Global Alliance of Leaders for Nuclear Security and Nuclear-Weapon-Free World (GAL)

History 

The Global Alliance of Leaders for Nuclear Security and Nuclear-Weapon-Free World (GAL) comes from Kazakhstan - a country with the extraordinary story of transforming itself from a nuclear testing ground and home to the world’s fourth largest nuclear arsenal into an independent, nuclear-free global leader in denuclearization.

The Alliance dates back to 2019, born of an initiative voiced by the First President of Kazakhstan during the Astana Club’s fifth meeting.

During his presidency, Nursultan Nazarbayev has devoted a significant amount of his foreign policy activities to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and he continued his efforts to promote the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation agenda in his new capacity as Kazakhstan’s First President.

When addressing the Astana Club regular meeting in Astana in November 2019, he stressed the growing global demand for a genuine platform for advancing anti-nuclear agenda and, as such, proposed establishing the GAL:

“We have repeatedly talked about the need to stop the erosion of the existing nuclear disarmament agreements. In the run-up to the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons next year, we must reaffirm the need to universalize the main provisions of this document. I believe that withdrawal from the Treaty cannot be an avenue for NPT parties to avoid international accountability and that this should be backed up by the relevant resolutions at the UN Security Council level,” he said.

A year later, on November 19, 2020, world politicians, experts and prominent figures were gathered at the online conference “One Hundred Seconds to Midnight: A Strategic Time to Resume Nuclear Dialogue” as part of promoting the GAL initiative.

Speaking at the conference, Mohammed ElBaradei, former Director General of the IAEA, noting the confidence in the success of this initiative, said: "President Nazarbayev said: believing is half the way, and I think that we all believe."

In continuation of the session, Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), noted the special role played by Kazakhstan in promoting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. In this context, she stated: "Again, I want to acknowledge the incredible work that Kazakhstan has done on this treaty, being one of the leading countries that is involved in the process of bringing this treaty into force."

In his video message Nursultan Nazarbayev recalled the tragic anniversary marked in the year of 2020 - the day of the world’s first atomic bombing. The horror of a nuclear detonation may feel like distant history, but today the risk of nuclear weapons being used again is high.

75 years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, agreements to eliminate existing arsenals are being abandoned as new nuclear weapons are being developed, putting the world on the dangerous path of a new nuclear arms race. These developments add urgency to the international community's efforts to prohibit and eliminate these unacceptable weapons. The indisputable evidence of their catastrophic impact makes it extremely doubtful that their use could ever comply with international humanitarian law.

The 2020 online conference resulted in issuing an Open Call by the members of the Consultative Council of the Astana Club to support the establishment of the Global Alliance of Leaders for Nuclear Security and Nuclear-Weapons-Free World.

Furthermore, the Open Call has been registered in the United Nations (№А/75/705) and the IAEA (№ INFCIRC/955) that is believed to also stand for a clear intention of these two international organizations to endorse the new global platform.

After another year, on November 17, 2021, several members of the GAL gathered in Astana at “One Minute to Midnight: Time for Action for the Nuclear Dialogue” session held during the Astana Club’s sixth meeting. The discussion covered possible ways to lift relations between the major countries out of the current crisis and to respond to global security challenges deriving from this situation. Participants to the session also explored potential niches for the Alliance's work for the coming years.

Address of the former President of the USSR, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev to the members of the Alliance was one of the highlights of the session.

While expressing his full support for the newly established platform, Mr. Gorbachev stressed that “there can be no other final goal than a world without nuclear weapons”. 

Following the agreements reached during the VI meeting of the Astana Club in Astana, it was proposed to create a GAL Strategic Planning Group (SPG) consisting of prominent experts in the field of nuclear disarmament to discuss the further strategic development of the Alliance.

On May 26, 2022, the first meeting of the Strategic Planning Group (SPG) of the Global Alliance of Leaders for Nuclear Security and a World Free of Nuclear Weapons (GAL) was held in Vienna. During the meeting, SPG members discussed further steps in the activities of GAL in the field of nuclear security, disarmament and non-proliferation.

Three key areas of the GAL Strategic Planning Group (SPG):

1. No First Use of Nuclear Weapons;
2. Negative Security Assurances and creation of new Nuclear Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZ) on a geographical basis such as Antarctic, the Moon, the Seabed and Outer Space as practical steps towards enhancing regional and international security;
3. Achieving global security without nuclear weapons through Common Security and Human Security.

On November 29, 2022, a special session of the GAL was held at the Dialogue of Continents forum in Paris. Leading international experts held a substantive discussion of current trends in the field of nuclear security under the theme "How to avoid a nuclear war?". The discussion underlined the importance of expert platforms which would help restore the lost mutual trust between key nuclear players is increasing.

On December 6, 2023, following the sixth edition of the “Dialogue of Continents” international forum, members of the Strategic Planning Group of the GAL gathered for the second meeting in Vienna. Participants expressed unease with crumbling architecture of nuclear arms control and the significant rollback in disarmament efforts. SPG members indicated their readiness to pursue better communication and networking among international non-governmental organizations working in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

Recognizing the urgent need to raise awareness about nuclear security and non-proliferation, in February 2024, the Strategic Planning Group issued an Open Letter to the Present Danger of Nuclear Weapons Use. 

Mission

The unique thing about GAL is that the concept of the Alliance, for the first time ever, combines nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation, and nuclear security. It is believed that this feature allows GAL to significantly expand opportunities to explore its own niche among various existing nuclear-related initiatives.

The GAL has set a goal of bringing world leaders across a variety of fields together in a coalition united around a shared mission - preventing the spread and use of nuclear weapon, strengthening nuclear security and pursuing an ultimate aim of building a safer world with nuclear-free future.

Guided by this broad framework, GAL has identified three focus areas:

• No First Use of Nuclear Weapons; 
• Negative Security Assurances and creation of new Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones (NWFZ) on a geographical basis such as Antarctic, the Moon, the Seabed and Outer Space as practical steps towards enhancing regional and international security; 
• Achieving global security without nuclear weapons through Common Security and Human Security.

The Alliance also focuses on enhancing compliance with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and puts substantive and resolute efforts to reach out to states not parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

GAL today 

Starting with around 60 endorsements for the Open Call by the members of the Consultative Council of the Astana Club to support the establishment of GAL four years back, currently the Alliance brings together 87 prominent political leaders and international experts from 45 countries who have expressed their readiness to contribute and strengthening dialogue on global security, nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

The official GAL website, featuring information on its history, mission, members, and activities, is available at www.alliance.global.