Such threats are intolerable and such a peace unworthy. The sheer destructiveness of nuclear weapons invokes a moral imperative for their elimination. That is our mandate. Let us begin. We believe that no one has the right to use these weapons in his defence or to ask another person to use them on his behalf.
Trident is the United Kingdom's 'independent nuclear deterrent'.
In July 1996 the International Court of Justice ruled that the threat or use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to international law. and further stated that there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control. The UK government is committed to keeping Trident as a 'minimum, credible and effective nuclear deterrent', whilst at the same time stating as its goal multilateral, balanced and verifiable reductions leading to the final elimination of nuclear weapons. Trident has been excluded from the government's Strategic Defence Review begun in 1997. In 1996 The Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons identified a series of steps and practical measures which can be undertaken to bring about the verfiable elimination of nuclear weapons. In 1997 a Model Nuclear Weapons Convention was produced by an international group of experts.