Dear Friends,
The aspiration to achieve a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons was
expressed in the first resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1946, embodied in the legal obligation to negotiate nuclear disarmament in the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, and reiterated in the unanimous ruling of the International Court of Justice as a legal obligation of all nations to “pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear
disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control.”
In commemoration of this day, we are pleased to share an important film – The Bomb: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow -- an article by GSI Advisory Board Member Sen. Douglas Roche, O.C., as well as an invitation to participate in a robust, substantive webinar by some of the most distinguished individuals and world leaders working in the field of nuclear disarmament, presented by GSI project Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament.
Warmly,
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Jonathan Granoff
President, Global Security Institute
Senior Advisor and Special Representative to the UN for the Permanent Secretariat of the World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates
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The Bomb: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
Featuring former President of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, and former Secretary of State for the United States, George Schultz
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"...a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought."
– Taken from the joint U.S.-Soviet statement on the 1985 Geneva Summit
The existential threat of nuclear annihilation remains over our heads today.
"The Bomb: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow" is a one hour film sponsored by the four most significant and largest interfaith/intercultural organizations in the world: United Religions Initiative, Parliament of the World's Religions, Religions for Peace, Charter of Compassion. Sponsored by Voice for a Nuclear Free World. GSI is pleased that its Advisory Board member Mikhail Gorbachev and two members of its project the Nonpartisan Security Group, Ambassadors Thomas Graham and James Goodby, are in this inspiring movie.
Originally produced in commemoration of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the film includes a sobering reminder of what the Bomb actually does, progress that has been achieved in arms control and disarmament, and a serious assessment of where we are today, and substantive policy proposals to help move forward to “the Promised Land.”
We believe this video can contribute to ensuring that Nagasaki remains forever the last use of a nuclear bomb.
Presenters in the film include:
Azza Karam, Secretary General Religions for Peace;
Audrey Kitagawa Chair Parliament of the World’s Religions;
Victor Kazanjian Executive Director United Religions Initiative;
Marilyn Turkovich, Executive Director Charter for Compassion;
Jonathan. Granoff, President Global Security Institute;
Bishop William E. Swing Founder and President United Religions Initiative;
Ambassador Thomas Graham; Chair Nonpartisan Security Group
Swamini Adityananda Saraswati; , Ambassador Mussie Haillu;
Kehkashan Basu Founder-President Green Hope Foundation;
Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director Nobel Peace Laureate International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN); Senator Sam Nunn, Leona Morgan, Coordinator with the Eastern Navajo Diné Against Uranium Mining; Lassina Zerbo, Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization;
Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel Peace Laureate and former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency and Nobel Laureate;
Secretary George Shultz,
President Mikhail Gorbachev,
Mayor of Hiroshima, Matsui Kazumi,
Mayor of Nagasaki, Taue Tomihisa and others.
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Senator Douglas Roche: Canada can’t hide behind NATO in refusal to sign treaty on nuclear weapons prohibition
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Fifty-six former prime ministers, presidents, foreign ministers and defense ministers from 20 NATO countries, plus Japan and South Korea, signed an open letter, released on Sept. 21, expressing support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The treaty needs only six more ratifications to take effect.
Two former NATO secretaries-general, Javier Solana and Willy Claes, as well as former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, were signatories. Also included were two former Canadian prime ministers, three former Canadian foreign ministers, and two former Canadian defence ministers
But NATO, following the lead of the U.S., the U.K., and France, has vigorously rejected the treaty because they claim it “risks undermining” the Non-Proliferation Treaty and supposedly creates divisions in the international community.
Distinguished Canadian Senator, former Chairman of the United Nations Disarmament Committee and former Chairman of GSI's Middle Powers Initiative Douglas Roche argues that "It would be harder to find a more pungent example of nuclear hypocrisy." First, the treaty explicitly recognizes the NPT as the “cornerstone” of nuclear disarmament efforts. Second, it is the refusal by the nuclear weapons states to negotiate the elimination of nuclear weapons, as ordered by the NPT, that led to the development of the Prohibition Treaty.
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Nuclear Weapon Free World:
Global online event for the UN Day for Nuclear Abolition
September 26, 2020
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#WeThePeoples2020, an initiative of PNND and more than 100 participating organizations and networks, is hosting a global online event for legislators and civil society running over 10 hours to commemorate the day. This web available event will feature many of the world’s leading experts and advocates in the field of nuclear disarmament with musical interludes from some of the world’s best musicians. It includes workshops on advocacy as well analysis and insightful inspiring presentations by experts,
Who is participating:
The event is moderated by Kehkashan Basu (UAE/Canada), Winner of the 2016 International Children’s Peace Prize, and Vanda Proskova (Czech Republic), PNND Program Director for Women, Peace and Security.
It will be opened by Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs. Presentations from distinguished experts will include:
- Saber Chowdhury MP (Bangladesh), Honorary President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union;
- Jeremy Corbyn (UK), Parliamentarian, Former Leader of the Labor Party;
- Professor Azza Karam (Netherlands), Secretary General, Religions for Peace
- Jonathan Granoff (USA), President, Global Security Institute
- Lee Mi-kyung (South Korea), former five-term lawmaker, presently President, Korea International Cooperation Agency
- Dr Hedy Fry MP (Canada), Distinguished Canadian Parliamentarian, Special Representative on Gender Issues for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe;
- Gareth Evans (Australia), Former Minister for Foreign Affairs;
- Maria Fernanda Espinosa (Ecuador), Former Minister of Foreign Affairs. President of the UN General Assembly from 2018-2019;
- Douglas Roche (Canada), Former Senator, Member of Parliament and Canadian Disarmament Ambassador
- General Bernard Norlain (France), Former Air Defense Commander and Air Combat Commander of the French Air Force;
- Ela Gandhi (India), Former parliamentarian. Grand-daughter of Mahatma Gandhi.
- Roger Waters (UK), Singer-Songwriter from Pink Floyd;
- Kelly Slater (USA), 11 times world surfing champion;
- Kathleen Burkinshaw (USA), Daughter of a Hiroshima nuclear bomb survivor and author of The Last Cherry Blossom
- and more
The event is part of #wethepeoples2020, a series of events and actions highlighting the 75th anniversary of the UN and key UN issues.
Sessions and Registration
The Nuclear Weapon Free World event on September 26 takes place in two parts:
Part 1: Timed to suit people in Asia and the Pacific. Click here to register.
Part 2: Timed to suit people in the Americas, Europe and Africa. Click here to register.
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