"Mainau Declaration 2024 on Nuclear Weapons"

 

The signatories (list available on demand / see below) urgently warn of the danger that "in today's fragmented and polarized world, there is a significant probability that, either by accident or by deliberate act, these horrible weapons may be used - with the likelihood of the end of human civilization as we know it."

The "Mainau Declaration 2024 on Nuclear Weapons" states: "In July 1955, eighteen Nobel Laureates in science, meeting in Lindau, issued a declaration warning the world of the immense danger posed by the development of nuclear weapons that give mankind the means to destroy itself. In the subsequent decades, the number of countries with nuclear weapons, as well as the number of warheads and their destructive power, has increased ten-fold."

The declaration was first presented on the occasion of the 73rd Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting on Mainau Island in Lake Constance, Germany and was unanimously endorsed by all Laureates present at the Meeting at that time. The signatories of the declaration have all been awarded Nobel Prizes in Physics or Chemistry.

"We the undersigned scientists of different countries, different creeds, and different political persuasions, call on the people and leaders of the world to heed our warning and act to prevent this catastrophe", the declaration reads.

Laureate David Gross, speaking for the initiators of the declaration, said: "We initiated this declaration because there is a significant probability that, either by accident or by deliberate act, these horrible weapons may be used - with the likelihood of the end of human civilization as we know it. We felt that we must alert the people and leaders of the world to this possibility and urge them to heed our warning and act to prevent this catastrophe."

The Declaration evokes the first Mainau Declaration of 1955. Itself an appeal against the use of nuclear weapons, it had been initiated and drafted by the Nobel Prize-winning German nuclear scientists Otto Hahn and Max Born, circulated at the 5th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting (11-15 July 1955) and presented on Mainau Island on 15 July 1955. The declaration was initially signed by 18 Nobel Laureates. Within a year, the number of supporters rose to 52 Nobel Laureates. The second "Mainau Declaration 2015 on Climate Change" was initially signed by 36 Nobel Laureates on the closing day of the 65th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, 3 July 2015, and handed over to the President of the French Republic during the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris.

Mainau Declaration 2024 on Nuclear Weapons (as Signed)
In July 1955, eighteen Nobel Laureates in science, meeting in Lindau, issued a declaration warning the world of the immense danger posed by the development of nuclear weapons that give humankind the means to destroy itself.

In the subsequent decades, the number of countries with nuclear weapons, as well as the number of warheads and their destructive power, has increased ten-fold. We have been very lucky to have avoided nuclear war until now, but at this time the situation is dire. Nuclear arms are proliferating; arms control agreements are being scrapped; and an accelerated arms race is underway. In today's fragmented and polarized world, there is a significant probability that, either by accident or by deliberate act, these horrible weapons may be used--with the likelihood of the end of human civilization as we know it.

We the undersigned scientists of different countries, different creeds, and different political persuasions, call on the people and leaders of the world to heed our warning and act to prevent this catastrophe.

All nations must commit to ensuring that nuclear weapons never be used again.

If they are not prepared to do this, they will cease to exist.

Signatories as of 5 July 2024

About the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings
For over seventy years, the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings have served as unique forum for exchange between Nobel Laureates and Young Scientists. Every summer, more than 600 of the world's most talented Young Scientists and more than 30 Nobel Laureates are invited to spend a week in Lindau on the German side of Lake Constance, a week full of mutual inspiration and scientific encounters. Since the first Meeting in 1951, more than 35,000 Young Scientists have participated in the Lindau Meetings - for many of them, it has been an experience that has changed their careers and lives, making them part of a unique international network of scientific excellence. Even after years and decades, they are still connected with each other and with the Lindau Meetings through the Lindau Alumni Network.

The original idea of the Meetings goes back to two physicians based in Lindau, Franz Karl Hein and Gustav Wilhelm Parade, as well as to Count Lennart Bernadotte af Wisborg, a member of the Swedish royal family who quickly became the spiritus rector of the Lindau Meetings. From the start, they saw the Meetings as a means to reconcile the peoples of post-war Europe, in particular, the younger generation. Lindau quickly developed into an international forum for the exchange of knowledge between nations, cultures, traditions, and disciplines.

All year long the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings continue to pursue their 'Mission: Education' aimed at emphasizing the importance of science and advocating science and research. This is also the purpose of the Lindau Mediatheque as a learning platform with teaching materials for schools.