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Statement to US Senate re New START Treaty

The New START treaty comes before the Foreign Relations Committee of the US Senate in mid-September.  This statement was sent to US Senators today to urge them to vote in its favor.  

We, members of a Cooperation Circle of the United Religions Initiative (URI), composed of citizens of a variety of faiths and backgrounds, concerned with effectively addressing the threat posed by life destroying weapons of mass destruction. URI seeks greater harmony and understanding amongst the world’s various faith-based traditions. Our calling is based on a moral insight that regardless of beliefs, all lives are precious and sacred, and we fulfill our religious duties best when we learn to live together in peace.

We believe that nuclear weapons present a moral and political challenge to the survival of the human race. Because of their enormous destructive capacity and indiscriminate effect, their use is unworthy of civilization. Over 20,000 of these devices remain in the world with over 95% in possession of Russia and the United States, a dangerous legacy of the Cold War. The spread of nuclear technology has increased risks posed by nuclear proliferation. Greater levels of cooperation amongst states with the weapons is urgently needed to reduce risks of their use, build trust, transparency, and confidence, lower the number of the weapons, gain secure control of all nuclear materials, ensure that terrorists do not obtain either weapons or the fuel needed to make them. Additionally, the legal requirements of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) obligate nuclear weapons states to make tangible progress on disarmament duties if the expectation that the 182 non-nuclear weapon states parties to that treaty are to continue to uphold their nonproliferation duties. We were heartened by the statement issued by the Presidents of the United States and Russia, Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev, after their first meeting in April 2009, in which they said:

As leaders of the two largest nuclear weapons states, we agreed to work together to fulfill our obligations under Article VI of the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and demonstrate leadership in reducing the number of nuclear weapons in the world. We committed our two countries to achieve a nuclear free world, while recognizing that the long-term goal will require a new emphasis on arms control and conflict resolution measures, and their full implementation by all concerned nations. We agreed to pursue new and verifiable reductions in our strategic offensive arsenals in a step-by-step process, beginning by replacing the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty with a new, legally binding treaty.

We welcome the New START treaty, which these two presidents signed just one year later, as evidence of success in their efforts to renew a formal process of negotiating the reduction in nuclear arsenals. It is a step toward achieving their goal. Beyond its modest numerical reductions, we value New START as an important step forward in setting a broad, new standard of cooperation, transparency, and comprehensive on-site inspections to verify compliance with its provisions. New START is consistent with, and builds on President Ronald Reagan’s call for “trust but verify.” We are also heartened by the strong statements of leaders from the many nations gathered at the UN Security Council Summit, chaired by President Obama, in September of 2009 where they pledged to create the conditions that would lead to a world without nuclear weapons. We believe that progress toward this goal must be led by the two nations with the largest arsenals, the United States and Russia. Such leadership begins with the New START treaty. The leaders and their negotiators will have fulfilled our hopes that life-affirming policies will take the world into a brighter future without living under the burden of the nuclear sword of Damocles. They have our thanks.

We understand the New START treaty will come before the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. Senate soon. We urge that it be voted out favorably and that a full Senate vote to recommend ratification of this treaty will be scheduled shortly thereafter. We urge that all Senators remember that on this issue partisan credit or criticism is not appropriate. The first START treaty was a formidable accomplishment during the time of a Republican presidency. It happens that now we have a Democrat in the White House. The issue transcends partisanship, and, as we further urge the Duma of Russia to ratify, we are reminded that it even transcends nationalism. We are reducing a global threat that leaves no person exempt from its risks. There is no time to be lost. The Senators will have our full support when they set aside their differences on other issues and give their consent to ratification of the treaty. We will thank them. It’s time to START.

Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons, a Cooperation Circle of the United Religions Initiative