Press Releases & Updates 2001

The treaty is billed as ’a people’s treaty to disarm nuclear weapons’ and stems from a frustration felt by activists at the failure of governments to maintain their obligations under legally binding international treaties. Cited primarily is the Non-Proliferation Treaty; this was reviewed in New York last year and governments made an unequivocal commitment to the elimination of all nuclear arsenals, but no action has been taken. Further, the Helensburgh Treaty makes direct reference to the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, given on 8th July 1996, which stated that "the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law..." (1). Britain constantly has at least one Trident nuclear armed submarine on patrol.

The treaty commits groups who sign to work in global co-operation for the elimination of nuclear weapons, by pressing governments to abolish these weapons, communicating to those involved that they have a personal responsibility for the criminality of nuclear weapons and by taking nonviolent direct action against nuclear weapons. Furthermore, signatories should never prejudice the wellbeing of humanity as a whole for the advantage of any particular nation, race or religious group. (2)

The initial signatories are: Trident Ploughshares, Scottish Socialist Party, For Mother Earth, Youth and Student CND, Scottish CND, CND Cymru, Helensburgh CND, Women for Peace (Denmark), Faslane Peace Camp and Onkruit Vergaat Neit! (Netherlands). It is hoped that more groups will join the treaty soon. The treaty was signed at a ceremony on the sea front at Helensburgh, a few miles from the British Trident bases. After signing the treaty, the representative of each group symbolically made a cut in a piece of fence taken from Faslane Naval Base.

The signing took place during the Trident Ploughshares 14-day disarmament camp at Coulport, which goes on to the 11th August. There have been 32 arrests so far during the camp, and two sea actions against a Trident submarine.

Notes:

1. Advisory Opinion, Para 105 2E.

2. Copies of the Helensburgh Treaty are available from Trident Ploughshares.

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