Nuclear Weapons are Illegal! |
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by Nancy Price
Nuclear weapons are the most inhumane and indiscriminate weapons ever created. The extreme destruction caused from blast, heat and thermal radiation is never limited to military targets or combatants. These weapons violate international law, cause severe environmental damage, undermine national and global security, and divert vast public resources away from meeting human needs.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) seeks to stigmatize, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons. This coalition of non-governmental organizations in one hundred countries promotes adherence to and implementation of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
The US has more than 4,000 nuclear warheads in its stockpile with 1,500 deployed on hair-trigger alert. The US and the other nuclear weaponized nations boycotted the TPNW negotiations and refused to sign. Despite that, the Treaty opened for signatures on September 20, 2017 and entered into force on January 22, 2022. The Nobel Committee awarded ICAN the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. View the inspiring Peace Prize award ceremony here.
On January 21 and 22, 2022, the first anniversary of the Treaty, hundreds of actions around the US and the world demonstrated the hopes of the global majority for a nuclear-free world. By February 2022, 86 countries had signed the treaty and 59 had officially ratified it. Time to say “No to Nuclear Weapons and No to War!”
NuclearBan.US is a partner of ICAN. Campaign materials to use with the US Congress, and with organizing at state, city and town levels to support ratifying and signing the TPNW are available at www.nuclearban.us. A Fact Sheet and Toolkit will be posted at the AfD website to use.
You may read The Pledge here — already 11 current members of the US Congress have signed. Please join in vigils, gatherings at your Farmer’s Market, local park, street corner or state capital with signs and banners. Putin's war with Ukraine highlights the danger of nuclear catastrophe.
Nuclear weapons are the most inhumane and indiscriminate weapons ever created. The extreme destruction caused from blast, heat and thermal radiation is never limited to military targets or combatants. These weapons violate international law, cause severe environmental damage, undermine national and global security, and divert vast public resources away from meeting human needs.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) seeks to stigmatize, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons. This coalition of non-governmental organizations in one hundred countries promotes adherence to and implementation of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
The US has more than 4,000 nuclear warheads in its stockpile with 1,500 deployed on hair-trigger alert. The US and the other nuclear weaponized nations boycotted the TPNW negotiations and refused to sign. Despite that, the Treaty opened for signatures on September 20, 2017 and entered into force on January 22, 2022. The Nobel Committee awarded ICAN the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. View the inspiring Peace Prize award ceremony here.
On January 21 and 22, 2022, the first anniversary of the Treaty, hundreds of actions around the US and the world demonstrated the hopes of the global majority for a nuclear-free world. By February 2022, 86 countries had signed the treaty and 59 had officially ratified it. Time to say “No to Nuclear Weapons and No to War!”
NuclearBan.US is a partner of ICAN. Campaign materials to use with the US Congress, and with organizing at state, city and town levels to support ratifying and signing the TPNW are available at www.nuclearban.us. A Fact Sheet and Toolkit will be posted at the AfD website to use.
You may read The Pledge here — already 11 current members of the US Congress have signed. Please join in vigils, gatherings at your Farmer’s Market, local park, street corner or state capital with signs and banners. Putin's war with Ukraine highlights the danger of nuclear catastrophe.
No to Imperialism! No to NATO!
A Peace Summit took place in Madrid, June 25-26, at the same time as the NATO Summit 2022. Because NATO countries are pouring weapons into Ukraine, this Peace Summit provided space for social movements to discuss together, “What makes people insecure?” How does a system of power structures based on inequality and class divisions, militarism, capitalism, and increased private sector collaboration with NATO countries on technological innovation make people insecure?” “What is common security for all that ensures the essential needs of all people are met?” “What are the features of peace-centered security to implement?” Consult peacesummitmadrid.org for details.
NATO leaves a trail of destruction everywhere and is a serious threat to peace. Europe, North American NATO countries and associated groups must disarm. The concept of the Zone of Peace – adopted by Latin America, Africa, South-East Asia, the South Pacific, and Central Asia – must be endorsed by the European Union, the US and Canada. In fact, NATO:
It’s time to build a non-military security system, without nuclear weapons and overseas bases that will drastically reduce military spending. It’s time to stand for an active peace policy where conflicts end in negotiations based on the UN Charter.
NATO leaves a trail of destruction everywhere and is a serious threat to peace. Europe, North American NATO countries and associated groups must disarm. The concept of the Zone of Peace – adopted by Latin America, Africa, South-East Asia, the South Pacific, and Central Asia – must be endorsed by the European Union, the US and Canada. In fact, NATO:
- Drives the global arms race and increases militarism.
- Endangers our survival with its nuclear agenda.
- Is one of the biggest climate polluters in the world.
- Generates increasing poverty and inequality.
- Commitments to annually increase military budgets and “modernization” of weapons such as killer drones, lethal autonomous weapons and military robots must be opposed.
It’s time to build a non-military security system, without nuclear weapons and overseas bases that will drastically reduce military spending. It’s time to stand for an active peace policy where conflicts end in negotiations based on the UN Charter.
Initiatives to End Gun Violence
by David Delk
Like most states, Oregon has experienced rising levels of gun violence and increasing voter demands for the legislature to address the problem. But when the recent Oregon legislative session ended, most of the desired reforms were left on the floor, unenacted.
When your lawmakers fail to act, what do you do? If you live in Oregon and you are like a group of faith leaders and other concerned voters, you start to organize your fellow citizens to enact the needed laws yourself. Members of the Lift Every Voice Oregon (LEVO) coalition wrote a ballot initiative and started collecting signatures of at least 112,000 valid Oregon voters to qualify for the November 2022 ballot. IP 17, the Reduction of Gun Violence Act, aims to create safer gun owners and less lethal ammunition. Oregonians are not defeated by the failure of their legislature to act; they are motivated to act on their own behalf.
More information on the initiative is available at www.lifteveryvoiceoregon.com, including initiative text. You can help: make a donation to the effort. And maybe start a similar effort in your state.
Like most states, Oregon has experienced rising levels of gun violence and increasing voter demands for the legislature to address the problem. But when the recent Oregon legislative session ended, most of the desired reforms were left on the floor, unenacted.
When your lawmakers fail to act, what do you do? If you live in Oregon and you are like a group of faith leaders and other concerned voters, you start to organize your fellow citizens to enact the needed laws yourself. Members of the Lift Every Voice Oregon (LEVO) coalition wrote a ballot initiative and started collecting signatures of at least 112,000 valid Oregon voters to qualify for the November 2022 ballot. IP 17, the Reduction of Gun Violence Act, aims to create safer gun owners and less lethal ammunition. Oregonians are not defeated by the failure of their legislature to act; they are motivated to act on their own behalf.
More information on the initiative is available at www.lifteveryvoiceoregon.com, including initiative text. You can help: make a donation to the effort. And maybe start a similar effort in your state.
