Lessons from the ICRC’s Millennials on War Survey for Communication and Advocacy on Nuclear Weapons

Public Communication on Nuclear Deterrence and Disarmament: The Challenge for Australia

“…Based on the views of 16,000 young adults aged from 20 to 35 in 16 countries, including Australia, the ICRC's 'Millennials on War' survey found that millennials are overwhelmingly opposed to the use of nuclear weapons, with more than eight out of 10 respondents believing that it is 'never acceptable'. 6 The ICRC's recent findings are significant for those trying to manage public communication on nuclear deterrence and disarmament. The approach of Australia's Liberal-National Coalition (in government since 2013) has been to criticise the TPNW on the basis that it 'has not engaged any state that possesses nuclear weapons', 'will not eliminate a single nuclear weapon … ignores the realities of the global security environment … has weaker safeguards provisions than the existing NPT framework' and is 'inconsistent with [Australia's] US alliance obligations'.…”