This interview with Ayo Ayoola-Amale explores her journey as a lawyer, activist, and peace advocate. She highlights her role in founding the Ghana section of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), emphasizing its mission for gender equality, human rights, and disarmament. Drawing on personal experiences and inspiration from figures like Rosa Parks, she discusses the intersections of gender, peace, and justice, advocating for global disarmament and ethical technology use. Ayoola-Amale underscores the need for collaboration, inclusivity, and continuous advocacy to address global challenges like nuclear proliferation and autonomous weapons.

This document summary was generated by an artificial intelligence language model and was reviewed by a Wilson Center staff member.

Aiken’s first step was a modest paragraph calling for the formation of a UN commission to recommend measures to the next session. However, global attentions were focused on nuclear tests and their health effects, so Aiken linked his initiative with the American-led seventeen-power resolution requesting all states to suspend testing voluntarily. Aiken proposed an amendment to that motion that included the notion of brokering an understanding between nuclear weapons powers and non-nuclear powers.  He submitted that the former voluntarily desist from supplying nuclear weapons to other countries, while non-nuclear powers reciprocated and volunteered not to develop such weapons during a test suspension. This proposed quid pro quo became a staple in the Irish resolutions subsequently and eventually be inscribed into the NPT.

Aiken’s speech invoked recognizable tropes such as a ‘geometric’ increase in nuclear powers, creating an urgent need to halt the spread. His speech was seminal in identifying themes he and international opinion would rehearse in future years. He conjured up fears about small states and revolutionary groups with a bomb acting as ‘the detonator for world-wide thermonuclear war’. Aiken was perceptive – he expected criticisms about institutionalized equality between states (nuclear “haves” and “have nots”), harms to alliances, the sufficiency of test bans, and the absence of monitoring. He sought to disprove the validity of such critiques, and these issues were worked through gradually, eventually leading to the finalization of the NPT ten years later.  

Aiken’s landmark address to the plenary of the UN General Assembly on 19 September 1958 launched his non-proliferation campaign. It is the first time he publicly identified stopping the spread of nuclear weapons as a concrete step in the collective interest to unblock the disarmament impasse, preventing a runaway arms race among the powers of the Earth. It was clearly framed as part of his wider campaign for global governance based on the rule of law rather than the threat of force. For Aiken, the challenge was stabilizing the arms race and generating trust to construct a world order based on justice and law – “to preserve a Pax Atomica while we build a Pax Mundi.” This speech was a critical departure. The widespread positive reception encouraged Aiken, persuading him to draft a formal resolution.

The documents in this collection surround two separate topics. One topic involves the status of Almaz Estekov, a political refugee in the United States who was active in the antinuclear and environmental movements of the late 1980s and early 1990s. The second topic involves children suffering from the effects of nuclear testing in Kazakhstan. The names of these children, the ailments they are suffering, and a proposal to establish a laboratory to help monitor environmental pollution in Kazakhstan are included. 

Eran Lerman is a former Israeli intelligence officer. He served as a member of the Israeli delegation to ACRS. 

Piet de Klerk is a former Dutch diplomat. He served as a member of the Netherlands delegation to ACRS. 

Aly Erfan is a former Egyptian diplomat. He served as a member of the Egyptian delegation to ACRS. 

Dr. Ariel Levite is a former Israeli senior official. He served as a member of the Israeli delegation to ACRS and the inter-ministerial committee on arms control. 

Hesham Youssef is an Egyptian diplomat. He served on the Egyptian team, working on the Steering Committee and in three working groups (REDWG, water, and the environment).

Shimon Stein is a former Israeli diplomat. He served as a member of the Israeli delegation to ACRS.