisms to ban additional toxic chemicals.
From
this Summit for Survival in Washington, we, who are from many nations, many cultures,
and many disciplines; trained in medicine, science, and the humanities and dedicated
to a consistent struggle for life; declare that we will devote our lives and energies
as individuals and as organizations to the survival of our planet and of humanity. More
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