nuclear weapons

An NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security Discussion: Spending to Increase Nuclear Danger

Join the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security as we discuss how in the midst of an economic and public health crisis, the US is set to spend hundreds of billions on new nuclear weapons which could never be used, add nothing to national security, and actually increase the risk of nuclear war. Funding for these extremely dangerous weapons systems will come up soon in Congress. The NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security presents three leaders to clarify the key issues and discuss possible plans of action.

Register here!

Speakers:

Bruce Knotts has directed the Unitarian Universalist Office at the United Nations since 2008. Before that, he served as a diplomat with the U.S. Department of State with notable service during the Nairobi Embassy bombing 1998, Embassy Khartoum, Sudan, Regional Refugee Coordinator for West Africa and Deputy Chief of Mission in The Gambia. His final tour was in the Bureau of International Organization at the Department of State.

Dr. John Burroughs is Senior Analyst for the New York City-based Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy. He has represented LCNP in Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty meetings and negotiations on the Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons. His articles and op-eds have appeared in publications including Fordham International Law Journal, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Arms Control Today, Newsweek, and Newsday.

Jackie Cabasso has been Executive Director of the Western States Legal Foundation, based in Oakland, California, since 1984. In 1995 she was a “founding mother” of the Abolition 2000 Global Network to Eliminate Nuclear Weapons, and she continues to serve on its Coordinating Committee. Since 2007 she has served as an Executive Advisor to Mayors for Peace. In the U.S., she is a National Co-convener of United for Peace and Justice. Jackie was the 2008 recipient of the International Peace Bureau’s Sean MacBride Peace Award.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Financing for Development, please visit ngosonffd.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Peace (Vienna), email its Chair,  Helga Kerschbaum at helga.kerschbaum@aon.at

Peace Agenda 2045: Abolish Nuclear Weapons and War

We cordially invite you to attend Peace Agenda 2045: Abolish War and Nuclear Weapons, a plenary session of the PyeongChang Peace Forum 2021.

Experts from around the world will discuss concrete approaches and effective campaigns to abolish war and eliminate nuclear weapons, key objectives of the United Nations, with the aim of achieving these no later than 2045, the 100th anniversary of the UN. Click here to register for the session.

Speakers:

  • Hon Ms Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador), President of the 73rd UN General Assembly. Member of the World Future Council. Former Ecuador Foreign Minister and Defence Minister.
  • Hon Gareth Evans (Australia). Chair, Asia Pacific Leadership Network on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament. Former Foreign Minister.
  • Hon Mr Saber Chowdhury MP (Bangladesh), Honorary President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. PNND Co-President
  • Hon Ms Jaejung Lee MP, (Korea). PNND Member.
  • Mr Roberto Zamora (Costa Rica), Board Member of International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms.
  • Ms Leah Bolger (USA). President of World Beyond War. Former Naval Commander and former President of Veterans for Peace.
  • Ms Vanda Proskova (Czech Republic), Vice-Chair of PagueVision Institute for Sustainable Security. Co-convenor of Youth Fusion.

Background and Objectives
Armed conflict and nuclear weapons violate peoples’ Right to Life, consume trillions of dollars every year, impact significantly on the climate and impede sustainable development. The United Nations was established in 1945 with the primary goal to ‘save succeeding generations from the scourge of war’. The UN Charter prohibits the threat or use of force in international relations and provides a range of mechanisms for resolving conflicts and achieving security without recourse to war. In addition, the very first resolution of the UN General Assembly, adopted by consensus, establishes the goal of the elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. This session will explore how these objectives of the UN can be achieved, at least by 2045 the 100th anniversary of the UN.

Event flyer:
Click here for the event flyer

Session organizers
Basel Peace Office, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, Pax Christi Korea, World Beyond War, World Future Council and Youth Fusion

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com. 

[Rescheduled] Review Conference of the Parties to the NPT

In light of the situation related to the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, States Parties have decided to postpone the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to a later date but no later than February 2022.

2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was originally slated to be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from 27 April to 22 May 2020. Please adjust your calendars accordingly, as civil society’s voice cannot be excluded from this critical session.

Stay apprised & register to participate here: un.org/en/conferences/npt2020

About:

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is a landmark international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote co-operation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament. The NPT represents the only binding commitment in a multilateral treaty to the goal of disarmament by the nuclear-weapon States.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development-NY, please visit ngosocdev.org. For more information on the NGO Committee on Social Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org.

Nuclear Weapons and International Law in the Contemporary Era

You are invited to: A Virtual Conference on Nuclear Weapons and International Law in the Contemporary Era

12 November 2020, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST

Seeking to address the huge gap in public awareness of nuclear weapons risk and applicable international law, the New York State Bar Association International Section is holding an all-day virtual conference that will bring together leading public officials, thought-leaders, policymakers, and experts for a comprehensive look at this often ignored subject.

According to Professor Charles J. Moxley, Jr., an LCNP director and a conference organizer, “International law may well hold the world’s best prospect for addressing and getting ahead of the existential risks posted by nuclear weapons.”

Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy (LCNP) is one of the co-sponsors of the conference and is well-represented in the program.

Register (no charge) and see the agenda here.

Among the speakers:

  • Professor Moxley, Kathleen Lawand of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Professor David Koplow of Georgetown Law
  • Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, will deliver a keynote address, followed by a panel on the role of the United Nations featuring her, LCNP Senior Analyst John Burroughs, Allison Pytlak of Reaching Critical Will/WILPF, and LCNP Executive Director Ariana Smith (moderator)
  • Jerry Brown, former Governor of California and Executive Chairman, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, will engage in a dialogue on responding to the greatest threats to humanity with Jonathan Granoff, President of Global Security Institute and an LCNP director
  • A panel on advancing the rule of law and morality in relation to nuclear weapons includes Jacqueline Cabasso, Executive Director of Western States Legal Foundation, LCNP advisor Laurie Ashton, an attorney who served on the legal team for the Marshall Islands in its nuclear disarmament cases in the International Court of Justice, and Tom Collina, Director of Policy, Ploughshares Fund, and co-author with William Perry of The Button

Additional panels will address nuclear weapons risks, consequences and responses, and the treaty regime on nuclear weapons.

Conference co-sponsors in addition to LCNP are Fordham Law School, Center on National Security; Georgetown University, Berkley Center for Religion, Ethics and World Affairs; American Bar Association, International Law Section; New York City Bar Association, Committees on International Law, Military and Veteran Affairs, Nuclear Policy and the United Nations, and Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice; New York County Lawyers Association, Committee on Foreign & International Law; Global Security Institute.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Sustainable Development-Vienna, please visit ngocsdvienna.org.

Target 2045: A New Rallying Call for Nuclear Weapons Elimination

Target 2045: A new rallying call for nuclear weapons elimination

Co-sponsors: In-Depth News, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, UNFOLD ZERO and #wethepeoples2020

A number of calls have been made recently, by non-nuclear governments and civil society organisations, to the nuclear armed and allied countries to commit to achieving the global elimination of nuclear weapons at least by 2045, the 100th anniversary of the United Nations (if not sooner). These include recent statements to the UN High Level Meeting on the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, and global appeals launched by #wethepeoples2020 and World Beyond War.

This target of 2045 appears far into the future for those of us who believe that nuclear disarmament can and should be achieved much earlier. However, setting a goal of 2045 could provide a global rallying call to build a stronger movement, and would avoid being dismissed as unrealistically early by those who rely on nuclear deterrence. (See 2045: A New Rallying Call for Nuclear Abolition, In-Depth News, Oct 22, 2020)

This webinar will explore the political value of setting 2045 as the target date by which the global elimination of nuclear weapons should be achieved, if not before.

Register here!

Speakers:

H.E. Mr Magzhan Ilyassov, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Kazakhstan to the United Nations

Mr. Saber Chowdhury, MP, Honorary President, Inter-Parliamentary Union, Co-President, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament

Mr. Ramesh Jaura, Editor-in-Chief & Director-General, IDN-InDepth News, flagship agency of the non-profit International Press Syndicate group

Ms. Vanda Proskova, Vice-Chair, PragueVision Institute for Sustainable Security, Co-chair, Abolition 2000 Youth Network

Chair: Mr. Alyn Ware, Member, World Future Council, Global Coordinator, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace, and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com. For more information on the NGO Committee on Human Rights, please email the co-chairs at bknotts@uua.org or bobbinassar@gmail.com. 

Nuclear Weapon Free World: Global civil society commemoration of the UN Day for Nuclear Abolition

September 26, 2020, will be the 7th International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

Join people around the world in celebrating the vision of a nuclear weapons free world, raising awareness and calling on their leaders to advance nuclear disarmament.

Organised by #WeThePeoples2020, an initiative of over 100 participating organizations, to promote and engage in the 75th anniversary of the United Nations and key UN days and events.

The Nuclear Weapon Free World event takes place in two parts:
Part 1: Timed to suit people in Asia and the Pacific
Part 2: Timed to suit people in the Americas, Europe and Africa

Registration:

  • Click here to register for Part 1: Asia/Pacific event
  • Click here to register for Part 2: Americas/Europe/Africa event

Each part will have three sessions:

Session 1: 10-12 presentations on nuclear disarmament issues
Session 2: Practical workshops on key approaches to nuclear disarmament, including using the arts, how to move the nuclear weapons budgets/investments to better things, how to engage and empower women and youth, how to engage your legislators (mayors, parliamentarians)…
Session 3: A panel discussion followed by Q&A on how to achieve nuclear disarmament, how to move the nuclear-armed states to relinquish nuclear deterrence, the role of non-nuclear states, how to build on the connections between nuclear disarmament and other key UN issues.

PROGRAM:

Moderators:

  • Part 1: Vanda Proskova (Czech Republic), Deputy Chair of the PragueVision Institute for Sustainable Security, PNND Program Director for Women, Peace and Security;
  • Part 2: Kehkashan Basu (UAE/Canada), Youth Ambassador for the World Future Council, former United Nations Environment Programme Global Coordinator for Children & Youth, and winner of the 2016 International Children’s Peace Prize.

Opening comments:

  • Part 1: Yuriy Kryvonos (United Nations), Director of the UN Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific;
  • Part 2: Izumi Nakamitsu (United Nations), UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs.

Presentations, messages and panels with:

Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador), President of the 73rd UN General Assembly (2018-2019), former Ecuador Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Defence and a poet; Mani Shankar Aiyar (India), Chair of the Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan Group for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free and Nonviolent World Order and former member of the Indian Parliament; Yasmeen Silva (USA), Partnerships Manager for Beyond the Bomb; Solomon Yeo (Solomon Islands), Co-founder of World Youth for Climate Justice; Prof Azza Karam (Netherlands), Secretary-General of Religions for Peace; Gareth Evans (Australia), Chair of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network or Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament and Co-convenor of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament; Dr Hedy Fry MP (Canada), Special Representative on Gender Issues for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE); Rev Emma Jordan-Simpson (USA), Executive Director of Fellowship of Reconciliation USA; Karipbek Kuyukov (Kazakhstan), Artist, second generation victim of nuclear tests and Honorary Ambassador of the ATOM Project; Jeremy Corbyn (UK), Vice-President of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and former Leader of the UK Labour Party; Kathleen Burkinshaw (USA), Daughter of a Hiroshima nuclear bomb survivor and Author of The Last Cherry Blossom;  Mikyung LEE (Republic of Korea), President of the Korea International Cooperation Agency; John Hallam (Australia), People for Nuclear Disarmament and the Human Survival Project; Jackie Cabasso (USA), Director of Western States Legal Foundation and North America Coordinator for Mayors for Peace, Fabian Hamilton MP (UK), Shadow Minister for Peace and Disarmament; Douglas Roche (Canada), Former Senator, Member of Parliament and Canadian Disarmament Ambassador; Marzhan Nurzhan (Kazakhstan), Convenor of the Abolition 2000 Youth Network, PNND Coordinator for CIS (former Soviet) Countries; Bill Kidd (Scotland), Convener of the Cross-Party Group in the Scottish Parliament on Nuclear Disarmament; Ela Gandhi (South Africa), Founder of the Gandhi Development Trust; Kelly Slater (USA), 11 times world surfing champion; Cynthia Lazaroff (USA), Founder, NuclearWakeUpCall.Earth, Antony Owen (UK), Poet and Patron of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, Sooyoung Hwang (South Korea), Disarmament Program Manager, Peoples Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, General Bernard Norlain (France), Vice-President, Initiatives pour le Désarmement Nucléaire. Former Air Defense Commander and Air Combat Commander of the French Air Force; and more to come.

Event outline and program: Click here for the event flyer and program outline with session times. Click here for the full program. Click here for guidance on taking specific action.

For further information contact vanda@pnnd.org or  info@unfoldzero.org.

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CoNGO Notes: For more information on the NGO Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security, please visit ngocdps.wordpress.com.

 

High-Level Plenary Meeting to Commemorate & Promote the International Day Against Nuclear Tests

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