New York State Bar Association To Host Forum on Risk of Nuclear War
11.7.2023
A conference organized by the New York State Bar Association will bring together leaders from Ukraine, the U.S. military, United Nations, and peace groups to talk about the threat of Russia using nuclear weapons in its war with Ukraine.
The Nov. 8 event will provide a rare opportunity to hear from military strategists about the risk of nuclear war and the best deterrence.
“We used to have two superpowers who talked to each other about nuclear weapons and disarmament. That’s not happening anymore,” said New York State Bar Association President Richard Lewis. “People all over the world are fearful of the escalating conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine and that it will lead to the use of nuclear and biological weapons.”
The organizer of the event, Professor Charles Moxley of Fordham Law School, said there is little international diplomacy on disarmament. “Arms control is dead. Russia and the U.S. aren’t even talking and everyone is alienated at the U.N. If Russia attacks a neighboring country that is part of NATO, what will the U.S. response be?”
The event consists of four panels:
- Facts and Risks; Russia’s Threats to Use Nuclear Weapons in Ukraine
- Role of International Law in Ukraine and Beyond
- Risk Analysis
- Nuclear Deterrence and the Law of Threat
Several active-duty military leaders from the U.S. Air Force, Marines, U. S. Navy, and U.S. Army will be on hand:
Jeffrey Biller, deputy director of the Law, Technology and Warfare Research Cell, United States Air Force Academy.
Navy Commander Leigha Groves, deputy staff judge advocate, U.S. Strategic Command.
David S. Jonas, partner, Fluet; former nuclear nonproliferation planner, Joint Chiefs of Staff; LtCol, USMC (Ret.); professor at Georgetown and George Washington law schools.
Major Kenneth “Daniel” Jones, judge advocate, Office of the Judge Advocate General, U.S. Army.
David Koplow, professor, Georgetown University Law Center; former special counsel for arms control to the general counsel of the U.S. Department of Defense.
Col. Theodore T. Richard, United States Air Force judge advocate, staff judge advocate at Space Operations Command.
Shane Smith, director, Institute for National Security Studies and associate professor, Department of Political Science, United States Air Force Academy.
Legal scholars and organizations working for peace and disarmament who will be at the conference include:
Jutta Bertram-Nothnagel, vice-president, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy; representative to the U.N. International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms.
John Burroughs, senior analyst, Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy.
Jacqueline Cabasso, executive director, Western States Legal Foundation; North American coordinator, Mayors for Peace.
Denise Duffield, associate director of Physicians for Social Responsibility; steering committee member, Back from the Brink Coalition.
John D. Feerick, professor and dean emeritus, Fordham Law School.
David Gibson, Fordham Center on Religion and Culture; Catholic Peacekeeping Network.
Eirini Giorgou, ICRC legal adviser covering nuclear weapons.
Jonathan Granoff, president, Global Security Institute; senior adviser, Permanent Secretariat of the World Summits of Nobel Peace Laureates.
Oona Hathaway, Gerard C. and Bernice Latrobe Smith, professor of International Law, Yale Law School.
Edward K. Lenci, partner, Hinshaw & Culbertson (NYC); founder and former co-chair, Ukraine Task Force of the New York State Bar Association.
Hans Liwång, associate professor, deputy head of Department of Systems Science for Defense and Security, Swedish Defense University.
Charles J. Moxley, Jr., professor, Fordham Law School; principal, Moxley ADR
Gerard F. Powers, faculty, University of Notre Dame, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies; director, Catholic Peacebuilding Studies.
Alan Robock, distinguished professor, Department of Environmental Sciences, Rutgers University.
James Scouras, senior scholar, Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory.
Seth Shelden, U.N. liaison, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons; partner, Farkas & Neurman; professor, CUNY School of Law.
Mary L. Smith, president, American Bar Association; vice chair, VENG Group.
Allen S. Weiner, senior lecturer and director, Stanford Program in International and Comparative Law, Stanford Law School.
Jules Zacher, board chair, Council for a Livable World; executive board member, the Center for Ethics and the Rule of Law at the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania.
