VATICAN CITY - This amount would be enough to feed for nearly two years all 345 million people currently suffering from the world's most severe hunger, including famine. This is according to the annual report on nuclear weapons spending published by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. There are currently approximately 12,000 nuclear warheads, of which nearly 90 % belong to the United States and Russia.
With spending in 2024 to expand nuclear arsenals in nine nuclear-armed countries - China, North Korea, France, India, Israel, Pakistan, the United Kingdom, Russia and the United States - it would take nearly two years to feed all 345 million people currently facing the world's most severe food shortages, including famine.
ICAN Annual Report
This figure - on the very day that Israel attacked Iran's nuclear programme - comes from the annual report on nuclear weapons spending published by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). The detailed document reveals that last year Beijing, Pyongyang, Paris, New Delhi, Tel Aviv, Islamabad, London, Moscow and Washington spent more than $100 billion on developing their nuclear arsenals, an increase of about 11 % from the previous year. This is equivalent to $3,169 per second, $274 million per day and $1.9 billion for each week last year. These are very significant figures, which are indicative of the gradual weaponisation of the world, including nuclear weaponisation. This at a time when the United Nations is facing deep cuts in its funding, and the amount that these nine countries have spent on nuclear weapons could cover the UN budget by almost 28 times. "These are just a few examples of the many alternative initiatives that would actually provide us with long-term security, as opposed to nuclear weapons," elaborates Susi Snyder, co-author of the report with Alicia Sanders-Zakre, and ICAN's program coordinator.
Nuclear warheads in the world
There are currently about 12,000 nuclear warheads in the world, of which nearly 90 % belong to the United States and Russia. According to the report, last year the US again spent more than all other nuclear powers combined: $56.8 billion. China came in second with $12.5 billion, less than a quarter of U.S. spending. The United Kingdom came in third with $10.4 billion, 10 % of the total. This is followed by Russia with just over $8 billion, France with $6.8 billion, India with $2.6 billion, Israel and Pakistan with just over $1 billion, and finally North Korea with $630 million. The document also analyses the costs incurred by countries that host other states' nuclear weapons, including Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey.
Money needs to be concentrated elsewhere
The ICAN report further criticizes that money spent on nuclear arsenals is "wasted" because the nuclear powers themselves have formally agreed (in a joint statement in early 2022) that "nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought." Moreover, they divert resources from other priorities: indeed, the $100 billion could have been used to fund measures to address security threats caused by climate change and the decline of animal and plant species, or to improve basic public services such as health, housing and education. Unfortunately, despite repeated international appeals, there are currently no prospects for a reversal that would halt or at least slow down the ongoing development of nuclear weapons. The Geneva-based International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, active in 107 countries since 2007, is a global civil society coalition working to promote accession to and full implementation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In 2017, it won the Nobel Peace Prize "for its work in drawing attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its extraordinary efforts to achieve a treaty banning these weapons."
Francesco Citterich - Vatican City
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