I.

NUCLEAR WEAPON STATES ARE OBLIGED TO DISARM AS A

CONSEQUENCE OF THEIR OBLIGATION UNDER INTERNATIONAL
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW

The environment is under daily threat and the use of nuclear weapons
could constitute a catastrophe for the environment.1 Evidences from several
scientific researches2 support the view that nuclear weapons pose serious threat of
environmental devastation. This being the case, it is imperative for NWS to
disarm in order to make sure that the environment is protected and their
obligations are complied.

A. The obligation to protect the environment is customary under

international law.

a. There is sufficient state practice.

The duty to protect the environment is a customary norm. 177 of the

world's 193 UN member nations recognize this through their constitution,
environmental legislation, court decisions, or ratification of international
agreements.3 Numerous treatises4 espousing this obligation are signed and ratified
by numerous states. It is also found in many international instruments such as the
Stockholm Declaration5 and Rio Declaration.6

b. Existing state practice is coupled with opinion juris.

The ICJ stated that the States consent to and attitude towards the text of a
resolution evidence opinion juris.7 The abovementioned covenants and
declarations prove that there is already an expectation of compliance among

1
Advisory Opinion Legality on the threat or use of force. (1996)
2
Takahashi, H., Finsareta Hiroshima, Nagasaki: Bei kaku jikken to minkan bei keikaku.2012, Shinatei Zhoban; O.
B. Toon , A. Robock, and R. Turco, The Environmental Consequences of Nuclear War, Physics Today, vol. 61, No.
12, 2008, pp. 37-42;
3
Boyd, David R.The Constitutional Right to a Healthy Environment. The Environment Science and Policy for
Sustainable Development. Available at http://www.environmentmagazine.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/2012/July-
August%202012/constitutional-rights-full.html.; Binod Prasad Sharma. Constitutional Provisions Related to
Environment Conservation: A Study. Policy Brief. September 2010.
4
The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, Article 2; UNFCCC; see also CD
5
Declaration of UN Conference on the Human Environment (hereinafter Stockholm Declaration), June 16, 1972,
Preambular, principle 26, 2161 UNTS 447; 38 ILM 517 (1999).
6
Rio Declaration on Environment and Development [, principle 4, principle 7 and principle 111]; See also 1994
Draft Declaration of Principles on Human Rights and the Environment, part 2 (5), part 4(21 & 22).
7
Military and Paramilitary Activities (Nicaragua v. USA), 1986 ICJ 14 at 97 (June 27).
 states, which together with ensuing practice establishes the obligation to protect
the environment as a customary norm.

c. Furthermore, the right to a healthy environment is an

international customary norm.
i.there is sufficient state practice

Regional human rights agreements recognizing the right to a healthy environment have
been ratified by more than 130 nations spanning Europe, Asia, the Americas, the
Caribbean, Africa, and the Middle East.8

ii.existing state practice is coupled with opinio juris

This obligation

a. Failure to disarm would violate international environmental

law principles under customary international law
a. Furthermore, the use of nuclear weapons would violate the
principle of Sic Utere Tuo Ut Alienum Non Laedas

The ICJ upheld in cases such as the Trail Smelter arbitration and Corfu Channel case that every
State has obligation not to

b. States are obliged not to cause transboundary harm

II. NUCLEAR WEAPON STATES ARE ALSO OBLIGED TO DISARM TO

COMPLY WTH THEIR TREATY LAW OBLIGATIONS UNDER
INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS LAW.

A. States have a treaty obligation under the ICCPR to protect the right to
life.
article VI of the ICCPR guarantees the right of every human being the
inherent right to life
B. The protection of the right to life is a customary norm under UDHR.

III. REVISITING THE NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT REGIME

8
Boyd, David R.The Constitutional Right to a Healthy Environment. The Environment Science and Policy for
Sustainable Development. Available at http://www.environmentmagazine.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/2012/July-
August%202012/constitutional-rights-full.html.
 A. Weaknesses and Criticisms
B. Complementary measures must be made to combat WMD Terrorism
(okay, enumerate na lang then gamay na discussion.. add also actions sa
mga NNWS on this, like naa bay local laws or regional agreements sa
asean or eu on nuclear weapons ban or something)
C. UNHLC

IV. GOAL: GENERAL AND COMPLETE NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT FOR

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
A. intergenerational responsibility