Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Category: Peace

  • The Tireless Struggle for Peace and Justice of Pope John Paul II

    “To remember Hiroshima is to abhor nuclear war. To remember Hiroshima is to commit oneself to peace.”

    – Pope John Paul II on his visit to Hiroshima at the Peace Memorial Park, Feb. 25, 1981

    Among the millions of people throughout the world mourning the death of Pope John Paul II, the inhabitants of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have a special affection for him. His visit in 1981 to the atomic-bombed cities helped make the world aware of the importance of the terrible experience suffered by those cities.

    On the eve of the death of the most traveled pontiff in history, the Mayor of Hiroshima, Tadatoshi Akiba issued a statement saying, “We have to make efforts to terminate nuclear weapons with a strong resolve by remembering the message of the pope.”*

    A remarkable man, John Paul II used his incredible ability in languages to communicate as very few world figures have ever done. His personal touch inspired millions of young people in most of the nations of the world, regardless of their religious beliefs or race. They were keen to his message promoting peace and good will for all. And many more followed him in his tireless support of freedom and his staunch opposition to totalitarianism.

    His position against war and pre-emptive strikes made him condemn the coalition attack on Iraq stating “War, like the one now in Iraq, threatens the fate of humanity.” John Paul II opposed to the U.S. plan to lead an invasion of Iraq in 2003, calling the policy “illegal and unjust.”

    In his first encyclical “Redemptor Hominis.” or “Redeemer of Man,” he warned that mankind was living in an era of growing fear and weapons of war that raised the specter of “unimaginable self-destruction.”

    In reference to human rights John Paul II said “rights of the human spirit cannot be violated,” and added: “These are the rights of freedom of the human spirit, freedom of human conscience, freedom of belief and freedom of religion.”

    He criticized both “liberal capitalism” and “Marxist collectivism” for distorting economic development. Hostile to Soviet communism, he was nonetheless wary of free-market capitalism, which absent ethics could lead to selfishness, materialism and hedonism.

    John Paul II was a giant standing for human integrity, for every human person from the very beginning of life to its end. And notwithstanding his painful illnesses, the long-suffering pontiff, John Paul II – Karol Wojtyla, gave us perhaps his most powerful teaching: how to die with courage and dignity.

    Ruben Arvizu is Director for Latin America of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.

    *The Japan Times, 04/04/05

  • Santa Barbara Nuclear Activist Leader Honored at Gala

    Six people whose efforts have made significant contributions to the world’s environment, including Santa Barbaran David Krieger of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, were honored by Global Green USA at a gala ceremony Friday in Beverly Hills.

    Global Green is the U.S. affiliate of Green Cross International, which aims to push the world toward more sustainable and safer use of its resources. The American group’s annual Millennium Awards recognize those who contribute professionally to that goal by addressing environmental and social problems.

    Besides Mr. Krieger, others honored were actors and environmental advocates Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick; Sally Lilienthal, founder and president of Ploughshares Fund; Fred Buenrostro, CEO of the California Public Employees’ Retirement System; and Rob Feckner, president of the CalPERS board.

    “We hope the awards inspire others to take similar paths and encourage our honorees to shine even brighter in their respective fields,” said Matt Petersen, president and CEO of Global Green USA.

    Mr. Krieger, who received the International Environmental Leadership Award, has been a leader in the effort to abolish nuclear weapons. Global Green noted that he helped found several international coalitions, including Abolition 2000; the Middle Powers Initiative; and the International Network of Engineers and Scientists for Global Responsibility, based in Germany.

    Mr. Krieger founded the Santa Barbara-based Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and has served as its president since 1982. A graduate of the Santa Barbara College of Law, Mr. Krieger also serves as a judge pro tem for the local Superior Court.

    The link between green concerns and abating the nuclear threat was embodied by the ceremony’s keynote speaker, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, who asked that world leaders adopt a treaty guaranteeing clean water and sanitation.

    “We were able to solve the nuclear arms race because of . . . political will,” he said before the awards banquet. “Today we don’t see that political will. But I think it will emerge that leaders will have to address this problem.”

    Dwindling water supplies and political resistance have hampered efforts to bring fresh water to slum dwellers around the world, Mr. Gorbachev said Friday in an interview with The Associated Press.

    Mr. Gorbachev, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who led the Soviet Union for six years until its 1991 collapse, founded Green Cross International in 1993.

    Originally published by the Santa Barbara News Press

  • 2005: A Year of Significant Anniversaries

    2005 is a year of important anniversaries of the Nuclear Age. It marks the 60th anniversary of the first test of an atomic weapon, an event that occurred at Alamogordo, New Mexico on July 16, 1945. Just weeks later, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were each destroyed with a single atomic bomb, announcing to the world the onset of the Nuclear Age. Hibakusha — the survivors of these bombings, who have worked throughout their lives for the abolition of nuclear weapons — will gather with others from throughout the world on August 6th and 9th to renew their fervent plea of “Never again!” on the 60th anniversary of these bombings.

    This year commemorates the 50 th anniversary of the death of the great scientist Albert Einstein, whose theories changed our understanding of the universe and the relationship of energy to matter. At the urging of his friend Leo Szilard, Einstein sent a letter to President Roosevelt in 1939 urging the United States to explore the possibility of an atomic weapon in order to be prepared to deter such weapons in the hands of Nazi Germany. Einstein later referred to his letter to Roosevelt as the greatest mistake of his life. Both Einstein and Szilard were active until their deaths in trying to abolish these most terrible weapons that they felt responsible for bringing into the world.

    July 9, 2005 marks the 50th anniversary of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, the last public document to which Einstein gave his support. The document sounded a grave warning to humanity. “No doubt,” it stated, “in an H-bomb war great cities would be obliterated. But this is one of the minor disasters that would have to be faced.” Einstein, along with Bertrand Russell and the nine other prominent scientists who joined them in signing the Manifesto, warned that nuclear war could put an end to humanity. Their solution was to abolish war, a solution they understood to be both incredibly difficult and absolutely necessary. The Manifesto stated: “Here, then, is the problem which we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war?” Fifty years later, we remain confronted by this overriding problem.

    The 35th anniversary of the entry into force of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) will also be observed in 2005. It is the world’s only treaty that requires the nuclear weapons states to make good faith efforts to achieve complete nuclear disarmament. Five years ago, at the 2000 NPT Review Conference, the parties to the treaty, now numbering 188 countries, agreed by consensus to 13 Practical Steps for Nuclear Disarmament. This was viewed throughout the world as a means to fulfill the treaty obligations of the nuclear weapons states to achieve nuclear disarmament. Among the most important of the 13 points is one requiring “[a]n unequivocal undertaking by the nuclear-weapon States to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals….”

    Commitments made in 2000, however, have been thrown into severe doubt by the failure of the nuclear weapons states, and particularly the United States, to fulfill their obligations. US backtracking on the 13 Practical Steps for Nuclear Disarmament is casting a long shadow on the prospects for success at the 2005 NPT Review Conference that will be held in May at United Nations headquarters.

    Humankind cannot indefinitely postpone making a choice. One choice is to do nothing. Another choice is to heed the warnings of Einstein and Russell and seek to fulfill the aspirations of the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for a world without nuclear weapons. The latter course will require creative and persistent public education and advocacy, particularly in the nuclear weapons states. This is the daily work of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, as you will see in this report. I encourage you to visit our www.wagingpeace.org website regularly and to become an active participant in our Turn the Tide Campaign as well as our many other activities for a more secure and nuclear weapons-free future.

    David Krieger is president of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (www.wagingpeace.org).

  • New Year Message from Nobel Peace Laureate, Professor Sir Joseph Rotblat

    In November 2004 the world’s NOBEL PEACE LAUREATES came together to issue a Statement. It began:

    “Two decades ago, the world was swept with a wave of hope. Inspired by the popular movements for peace, freedom, democracy and solidarity, the nations of the world worked together to end the Cold War. Yet the opportunities opened up by that historic change are slipping away. We are gravely concerned with the resurgent nuclear and conventional arms race, disrespect for international law and the failure of the world’s governments to address adequately the challenges of poverty and environmental degradation.”

    Today in the aftermath of the terrible devastation following the Indian Ocean tsunami we see that yet again, in times of desperate need, the world’s nations can act together.

    I believe that the challenges that face the world today, of security, poverty and environmental crisis, as well as the new threat of terrorism, can only be met successfully through a united world working through the United Nations.

    One of the greatest challenges that will face the world in the next decade is the proliferation of nuclear weapons. At the United Nations in New York next May we can act together again to work towards the systematic elimination of these terrible weapons of mass destruction by undertaking to implement fully the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and create a nuclear-weapon-free world for future generations.

    In recognition of the importance of this event the Nobel Peace Laureates gave an undertaking:

    “As an immediate specific task, we commit to work for preserving and strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. We reject double standards and emphasize the legal responsibility of nuclear weapons states to work to eliminate nuclear weapons. We are gravely alarmed by the creation of new, usable nuclear weapons and call for rejection of doctrines that view nuclear weapons as legitimate means of war-fighting and threat pre-emption.”

    It is my belief, and that of the Nobel Peace Laureates, that the nations of the world must work together again and with a strong civil society. This is the way toward a globalization with a human face and a new international order that rejects brute force, respects ethnic, cultural and political diversity and affirms justice, compassion and human solidarity.

  • Our Responsibility to Wage Peace

    Our Responsibility to Wage Peace

    While peace has always been a desired yet seemingly utopian goal, in the Nuclear Age it has become an imperative. Peace, along with environmental protection, upholding human rights and the alleviation of poverty, stands as one of the foremost imperatives of the 21 st century.

    The creation and use of nuclear weapons was a watershed moment in human history. We obtained weapons which, for the first time, had the capacity to destroy the human species and most other life on the planet. With this power came new responsibility, the responsibility of people everywhere to wage peace. One of the most insightful men of the 20 th century, Albert Camus, noted this almost immediately after the bombing of Hiroshima . “Before the terrifying prospects now available to humanity,” Camus wrote, “we see even more clearly that peace is the only battle worth waging.”

    During the Cold War, powerful nations relied heavily on nuclear deterrence for security. This was a strategy fraught with danger since nuclear deterrence always had grave problems. The success of deterrence was dependent upon avoiding miscommunications, miscalculations, accidents and human irrationality in times of crisis – a nearly impossible task. Deterrence always demanded greater perfection of humans and our systems than we are capable of assuring, particularly in situations where there is zero tolerance for error.

    If nuclear deterrence had problems during the Cold War standoff, its problems dramatically increased in the post-Cold War period. Deterrence simply has no value when applied to non-state extremist groups. It is impossible to deter those who cannot be located or who do not care about the consequences of their acts. The most powerful nuclear arsenals in the world cannot provide an ounce of security against a terrorist group armed with a single nuclear weapon. A truth that has been difficult for the leaders of nuclear weapons states to grasp is that nuclear weapons have far greater utility in the hands of the weak than in those of the strong.

    If the most powerful weapons in the world cannot provide security to the most powerful countries in the world, what are we to do? We must chart a new course toward the creation of a peaceful and nuclear weapons-free world. Because of its history and its economic and military power, the United States must be a leader on the path to peace if we are to achieve peace.

    Waging Peace requires a new way of viewing the world. There is no longer room for policies of US exceptionalism. All nations must adhere to international law, and no nation can stand above the law, including the US . If peace is an imperative of the Nuclear Age, the way to peace is through the strengthening and enforcement of international law, applied equally and fairly to all.

    The United Nations Charter was created to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war” by leaders who had lived through the two devastating world wars of the 20 th century. The Charter prohibits war except in self-defense or upon authorization of the UN Security Council. It is neither lawful nor wise to engage in preventive war, attacking another nation on the assumption that nation may be considering an attack on you. Such actions by powerful nations not only lead to the tragedy and misery of war, but set a precedent that could result in international chaos.

    The United States takes pride in its long-standing ethic of abiding by the law and of upholding the principle that no man stands above the law. The law of the land, according to Article VI, Section 2 of the US Constitution, includes treaties duly signed and ratified by the United States , including therefore the United Nations Charter. We share an obligation to uphold the UN Charter and to help maintain its provisions limiting the use of force.

    Governments do not always do the right thing, nor what is lawful. It is the responsibility of citizens to hold their governments in check and to hold their leaders accountable when they violate the law. The great lesson of Nuremberg after World War II was that no leader, no matter how high his position, stands above international law, and if leaders violate that law, they shall be brought to account. Today, the Principles of Nuremberg have been brought into the Nuclear Age by the creation of an International Criminal Court. Although some 100 countries, including nearly all US allies, are parties to the treaty establishing the Court, the United States withdrew its signature from the treaty and has actively opposed the Court. This represents a great failure of US leadership in the world.

    To make the United States a leading force in the global effort to achieve peace in the 21 st century will require a great effort by US citizens. It will require us to step forward and demand of our government an end to international lawlessness and the active promotion of peace and human rights throughout the world. Peace cannot stand without justice, and justice cannot stand without an active citizenry promoting it. There must be one standard for all, and that standard must be justice for all, as called for by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

    Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the gatekeepers to the future. The world we bequeath to our children and grandchildren will depend upon our success in building a more peaceful and decent world. Some 50 years ago, Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein issued an appeal in which they concluded, “Remember your humanity and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise ; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death.”

    Let us remember our humanity, choose hope and peace, and accept our own share of responsibility for waging peace now and throughout our lives. Each of us by our daily acts of peace and our commitment to building a better world can inspire others and help create a groundswell for peace too powerful to be turned aside.

    David Krieger is a founder of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (www.wagingpeace.org) and has served as its president since 1982. He is a leader in the global movement for a world free of nuclear weapons and is the author of many books and articles on peace in the Nuclear Age.

  • World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates

    A United World or a Divided World? Multiethnicity, Human Rights, Terrorism

    Statement of the 5th Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates

    Two decades ago, the world was swept with a wave of hope. Inspired by the popular movements for peace, freedom, democracy and solidarity, the nations of the world worked together to end the cold war. Yet the opportunities opened up by that historic change are slipping away. We are gravely concerned with the resurgent nuclear and conventional arms race, disrespect for international law and the failure of the world’s governments to address adequately the challenges of poverty and environmental degradation. A cult of violence is spreading globally; the opportunity to build a culture of peace, advocated by the United Nations, Pope John Paul II, the Dalai Lama and other spiritual leaders, is receding.

    Alongside the challenges inherited from the past there are new ones, which, if not properly addressed, could cause a clash of civilizations, religions and cultures. We reject the idea of the inevitability of such a conflict. We are convinced that combating terrorism in all its forms is a task that should be pursued with determination. Only by reaffirming our shared ethical values — respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms — and by observing democratic principles, within and amongst countries, can terrorism be defeated. We must address the root causes of terrorism — poverty, ignorance and injustice — rather than responding to violence with violence.

    Unacceptable violence is occurring daily against women and children. Children remain our most important neglected treasure. Their protection, security and health should be the highest priority. Children everywhere deserve to be educated in and for peace. There is no excuse for neglecting their safety and welfare and, particularly, for their suffering in war.

    The war in Iraq has created a hotbed of dangerous instability and a breeding ground for terrorism. Credible reports of the disappearance of nuclear materials cannot be ignored. While we mourn the deaths of tens of thousands of people, none of the goals proclaimed by the coalition have been achieved.

    The challenges of security, poverty and environmental crisis can only be met successfully through multilateral efforts based on the rule of law. All nations must strictly fulfil their treaty obligations and reaffirm the indispensable role of the United Nations and the primary responsibility of the UN Security Council for maintaining peace.

    We support a speedy, peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue, including a verifiable end to North Korea ‘s nuclear weapons program, security guarantees and lifting of sanctions on North Korea . Both the six-party talks and bilateral efforts by the United States and North Korea should contribute to such an outcome.

    We welcome recent progress in the talks between Iran and Great Britain , France and Germany on the Iranian nuclear program issue and hope that the United States will join in the process to find a solution within the framework of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

    We call for the reduction of military expenditures and for conclusion of a treaty that would control arms trade and prohibit sales of arms where they could be used to violate international human rights standards and humanitarian law.

    As Nobel Laureates, we believe that the world community needs urgently to address the challenges of poverty and sustainable development. Responding to these challenges requires the political will that has been so sadly lacking.

    The undertakings pledged by states at the UN Millennium Summit, the promises of increased development assistance, fair trade, market access and debt relief for developing countries, have not been implemented. Poverty continues to be the world’s most widespread and dangerous scourge. Millions of people become victims of hunger and disease, and entire nations suffer from feelings of frustration

    and despair. This creates fertile ground for extremism and terrorism. The stability and future of the entire human community are thus jeopardized.

    Scientists are warning us that failure to solve the problems of water, energy and climate change will lead to a breakdown of order, more military conflicts and ultimately the destruction of the living systems upon which civilization depends. Therefore, we reaffirm our support for the Kyoto Protocol and the Earth Charter and endorse the rights-based approach to water, as reflected in the initiative of Green Cross International calling upon governments to negotiate a framework treaty on water.

    As Nobel Peace Prize Laureates we believe that to benefit from humankind’s new, unprecedented opportunities and to counter the dangers confronting us there is a need for better global governance. Therefore, we support strengthening and reforming the United Nations and its institutions.

    As immediate specific tasks, we commit to work for:

    – Genuine efforts to resolve the Middle East crisis. This is both a key to the problem of terrorism and a chance to avoid a dangerous clash of civilizations. A solution is possible if the right of all nations in the region to secure, viable statehood is respected and if the Middle East is integrated in all global processes while respecting the unique culture of the peoples of that region.

    – Preserving and strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. We reject double standards and emphasize the legal responsibility of nuclear weapons states to work to eliminate nuclear weapons. We call for continuation of the moratorium on nuclear testing pending entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and for accelerating the process of verifiable and irreversible nuclear arms reduction. We are gravely alarmed by the creation of new, usable nuclear weapons and call for rejection of doctrines that view nuclear weapons as legitimate means of war-fighting and threat pre-emption.

    – Effectively realizing the initiative of the UN Secretary General to convene a high-level conference in 2005 to give an impetus to the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. We pledge to work to create an atmosphere of public accountability to help accomplish these vitally important tasks.

    We believe that to solve the problems that challenge the world today politicians need to interact with an empowered civil society and strong mass movements. This is the way toward a globalization with a human face and a new international order that rejects brute force, respects ethnic, cultural and political diversity and affirms justice, compassion and human solidarity.

    We, the Nobel Peace Laureates and Laureate organizations, pledge to work for the realization of these goals and are calling on governments and people everywhere to join us.

    Mikhail Gorbachev, Kim Dae-Jung, Lech Walesa, Joseph Rotblat, Jose Ramos-Horta, Betty Williams, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Carlos Filipe Ximenes Belo, Adolfo Perez Esquivel, and Rigoaberta Menchu Tum; and, United Nations Children’s Fund, Pugwash Conferences, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, International Peace Bureau, Institut de Droit International, American Friends Service Committee, Médicins sans Frontières, Amnesty International, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, International Labour Organization, International Campaign to Ban Land Mines, United Nations.

  • Letter from The Rt Revd Riah H Abu El-Assal in Jerusalem on the arrest of Mordechai Vanunu from St George’s Cathedral Close

    The Episcopal Church in Jerusalem & The Middle East The Diocese of Jerusalem

    The Rt Revd Riah H Abu El-Assal

    11 November 2004

    To: a.. The Most Revd Rowan Williams Archbishop of Canterbury b.. The Most Revd Frank Tracy Griswold Presiding Bishop of ECUSA c.. The Most Revd Andrew Hutchinson Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada d.. The Most Revd Peter Carnley Primate of the Anglican Church of Australia e.. The Australian Board of Mission f.. The Revd Canon John L. Peterson Secretary General of the Anglican Consultative Council g.. The Revd Samuel Kobia General Secretary of the World Council of Churches h.. Mr Jeries Saleh Middle East Council of Churches i.. The Heads of Churches in Jerusalem

    It is with tremendous grief and sadness that I inform you that the Israeli special police force entered St George’s Cathedral Close today without permission and took Mordechai Vanunu into custody. Approximately thirty officers, many with guns, entered the cathedral gardens and interrupted breakfast in the Pilgrim Guest House. It was a traumatic event that terrorized many of our tourists, pilgrims, and staff. In the 100 years of the cathedral’s history, such an event has never taken place.

    Immediately I related how they have come into a sacred place, and that their guns were not welcome. The officers with guns withdrew to outside of the Cathedral Close; however, it came to my attention later, that at least one of the officers still carried a concealed weapon. This was after I had been reassured that all weapons had been removed from the church grounds. It is inconceivable why such force is mandated for procedures like today’s.

    Mordechai was calm during the search, questioning the need for the interrogation, and they searched his room in his and my presence. They took his papers, laptop, and other possessions into custody. I called his lawyer, and he will meet Mordechai in Petah Tiqva.

    This type of entry into a sacred space must not be tolerated by the churches throughout the world, and it must not be accepted by those who respect the rights and dignity of every person. We ask the government of Israel to stop such actions as these, and we call for the respect of sacred places in the Land of the Holy One. It is with extreme sadness and disappointment that I must write this letter, and please continue to pray for us in these difficult times.

    Peace of God to all of you,

    The Rt Revd Riah Abu El-Assal Bishop in Jerusalem

    cc:

    His Excellency, President Moshe Katsav Prime Minister Ariel Sharon

  • Perestrojka for International Policy, Too?

    In Northern Ireland, we sometimes tell the following joke. A man was traveling in his car and lost his way. He asked a farmer, the way to the town. The farmer replied, “If I was you I wouldn’t start from here.”

    I believe, we the human family, like the traveler, have lost our way. We are on the wrong road. Our government’s international policies, particularly those of the United States of America , are taking us down a dangerous road. Most of us wish that we did not have to start from here, but we have to face the facts of where we currently stand.

    Policies, such as: ongoing wars, pre-emptive strike, unilateralism, increased militarism and nuclearism, invasions, occupations, imperialism, erosion of civil and political liberties, ignoring the United Nations and humanitarian and international laws, government sanctions of murder (Pentagon’s SAP – special-access program), state sanctioned systematic torture (Abu Ghraib prison, etc.), unethical corporate globalization, and run-away capitalism

    Not only will such policies take us around a cul-de-sac of counter-violence, but they may also take us well over the cliff of total destruction.

    We need urgently to move onto a new road. We can choose to do this individually, by seeking truth and living our lives with as much integrity as possible. But in order to bring about the enormous changes necessary, we have to demand our Governments change those current national and foreign policies, which are destroying the lives of millions of our brothers and sisters on the planet, and damaging the earth itself. We have to challenge our governments to abolish these policies and take a different road to where we want to go, as a united human family.

    I suspect when Mr. Gorbachev initiated Perestrojka, it was because he recognized that the Soviet Union and the world were on the wrong road. His courage in initiating reforms, and his vision, not only brought about great changes such as the ending of the Cold War, but in that period of history, he gave hope to humanity. Millions

    of us were high on Hope. We were aflame with unlimited possibilities. We too shared his vision of stopping the nuclear and arms race. We believed that everyone could share in the Peace Dividend. We too wanted stop the madness of such huge military spending, and spend it instead on tackling the real enemies of the human family, poverty, diseases, etc.,

    Alas, it is for historians to record why so many Governments and people, never took the different road. But we don’t need historians to tell us what we now in our hearts – the World missed a ‘golden opportunity’ to demilitarize, denuclearise, and unite together as the human family to tackle the enormous problems, which no one nation can solve alone.

    Well, maybe we are slow learners. However I believe this generation is now being graced with another opportunity to make, yet again, new and better choices. But will we.?

    Yes, I am convinced we will. One great hope lies in the fact that there is a new consciousness in our World, particularly among young people. We recognize we are inter-connected as the human family, and Global Citizenship is upon us. In this increasingly multi-cultural, multi-faith, pluralist world citizenship, we are challenged to build Unity in our diversity.

    However, with this new consciousness, comes too the realization that the old structures, institutions, and ways of doing things no longer work, nor do they meet the needs of our struggling into birth a united world. The Organization, which represents us all, the United Nations, is I believe much in need of re-financing, renewal and reform, but we do not have, to date, world institutions that are truly democratic, and which would constitute genuine World Government.

    These, we are challenged to build, both across the international level, but also downwards, and on a local level. We have to do both. Politics begin where people live, in villages, communities, etc., so empowering people at a local level is most important. Economic, political and social restructing starts at a local level but is necessary also on an international level. We can all play our part, as village and world citizens, in building what Martin Luther King called, “the beloved community.”

    Change, can only be built by each one of us, and joining together as a United People of the World. By rejecting violence and war, and adopting a local and international ethic of nonviolence, we can start to reshape our own lives, our communities, our countries, and our world. It must be done person-to-person, group-to-group, building nonviolent and truly democratic societies from the ground up. There is no alternative, but slow hardwork, which each of us must do.

    There will be no quick fixes. We are on a long journey, but at least if we change onto a new road now, and insist our governments do likewise, we can travel together united as the human family, celebrating the gift of life, the gift of each other, and the joy of simply being alive. For the journey we gain inner strength by following our own spiritual paths, but also from the example of others whose courage and self-sacrifice uphold and uplift us.

    Speech by Mairead Corrigan Maguire At 5th World Summit at Nobel Peace Laureates in Rome 10-12 November, 2004

  • Presentation of 2004 Peace Award

    Presentation of 2004 Peace Award

    Tonight we honor an extraordinary journalist, a familiar face and voice for us all, a man of uncompromising integrity.

    Our theme tonight is broadcasting peace, and there are few broadcasters who have held peace so dear as our honoree.

    When Lyndon Johnson realized that he had lost the support of our honoree for the Vietnam War, he knew that he had lost the support of the country. He knew that Walter Cronkite would tell the American people the truth about the war – and that truth would end their support for the war.

    When journalists serve power rather than truth, there can be a fast descent into the frightening world of George Orwell’s 1984. It takes dedicated journalists to assure that war is not equated with peace; that ignorance is not equated with strength; and that freedom is not equated with slavery.

    The principal function of a journalist is to bring the truth to the people so that power will not be abused. That requires hard work and integrity, and it is what has characterized Walter Cronkite throughout his distinguished career. Mr. Cronkite has served democracy well, and set a high standard for younger journalists to follow.

    In his career spanning over 65 years in journalism, he has earned the respect of the American people and of people throughout the world. He has been named the “most influential person” in broadcasting and selected in a nationwide viewer survey as the “Most Trusted Man in Television News.”

    He was born in 1916 and began his career in high school as a campus correspondent for the Houston Post. He covered World War II as a United Press correspondent.

    In 1942, he landed with the Allied troops in North Africa, covering the battle of the North Atlantic . He was also with Allied troops making their beachhead assaults at Normandy in 1944.

    After the war he covered the Nuremberg trials, which held the top Nazi leaders to account for crimes against peace, war crimes and crimes against humanity. I believe that he learned very important lessons about peace from both the war and the trials that followed it.

    From 1946 to 1948 he was the chief correspondent for United Press in Moscow.

    In 1950 he joined CBS News, and was their anchor for political convention and election coverage from 1952 to 1980.

    In 1962 he began his duties with CBS Evening News, where he anchored the nightly news program until 1981. During that period he covered key historical events of the time – the wars, the assassinations, the elections and the ascent of man into space.

    Since his retirement from CBS News he has made many award-winning documentaries, including the Emmy-winning Children of Apartheid.

    He has received numerous prestigious awards for his contributions to broadcast journalism. He has been inducted into the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame. And in 1981, he was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the nation’s highest civilian award.

    In 1999, upon receiving the Norman Cousins Global Governance Award of the World Federalist Association, Mr. Cronkite stated, “Those of us living today can influence the future of civilization. We can influence whether our planet will drift into chaos and violence, or whether through a monumental educational and political effort we will achieve a world of peace under a system of law where individual violators of that law are brought to justice.”

    On the subject of war and peace, he stated: “While we spend much of our time and a great deal of our treasure in preparing for war, we see no comparable effort to establish a lasting peace. Meanwhile.those advocates who work for world peace by urging a system of world government are called impractical dreamers. Those impractical dreamers are entitled to ask their critics what is so practical about war.”

    Walter Cronkite is a man who has seen war at close hand, reported on it over the course of seven decades, and who comes down unequivocally on the side of peace. For his honesty, integrity and courage as a journalist and for his commitment to building a more peaceful world, I am proud to present the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s 2004 Distinguished Peace Leadership Award to Walter Cronkite.

  • Meeting the Russell-Einstein Challenge to Humanity

    Meeting the Russell-Einstein Challenge to Humanity

    “Hope is not prognostication. It is an orientation of the spirit, an orientation of the heart.”

    Vaclav Havel

    On July 9, 1955, the Russell-Einstein Manifesto was issued in London. Its concern was with the new, powerful H-bombs, which the signers of the Manifesto believed placed the human race in jeopardy of annihilation. “Here, then, is the problem,” the Manifesto stated, “which we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable: Shall we put an end to the human race; or shall mankind renounce war? People will not face this alternative because it is so difficult to abolish war.”

    Nuclear Age Peace Foundation President David Krieger speaking to Soka Gakai in Hiroshima, Japan.

    Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein were two of the leading intellectual figures of the 20th century. Russell was a philosopher, mathematician and Nobel Laureate in Literature. Einstein was a theoretical physicist, considered the greatest scientist of his time, and a Nobel Laureate in Physics. Both men were tireless advocates for peace throughout their lives.

    Russell was primarily responsible for drafting the Manifesto, but it contained ideas that Einstein often discussed. Einstein signed the document just days before his death. It was his last major act for peace.

    In addition to Russell and Einstein, the Manifesto was signed by nine other scientists: Max Born, Perry W. Bridgman, Leopold Infeld, Frederic Joliot-Curie, Herman J. Muller, Linus Pauling, Cecil F. Powell, Joseph Rotblat and Hideki Yukawa. All of these men either already had received or would receive the Nobel Prize. Linus Pauling, the great American chemist, would receive two Nobel Prizes, one for Chemistry and one for Peace.

    Sir Joseph Rotblat is the only signer of the Manifesto still living, and he is now 96 years old. He is an extraordinary man, who has been a tireless advocate of the Manifesto throughout his long life. He was the only scientist in the Manhattan Project to leave his position when he realized that the Germans would not succeed in developing an atomic weapon. He was the founder of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, and served as president of that organization until in recent years his advanced age caused him to step back. In 1995, Professor Rotblat and the Pugwash Conferences jointly received the Nobel Peace Prize. When Professor Rotblat turned 90, he announced that he had two remaining goals in life: first, the short-term goal of abolishing nuclear weapons; and, second, the long-term goal of abolishing war.

    The Russell-Einstein Manifesto makes the following points:

    1. Scientists have special responsibilities to awaken the public to the technological threats, particularly nuclear threats, confronting humanity.
    2. Those scientists with the greatest knowledge of the situation appear to be the most concerned.
    3. Nuclear weapons endanger our largest cities and threaten the future of humanity.
    4. In the circumstance of prevailing nuclear threat, humankind must put aside its differences and confront this overriding problem.
    5. The prohibition of modern weapons is not a sufficient solution to the threat; war as an institution must be abolished.
    6. Nonetheless, as a first step the nuclear weapons states should renounce these weapons.
    7. The choice before humanity is to find peaceful means of settling conflicts or to face “universal death.”

    In the end, the signers of the Manifesto believed, that humanity had a choice: “There lies before us, if we choose, continual progress in happiness, knowledge, and wisdom. Shall we, instead, choose death, because we cannot forget our quarrels? We appeal as human beings to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest. If you can do so, the way lies open to a new Paradise; if you cannot, there lies before you the risk of universal death.”

    Nuclear Age Peace Foundation President David Krieger speaking to Soka Gakai in Hiroshima, Japan.

    It has now been nearly 50 years since this Manifesto was made public. On the 40th anniversary of issuing the Manifesto in 1995, Joseph Rotblat concluded his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech by echoing the call: “Remember your humanity, and forget the rest.”

    In 2005, when the Russell-Einstein Manifesto has its 50th anniversary, we will be 60 years into the Nuclear Age and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) will commemorate the 35th anniversary of its entry into force. In April 2005, the 189 parties to the NPT will meet at the United Nations in New York for their 7th Review Conference. The meeting promises to be contentious and disappointing.

    In 1995, the parties to the NPT agreed to extend the NPT indefinitely. At the time, the nuclear weapons states had reaffirmed their obligation in Article VI of the Treaty to pursue good faith efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament. Five years later, at the year 2000 NPT Review Conference, the parties to the Treaty agreed to 13 Practical Steps for Nuclear Disarmament. These included early entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, a verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile materials, application of the principle of irreversibility to nuclear disarmament, and an “unequivocal undertaking by the nuclear-weapon States to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals..”

    The nuclear weapons states have made virtually no progress on the 13 Practical Steps and little seems likely. The United States has been the worst offender. It has failed to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, opposed creating a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty that is verifiable, treated nuclear disarmament as completely reversible and, in general, shown no good faith toward its obligations under the Treaty.

    Rather than fulfilling its own obligations, the US has pointed the finger at some potential nuclear proliferators. It initiated an illegal war against Iraq, alleging it possessed or was developing weapons of mass destruction programs, including nuclear programs, which turned out not to exist. It has stated that Iran will not be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons, implicitly threatening to attack Iran as well. After North Korea withdrew from the NPT, the US entered into six party talks with North Korea , but has been only half-hearted in its attempts to meet their concerns by offering security guarantees and development assistance.

    At the same time, the US has never expressed concern that Israel ‘s nuclear weapons pose a threat to Middle Eastern or global stability. When India and Pakistan tested nuclear devices in 1998 the US initially expressed concern. But after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the US tightened its relations with both of these countries and lifted its sanctions on military materials. Even after the discovery that Pakistani nuclear scientist A.Q. Khan was conducting a global nuclear arms bazaar, the US has maintained its close ties to Pakistan , despite the fact that Pakistani President Musharaf moved quickly to grant Khan a pardon. The US has yet to question Khan with regard to the extent of his nuclear proliferation.

    Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, recently reiterated that forty countries have the potential to become nuclear weapons states. Increased nuclear proliferation could be the ultimate result of the failure of the nuclear weapons states to fulfill their obligations for nuclear disarmament. One of these proliferating countries could be Japan , which remains a virtual nuclear weapons power with the technology and nuclear materials to become a nuclear weapons state in a matter of days.

    As we approach this important anniversary year of 2005, there is a failure of governmental leadership toward nuclear disarmament and little cause for hope. The United States , under the Bush administration, has turned the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 into an ongoing war, first in Afghanistan and then Iraq . Neither of these wars is going well. The Bush administration speaks of creating democracy in these two countries, but in fact both countries are now presided over by US-selected former CIA assets.

    If Mr. Bush should be elected to a second term, the American people will have ratified his policies of preventive war, deployment of missile defenses, creation of new nuclear weapons, the undermining of international law and the ravaging of the global environment for the benefit of US global hegemony and corporate profit. This would be a tragedy for the United States and for the rest of the world. This decision will be made on November 2, 2004 in the most important election in our lifetimes. Until this decision is made, we cannot predict the prospects for success at the 2005 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. We can project, though, that if Bush is elected, the prospects for the success of the Treaty conference and the future of the NPT will be exceedingly dim.

    The vision of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, and of the two great men who put their names on it, stands in stark contrast to the vision of the leaders of today’s nuclear weapons states and, particularly, the present leadership in the United States . The Russell-Einstein Manifesto calls upon us to remember our humanity, ban nuclear weapons and cease war. Mr. Bush, in contrast, seems incapable of embracing a broader humanity, has shown no leadership toward banning nuclear weapons and has demonstrated his willingness to engage in preventive war on false pretenses.

    The Russell-Einstein Manifesto calls upon humanity to choose dramatically different futures. Since humanity is made up of all of us, we all must choose. And the choice of each of us matters. This great city of Hiroshima , a city that has experienced so much devastation and rebirth, led by its hibakusha , has chosen the path of a nuclear weapons-free future. I am always inspired by the spirit of Hiroshima and its courageous hibakusha , and I stand in solidarity with you on this path.

    One truly hopeful action at this time is the Mayors for Peace Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons. This campaign, led by the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, calls for the initiation of negotiations in 2005 and the completion of negotiations in 2010 for the elimination of all nuclear weapons in the world by the year 2020. This is a great and necessary challenge, one which deserves our collective support. Just a few days ago, on behalf of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, I presented our 2004 World Citizenship Award to the Mayors for Peace for their critical effort on behalf of humanity.

    Our cause is right and it is noble. It seeks, in the spirit of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, to preserve humanity’s future. It calls upon us to raise our voices, to stand our ground, and to never give up. The year 2005 is a critical year, but it is not the only year. Our efforts must be sustained over a long period of time, perhaps longer than our lifetimes. This means we must inspire new generations to act for humanity.

    There will be times when we may be tired and discouraged, but we are not allowed to cease our efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons. No matter what obstacles we face in the form of political intransigence or public apathy, we are not allowed to give up hope. This is the price of being fully human in the Nuclear Age. The future demands of us that we keep our hearts strong, our voices firm, and our hope alive.

    David Krieger is a founder and the president of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (www.wagingpeace.org). He is a leader in the global movement to abolish nuclear weapons.