Inside Geneva: What is the nuclear threat?

Nuclear weapons have only been used twice. Now Russia has hinted they could be used again. In this podcast episode, Inside Geneva host Imogen Foulkes asks experts how big the threat is.

“This is the reality of nuclear deterrence: that there is a nuclear armed country that can hold the rest of the world hostage,” says Alicia Sanders-Zakre of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).

Have we forgotten how devastating these weapons are?

“Blast, high-velocity projectile, trauma, burns, including bodies just melting into the ground,” says Ruth Mitchell of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW).

What happens if a small tactical nuclear weapon is used?

“There is no small nuclear weapon. All nuclear weapons have devastating, lasting, generational humanitarian consequences,” says Sanders-Zakre.

What are the chances of a nuclear-free world now?

“The abolition of nuclear weapons seems to be much more difficult and problematic than the fact of just saying: ‘it’s against human rights, it’s against humanitarian law’,” says analyst Daniel Warner.

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