Historic Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty
Historic Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty Adopted: U.S. a No Show!
By a vote of 122 (including Iran and Iraq) to 1 (Netherlands) countries at the United Nations voted on July 7, 2017 in support of a Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. History was made, but the U.S. and 8 other nuclear-armed states chose to stand on the wrong side of it. They boycotted the vote. The 8 are Russia, China, Israel, India, Pakistan, N. Korea, France, United Kingdom.
“The adoption of the nuclear weapons ban treaty marks an historic turning point in the centuries-old battle to eliminate all weapons of mass destruction,” said Jeff Carter, executive director of Physicians for Social Responsibility.
“Right now,” Carter added, “the U.S. government defies its existing disarmament obligations under the Nonproliferation Treaty by planning to fund an extensive buildup of its nuclear arsenal. The ban treaty is the start of a new worldwide movement that gives the United States an opportunity to break from its self-destructive nuclear weapons policy.”
The treaty is based in humanitarian law and prohibits the development, testing, production, possession, or stockpiling of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, the transfer of such weapons, and also bans not only their use but the threat of their use. It also calls for states to undertake environmental remediation for areas contaminated by nuclear weapons use or testing, and for states to provide assistance to victims “including medical care, rehabilitation, and psychological support, as well as provide for their social and economic inclusion.”
“In the twenty-first century, we can no longer pretend that these doomsday devices are instruments of security. The active conscience of the American health community calls on the United States to sign the nuclear weapons ban treaty to ensure that we safeguard our world for the next generation. It’s past time that we part from this untenable path. Prohibiting and eliminating these weapons of mass destruction is the only responsible course of action for U.S. nuclear weapons policy,” Carter continued. (See the full article below.)
It’s time for the U.S. and the world to work for justice, peace and saving the planet.
BAN THE BOMB!
- Mourn all victims of violence. 2. Reject war as a solution. 3. Defend civil liberties.
4. Oppose all discrimination, anti-Islamic, anti-Semitic, anti-Hawaiian, etc.
5. Seek peace through peaceful means and work for justice in Hawai`i and around the world.
Contact: Malu ‘Aina Center for Non-violent Education & Action
P.O. Box 489 Kurtistown, Hawai’i 96760 Phone (808) 966-7622. Email: ja@malu-aina.org
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Hilo Peace Vigil leaflet July 21, 2017– 826th week – Friday 3:30-5PM downtown Post Office
