On the 26th of April 2026 we commemorate the victims of the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl.

Standing as one of the greatest manmade tragedies of the latter half of the 20th century, for many, it will be commemorated as a historical tragedy. In conjunction with others, ICBUW will be organising a film event on the issue linked to the Fukushima disaster in Berlin.

Nuclear risk is not merely technical — it is political, ethical, and unequal. In 1986 radioactive fallout arrived alongside systematic silence. Governments downplayed exposure, restricted information, and prioritised political stability over public health.

Now 40 years later, much of Europe and the world drew the wrong conclusion. Chernobyl was reinterpreted as a failure of a particular system rather than a warning about nuclear governance itself. The response focused on better reactor designs, stricter regulation, and improved safety culture. 

The argument that “nuclear is safe now” due to the design and production of Small Modular Reactors (SMRs),  misses the point. The problem exposed by Chernobyl was not obsolete reactor design or human failure. It was the assumption that nuclear technology can be managed democratically under all circumstances, transparently, equitably, and without coercion, even when things go wrong.

As International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons we speak out against nuclear energy and the development of a new generation of nuclear power plants and Small Modular Reactors,  because there is a clear link between depleted uranium ammunition and nuclear power plants. 

Depleted uranium (DU) is a toxic heavy metal and the main by-product of uranium enrichment process. It is the substance left over when most of the highly radioactive isotopes of uranium are removed for use as nuclear fuel or for nuclear weapons. DU possesses the same chemical toxicity properties as uranium, although its radiological toxicity is less, but it is not harmless. 

DU bullets that miss their target corrode very slowly, releasing their toxicity to groundwater and soil, poisoning the environment and all living creatures. The use of DU creates a long-term health threat for civilians and the military alike, obstructs reconstruction through ravaged areas, spreads fear and is difficult and costly to remove. The properties of DU weapons make it impossible to completely decontaminate contaminated sites. Even without a special prohibition contracttreaty, the use of DU ammunition with its consequences is contrary to applicable standards of international humanitarian law, human rights and environmental protection. 

ICBUW’s efforts are aimed to ban these weapons and to address their consequences for humans and the environment. In concrete terms, the distinction requirement of international humanitarian law, the human right to a healthy environment, especially protection against toxic substances, and, in particular, the precautionary principle / approach are violated.

Resources, currently going towards the development of nuclear energy, must be reallocated to safe and green energy through solar and wind and to the development of new technologies that respect international humanitarian law, human rights and environmental protection law. Nuclear energy schemes have been developed only because the atomic bomb. They reflect a dead-end road if only looking at the unsolved final storage problem.

For ICBUW

Ria Verjauw/Prof. Manfred Mohr

             Co-chairs