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Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: What is International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)?
Q3:Why nuclear weapons? Isn't all war destructive?
Q4: Almost three decades after the Cold War, why should we still be worried about nuclear weapons?
Q6: How does IPPNW propose to achieve a nuclear-weapons-free world?
Q11: Where can I find out more about IPPNW's privacy policy?
Q1: What is International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW)?
IPPNW is the only international medical organization dedicated to the abolition of nuclear weapons. Founded by US and Russian physicians in 1980, IPPNW is credited with raising public awareness about the devastating effects of nuclear weapons and with persuading American and Soviet leaders that the Cold War nuclear arms race was jeopardizing the survival of the entire world. IPPNW received the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of this accomplishment.
Today IPPNW mobilizes doctors, medical students, and concerned citizens in 63 countries in the service of a broader war prevention mission. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and Aiming For Prevention, IPPNW's campaign to prevent armed violence worldwide, bring the expertise and compassion of doctors to bear on the whole human tragedy of armed conflict.
Q2: Why are doctors involved in a security issue? Isn't this the province of policy makers and diplomats?
For as long as humans have resorted to war to settle their differences, doctors have been expected to treat injured soldiers and civilians, and to help restore societies to health at the conclusion of armed conflict. They have a unique and profound understanding of both the immediate and the long term consequences of war. In the 1960s, a group of concerned physicians studied and documented the blast, heat, and radiation effects of nuclear weapons, and came to the inescapable conclusion that a meaningful medical response to nuclear war is impossible. The atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the lifelong suffering of the survivors-the result of only two, small, relatively primitive nuclear weapons-had put the medical profession on notice that it must prevent what it would be unable to cure. That doctors would advocate the abolition of nuclear weapons not only makes sense, it is also seen by many as a professional responsibility. The World Health Organization (with which IPPNW has had formal relations since March 1985), the US National Institute of Medicine, the British Medical Association, and the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences are just a few of the prestigious organizations that have made major contributions to our understanding of the medical consequences of nuclear war.
Q3: Why nuclear weapons? Isn't all war destructive?
IPPNW believes that nuclear weapons are incompatible with human survival, and that no country is entitled to possess them as a matter of international law-a principle that was affirmed by the International Court of Justice in 1996. As the largest and most powerful nuclear weapon state-and the only one to have used nuclear weapons in an act of war-the United States has a special responsibility to provide leadership toward nuclear abolition. But IPPNW holds every nuclear weapon state-and any state that might consider acquiring nuclear weapons-to a single standard: no one is justified in having, developing, or using nuclear weapons for any reason.
Violence is a worldwide public health issue and one that is preventable. Health professionals have a key role to play in preventing violence of all kinds, from the gun violence that kills and injures millions each year to nuclear war. Armed violence is a public health crisis that impedes both social and economic growth, issues important to all people from all countries. Armed conflict occurs across a continuum of violence, from clubs and machetes all the way to nuclear explosions. What makes nuclear weapons different is the unprecedented scale, longevity, and horror of their effects. Only nuclear weapons can kill tens or hundreds of thousands of people with a single explosion, in a matter of moments. Only nuclear weapons produce radioactive fallout that can cause cancers, birth defects, and genetic damage for decades after they are used. Only nuclear weapons, used in sufficient numbers, could cause a nuclear winter effectively ending human life on Earth.
IPPNW has broadened its mission over the past 15 years to address the public health dimensions of armed conflict in all its aspects. We participated actively in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines in the 1990s, and now have a major program to confront the global scourge of armed violence, called Aiming for Prevention (AFP). Aiming for Prevention has been active in leadership roles in participating in the United Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons, and in passing the historic international Cluster Munitions Convention and the Arms Trade Treaty. AFP has pioneered a focus on the human dimensions of armed violence through our One Bullet Stories. IPPNW doctors and medical students also engage in medical peace education in the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, South Asia, and other conflict-prone parts of the world.
Q4: Almost three decades after the Cold War, why should we still be worried about nuclear weapons?
In 1987 the World Health Organization concluded that nuclear weapons "constitute the greatest immediate threat to health and human survival…and that the only approach to the treatment of the health effects of nuclear warfare is primary prevention, that is, the prevention of nuclear war." More than two decades later, the nuclear threat not only persists but is in many ways more dangerous than ever before.
More than 15,000 nuclear weapons remain in the arsenals of the nuclear powers-more than 95 percent of them in the US and Russia-with an explosive yield of more than a hundred thousand Hiroshima-sized bombs. The US and Russia maintain thousands of nuclear weapons on constant alert, ready to be launched at a moment's notice. China, France, the United Kingdom, Israel, India, Pakistan, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea), also have nuclear weapons. Other countries have gone part way toward developing nuclear weapons in recent years but have stopped.
The sizes of existing nuclear arsenals and the possible unraveling of the non-proliferation regime are worrisome, but so are changing nuclear weapons policies, which are increasing the risk that these weapons may actually be used. The US, Russia, China, France, and the UK are all developing new generations of smaller, more flexible nuclear weapons and have described uses for them that go beyond deterring the use of nuclear weapons by others. India and Pakistan have engaged in nuclear rhetoric reminiscent of that used by the US and the Soviet Union during the Cold War, and there are legitimate concerns that the nuclear line could be crossed in the Middle East.
Add to that the growing threat of nuclear terrorism, and it becomes clear that our post-Cold War nuclear danger is not only very real but also far more complex than it was in the days of "mutually assured destruction."
Q5: What about Iran and North Korea? Aren't some countries more of a threat than others when it comes to nuclear weapons?
As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Iran has made a solemn promise not to acquire nuclear weapons. The other NPT member states have an equally solemn obligation to hold Iran to that promise. Iran is complying with a multilateral agreement, monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA,) that has effectively shut down its nuclear weapons development programs. While the international community must remain vigilant, it cannot single out Iran or any other country for harsh treatment as long as it remains within its Treaty obligations.
When the DPRK tested a nuclear weapon, declared itself a nuclear weapon state, and withdrew from the NPT, the response of the international community, including the US, was an intensive diplomatic effort that defused the crisis and has pointed the way toward the termination of North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Diplomacy and negotiation-not military threats-are the best and only appropriate means to deal with proliferation concerns.
To end the proliferation threat permanently, however, the nuclear-weapon states must renounce the double standard they use to justify their own possession of nuclear weapons while condemning possession by others. There are no "responsible" and "irresponsible," "good" and "evil" owners of nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons in anyone's hands are incompatible with human survival and must be abolished.
Q6: How does IPPNW propose to achieve a nuclear-weapons-free world?
When the 2005 NPT Review collapsed and prospects dimmed for any real progress in disarmament and non-proliferation, IPPNW launched the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). ICAN ireceived the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its global efforts to educate decision makers and the public about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and nuclear war, culminating on the new Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
IPPNW is now working with ICAN to bring the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty into force, which requires ratification by 50 states. The Treaty will then be an effective legal, moral, and political tool for bringing the nuclear-armed and nuclear-dependent states into compliance with the prohibitions, and compelling them to take the necessary steps to eliminate weapons that have been declared illegal under international law.
IPPNW affiliates are national medical organizations with a common commitment to the abolition of nuclear weapons and the prevention of war and armed violence. As of 2018, IPPNW has affiliates in 63 countries, ranging in size from a handful of dedicated physicians and medical students to tens of thousands of activists and their supporters. As independent organizations within a global federation, IPPNW affiliates engage in a wide variety of activities related to war, health, social justice, and the environment. Their common bond, however, is a determination to rid the world of the most immediate and irreparable threat to life on Earth-nuclear weapons and nuclear war.
IPPNW's headquarters is in Malden, Massachusetts, in the United States. Contact information for the Central Office staff and for every active affiliate are available on this site.
An International Council, comprising delegates from each IPPNW affiliate, makes all decisions about IPPNW policy, and elects At-Large members of the Board, Co-Presidents, and other officers. Regional Vice Presidents, who are also members of the Board, are elected by the affiliates in their regions. The Board of Directors is the governing body of IPPNW, responsible for the organization's budget, staff, and program priorities. An Executive Committee of the Board manages ongoing governance and staff operations between Board meetings.
IPPNW depends upon the donations and active involvement of everyone concerned with the nuclear threat and with the impact of war on life and health. To learn more about donation options, go here.
IPPNW makes all of its financial information freely and publicly available through our participation in GuideStar. Our profile, and all of our IRS data, is listed and easily accessible here: www.guidestar.org/profile/04-2702110 (or just type IPPNW in the search box on the Guidestar website).
Q11: Where can I find out more about IPPNW's privacy policy?
IPPNW maintains this website for the benefit of our members, supporters and the general public. We respect the fundamental privacy of our online visitors. It is designed as an informational resource pertaining to the mission of IPPNW. To read the privacy policy, go here.