nuclear-news

2,000 organisations meet in Geneva for nuclear weapons abolition

 Wright urged civil society groups to challenge nuclear weapons on the basis of international humanitarian law, to divest from companies involved in the production of nuclear armaments, and to challenge the nuclear-weapon states directly because they have legal obligations to pursue nuclear disarmament, but are modernizing their arsenals instead……

after years of little progress, support for abolishing nuclear weapons is growing. 

Imagining a world without nuclear weapons, Ekklesia By Jonathan Frerichs, 3 Oct 2011 Ask anyone if they can imagine a world without nuclear weapons, and as polls indicate, most will say they can. This is true even in countries that possess nuclear weapons according to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons or ICAN, a new civil society initiative dedicated to the hope of a nuclear free world.

However, governments that possess nuclear weapons send a different signal. Their policies and expenditures say that “well…perhaps someday…but certainly not in our lifetimes”.

Still a coalition of some 2,000 organizations that want to abolish nuclear weapons met in Geneva on 16 September 2011. The programme included a panel of civil society representatives hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) to examine prospects for nuclear disarmament.

It is clear that after years of little progress, support for abolishing nuclear weapons is growing. At the United Nations, 133 countries are now in favour of a Nuclear Weapon Convention, reported Alyn Ware, a New Zealander who mobilizes parliamentarians in various countries.

“Success with other arms treaties and the absurdity of keeping nuclear arsenals in a world more inter-connected and inter-dependent than ever, help to account for the trend”, Ware said. A convention banning nuclear weapons is the main goal of ICAN.

International humanitarian law to challenge nuclear weapons

Increasing attention is being given to the illegality of nuclear weapons. “We have the International Criminal Court,” Tim Wright of ICAN Australia told the audience at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva. “We need to remind our leaders that if they were to use a nuclear weapon, they would find themselves there.”

Wright urged civil society groups to challenge nuclear weapons on the basis of international humanitarian law, to divest from companies involved in the production of nuclear armaments, and to challenge the nuclear-weapon states directly because they have legal obligations to pursue nuclear disarmament, but are modernizing their arsenals instead………

October 4, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | general