In search of a posture of peace : Exploring the humanitarian response to nuclear weapons

Abstract: Nuclear weapons pose a threat to humanity and a disaster waiting to happen; should tragedy occur the humanitarian sector will undoubtedly be among the first to respond to the needs of the victims. The scale and scope of a nuclear disaster is bound to be far beyond the capability and capacity of states to adequately address, let alone humanitarian organizations. The thesis therefore explores actions available to the humanitarian sector in the form of advocacy in favour of nuclear disarmament and seeking the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. To achieve this the present work suggests a collective statement supported by humanitarian organizations globally. It describes a novel concept in the form of a posture of peace as possible indicator or descriptor of any actor’s intention based on content of explicit or implicit behaviour. It finds that knowledge around nuclear weapons is well enough established that action, or lack thereof, comes from a lack of political will which here is seen as obstacle that may be addressed by a collective statement by the humanitarian sector. A collective statement is here seen as a course of action that may spur governing actors to abolish nuclear weapons without creating tensions that may lead to further conflicts as well as being one of the few ways the humanitarian sector can, in a sense, protest.