"The New Cold War: Is New Zealand in bed with the Bomb?"
Don't blink. The Cold War is back. The US is deploying missiles in Eastern Europe. Russia is withdrawing from regional arms treaties. North Korea just got the bomb. Iran may be next.
In 1987 New Zealand banned nuclear weapons - but now our government is investing in them. Former US Hawks, one the other hand, are going anti-nuclear. Is New Zealand missing-in-action from the ranks of the nuclear abolitionists?
On 24 September 2007, Alyn Ware, Director of Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace, gave a public lecture at Victoria University of Wellington to a group of law students and practitioners. Alyn gave an insightful overview of nuclear issues to date, including the effects of nuclear testing, international treaties for the elimination of nuclear weapons, and the 1996 ICJ Advisory Opinion.The lecture finished on a positive, forward-thinking note with Alyn discussing current and future nuclear disarmament initiatives - including steps we as New Zealanders can take to pursue the goal of complete abolition. This lecture marked the start of a partnership between the Victoria Law Students' Association and Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace which will hopefully see a number of similar lectures taking place in the near future.