For the first time, the world’s five nuclear superpowers have publicly declared their desire to eliminate their nuclear arsenals. There is no timeline, nor even rough guidelines; only the sentiment of France, Britain, China, Russia and the United States that they will destroy their nuclear bombs, spoken during recent United Nations negotiations on the Iraqi embargo.

In that sense, one might be excused for skepticism; too often, what is said and what is done are not the same. And certainly, each nation that has committed to the idea of beating their nuclear swords into plowshares has, within the last few years, engaged in activities that strengthen, or at least preserve, their nuclear arsenals.

But there is more to nuclear nonproliferation than preventing new nations from possessing atom bombs or discouraging those proven or suspected of having nuclear weapons from testing or deploying them. With each of the five nuclear superpowers possessing enough warheads, and the means to deliver them, to annihilate the world, nuclear nonproliferation also means removing the threat of atomic holocaust that has haunted mankind for a half-century.

Now that the sentiment is clear and spoken, the five nuclear powers must begin to form plans to rid themselves of nuclear stockpiles. This will take many months. But the entire world is limited in its goals of long-term peace and economic cooperation as long as any nation possesses the ability to end humanity inside an hour. Rewards must be in place to encourage disarmament. Discouragement cannot be confined to the past practices of arms races; it must seek to find consensus and move reticent nations toward compliance.

Finding the keys that will move the world to a nuclear-free reality will not be easy. But if sincerity was behind the five nations’ declaration of their intent to disarm, those keys can be found.