By Neena Bhandari
Sydney, 22.07.2015 (IDN- InDepthNews) – As political conflicts magnify in the Middle East and North Africa with the spectre of brutal violence from terrorist organisations like ISIS, and the Ukraine crisis reignites the Cold War between the United States, its North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) allies and Russia; it is imperative that nuclear-armed and non-nuclear states together work for total elimination of nuclear weapons.
The risk of use of nuclear weapons, by deliberation or accident, leading to total annihilation looms large more than ever before.
Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Island countries have been at the forefront of global efforts to implement the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which represents the only binding multilateral commitment to the goal of complete disarmament by the nuclear-weapon states. But the Ninth Review Conference of the NPT, from April 27 to May 22, which has three main pillars – non-proliferation, disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear energy – overwhelmingly reflected the views and interests of the nuclear-armed states and some of their nuclear-dependent allies.