Nuclear Age Peace Foundation

Tag: NGO

  • Brussels Against Nukes

    On Thursday, 23 May 2002 three students from the Brussels School of International Relations (BSIS) organized a formal opening of an NGO they founded called Brussels against Nukes (BAN). Jonas Tryggvason chaired the event with addresses from Michelle Myers on the background of NAPF and Erol Hofmans on activism and NGO work. This is a chapter of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF), based in California, USA. The chapter will focus on nuclear weapons issues such as non-proliferation and academic research in the field of the politics of nuclear weapons. Local activists and students of BSIS and Brussels Free University (VUB) attended the opening.

    The keynote speaker of the evening was Mr. Meindert Stelling, president of Jurists for Peace and affiliated with the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA). He spoke about the illegality of nuclear arms with regard to international humanitarian law.

    The founding of BAN has come at an important time for the local community and the world where the use of nuclear weapons poses a greater threat than ever. BAN is looking to make its mark on the Brussels society by becoming an NGO that will educate and involve the community as well as take a stand on a very important issue, the abolition of nuclear weapons.

    In the courses at BSIS, the students have often discussed and debated the issues surrounding nuclear weapons. BAN and its supporters are convinced that the complete elimination of these weapons of mass destruction is the only way to assure the safety of future generations. This is an enormous task, but the establishment of Brussels Against Nukes is a first step in the right direction.

    Each month BAN will organize one event: in June, the focus will be on the U.S. planned withdrawal from the ABM treaty; in July, the statutes for BAN will be discussed and drafted in a workshop format; in August, BAN members will participate in Hiroshima and Nagasaki remembrances together with other anti-nuclear weapons groups in Brussels; and in September BAN will have its first annual meeting where board members will be elected.

    If you are interested in becoming a member, please email Brussels Against Nukes at BANnukes@hotmail.com and we will send you a membership form. You can also find out more about nuclear issues by visiting the main website of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation at www.wagingpeace.org.

  • 13 Million Signatures in Support of Abolition 2000 Presented to the United Nations

    Press Conference, United Nations. Statement by Vernon C. Nichols on the Presentation to the United Nations of 13 Million Signatures in support of the Abolition 2000 Campaign.

    Members of the Diplomatic Missions to the United Nations, members of the press and fellow Non-Governmental Organization representatives: I am Vernon C. Nichols and I represent the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation at the United Nations. Today, I am speaking in place of its President, Dr. David Krieger, who is also one of the leaders of Abolition 2000. I currently serve as President of the NGO Committee on Disarmament.

    It is an honor for me to participate in the presentation of the more than 13 million signatures in support of nuclear arms abolition to the UN and its announcement at this press conference. I commend Soka Gakkai International and its youth for the dedication shown by its members in this magnificent work. This is the kind of citizen activity which Abolition 2000 encouraged.

    Abolition 2000 is a global network of nearly 1100 citizen action groups in over 75 countries. It grew from an abolition caucus at the 1994 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review and Extension Conference and has become a major citizens’ voice in the global movement for nuclear weapons abolition. It calls on all governments, but especially the nuclear weapons states, to commit themselves to three things:

    First, end the nuclear threat by withdrawing all nuclear weapons from foreign soil and international waters, separating warheads from delivery vehicles, and commiting unconditional “no-first-use” of nuclear weapons.

    Second, sign an international treaty – a Nuclearn Weapons Convention – by the year 2000, agreeing to the phased elimination of all nuclear weapons within a fixed period of time.

    Third, reallocate resources from military purposes to assuring a sustainable global future.

    We believe that such a coalition can have a similar kind of success as that we have witnessed by the Coalition to Ban Landmines. The Soka Gakkai 13 million petition signatures show the strength of peoples’ hopes and prayers for peace, and the abolition of nuclear weapons as a vital component of that peace. Other important steps are the abolition appeals of the retired admirals and generals. Also the June 9th call for the elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide by the eight nations in the New Agenda Coalition, including this appeal, “The International Community must not enter the third millenium with the prospect that the maintenance of these weaposn will be considered legitimate for the indefinite future, when the present juncture provides a unique opportunity to eradicate and prohibit them for all time.”

    David Krieger, President of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, wrote an Open Letter to President Clinton in response to the nuclear testing by India and Pakistan. He concluded, “We must either move toward the total elimination of nuclear weapons, or we must expect further proliferation of these weapons to other states. In many respects the choice is yours. I hope that you will choose wisely – both for yourself and for humanity.” Thank you.