Ald. Hadden Defends Nuclear Disarmament at UN Panel

Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) attended a U.N. panel in New York City March 3-7, working for the Back from the Brink nongovernmental organization. The Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons aimed to assess international cooperation and assistance, according to a Feb. 20 U.N. Office of Disarmament Affairs press release.

Third state parties are non-governmental organizations and parties which work outside of government to, in this case, advance legislation on nuclear disarmament, according to Hadden.

Hadden worked with Back from the Brink and the Union of Concerned Scientists to promote the role of cities in nuclear disarmament. They passed a resolution in 2022 calling on Congress and former President Joe Biden to sign the U.N. Treaty for Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

Back from the Brink is an organization which aims to advance the prohibition of nuclear weapons by enacting bold policy changes, according to their organizing approach.

“There’s a lot of work in our nuclear power nations to get somebody to be the first to say, ‘I will get rid of my nukes,’” Hadden said. “Can we reduce the production of nuclear weapons? Can we make a plan to decrease production that we both agree to in some way?”

Among other western countries, the U.S. han’t supported the TNW since it was signed by 98 other countries and came into effect January 2021, according to The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Senior lecturer in the Department of Political Science Brian Endless teaches International Relations in the Age of Globalization and completed his dissertation on international legitimacy and the U.N. security council. He said the 1968 treaty stipulated the U.S., France, U.K., U.S.S.R. and China were the only states allowed nuclear weapons.

“What the other states got out of that was, ‘If I know my neighbor isn’t going to build a nuke, then I don’t have to build one,” Endless said.

The U.N.’s primary responsibility is gauging compliance of countries toward treaties, according to Endless.

Ben Braun is a first-year political science and global studies double major enrolled in Endless’s international relations class. He said he believes it’s important for local residents to have their voices heard on an international scale, lest politicians make consequential decisions without their input.

“Chicago holds a massive voter base and a lot of people in general who have their own opinions that can sway politicians because that’s how we’re set up,” Braun said. “Internationally, the decisions those politicians make can have far-reaching consequences.”

Hadden said in order to hold a panel, a U.N. member nation must host and act as a sponsor of the invited third party states. The early March U.N. panel was hosted by Austria and included the Mayors of Rochester, N.Y. and Hanover, Germany and a representative from Mayors for Peace. 

“We’re sharing local perspectives about being from countries that haven’t signed [TNW] and are still storing and producing nuclear arms,” Hadden said. “Which we think is very scary. It’s not going anywhere good.”

Though the panel hosted local representatives from cities in countries which haven’t signed the treaty, Hadden said NGOs and other third state parties are interested in the prohibition of nuclear warfare partly due to the welfare of their cities.

“We think cities should have a voice,” Hadden said. “Because, in the case of a nuclear war, it’s most likely us who will suffer.”

Hadden emphasized her mounting concern for nuclear arms prohibition due to recent developments like airstrikes in Gaza, the Ukraine-Russia conflict and U.S. involvement in trade wars. Israel launched an airstrike into Gaza March 18 killing more than 400 Palestinians in a breach of the ceasefire adopted in January, The Associated Press reported. 

“If we cross that line into nuclear conflict, we may not have a path backwards,” Hadden said.

Threats of the federal government not paying for housing, Medicaid and Social Security have left Hadden wondering about the financial burdens the city of Chicago could face with continued development of nuclear arms. 

A March 18 federal ruling decided Trump’s dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development likely violates the Constitution, following the termination of thousands of foreign assistance grants and awards, The AP reported.

Hadden said her concern with the Trump administration’s withholding of federal funds transcends into concern for Chicago residents. In 2021, Chicagoans’ share of tax dollars for nuclear weapons to the federal government totaled out to roughly $550 million. In 2024, the total was $842 million, according to Hadden.

“Why don’t we have more of a say over where our dollars are going?” Hadden said. “Where would you prefer it go?”