'A call to conscience': Scientists unite against militarization of science amid global conflicts

“Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds,” J Robert Oppenheimer quoted the Bhagwat Gita upon witnessing the first atomic bomb test. Eighty years later, the world still stands at a crossroad, where science has become a weapon not for progress but as tools for mass destruction.

“This is a call to conscience—and to action,” International Union of Scientists (IUS) urged fellow scientists, educators, students, and citizens worldwide to stand united and not allow “the power of science to be turned against humanity again and again”. “Instead, we must wield it boldly to create a just, peaceful, and sustainable future for all of us,” the open statement read.

Here’s the complete statement issued by the International Union of Scientists (IUS) against militarism and the destructive use of science and technology.

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Scientists against war

We, scientists from across the world, issue this urgent statement in the face of escalating threats to humanity.

Deep and far-reaching crises have swept across the globe. This has caused deepening inequality, devastating livelihoods, and led to sharp divisions in society. Around the world, we are witnessing a disturbing surge in racial hostility, ethnic violence, apartheid practices, and religious fundamentalism—often deliberately stoked and manipulated by those in power for profit and political gain. Anti-immigrant sentiment and the ascendancy of far-right ideologies are destabilizing democracies in Europe, the United States, India, and other countries of the world.

Simultaneously, we observe a growing tendency to militarize economies. This shift strengthens profit-driven military-industrial complexes and fuels a global cycle of conflict, war, and arms proliferation. This is especially dangerous in an era when imperialist powers seek to maintain their dominance and control over the natural and human resources of the weaker economies. These escalating tensions are now manifesting in violent conflicts across the globe, including:

• Systematic and brutal Israeli state aggression in Gaza and the occupied Palestinian territories amounts to genocide.
• Israel’s unprovoked war on Iran and the US's subsequent military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities threaten to ignite a regional or global war.
• The escalating war between Russia and NATO-backed Ukraine is devastating the lives of the common people in both countries and threatening world peace.
• Intensifying hostility between nuclear-armed countries India and Pakistan is pushing the Indian subcontinent towards a dangerous military standoff.
• In eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, rich in valuable minerals, decades of war involving neighboring countries, especially Rwanda, Uganda, and their proxy armies, have recently escalated, killing so far over 6 million people and leaving hundreds of thousands of women and girls victims of sexual violence.

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Modern warfare powered by scientific tools

Modern warfare is increasingly powered by the very tools born of scientific and technological progress and symbols of human ingenuity. Autonomous weapons, drones, AI-guided systems, long-range missiles, and nuclear arsenals have become instruments of modern warfare, causing mass destruction. This threatens the lives of millions in the short term and our planetary ecosystems in the long term. Never before has humanity held such vast potential for self-annihilation.

As science workers, we cannot remain silent. Science is not morally neutral; it exists within and is inseparable from the social and political realities of its time. To claim detachment is to ignore the consequences of our work. Today, we face a clear moral and ethical choice: science can serve the interests of war, power, and profit—or it can serve humanity, peace, and justice. We choose the latter. We must resist the militarization of academia and scientific research and advocate for the ethical conduct of scientific work. We therefore call on science workers around the world to unite in raising a powerful collective voice and taking concrete action against war-mongering to:

• Oppose the use of science and technology for purposes of military aggression and destruction.
• Reorient scientific and technological research toward peace, equity, and the service of humanity.
• Speak out against war, militarism, and the destructive and unethical uses of scientific knowledge.
• Mobilize and unite science workers in standing up for life, justice, the well-being of our planet, and for a world free of wars of aggression.

This is a call to conscience—and to action. We urge scientists, educators, students, and citizens worldwide to stand with us to accomplish this goal. We cannot allow the power of science to be turned against humanity again and again. Instead, we must wield it boldly to create a just, peaceful, and sustainable future for all of us.