18 December 2008

Dear ICAN supporters,

The year ends with a many hopeful signs - a new International Commission for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament; a US President who says a world without nuclear weapons is profoundly in the interests of the whole world, acknowledging the responsibility to move towards this goal; and an Australian Parliament who is rigorously considering Australia's nuclear Treaties.

Please make a submission to the Australian Government's nuclear treaties review -act now.

ICAN ACT - things to do today!

Make a submission to the nuclear treaties review.  The Australian Government has announced it will review all treaties regarding nuclear weapons and has invited public submissions.  Please draft a submission (even if brief) before January 30.  Make a submission.

ICAN give! You can now make a tax deductible donation to ICAN - through the MAPW Peace Fund. Please consider making a contribution our work. Contact info@icanw.org for payment options.

Write to Obama - affirm your vision of a world without nuclear weapons.  Prior to his election as President, Barak Obama made strong statements calling for a nuclear weapon free world.  Read more.  However he has been silent on this issue since his election, and (see story below) has retained a nuclear weapons advocate as Secretary for Defence.

Write to Obama asking him to restate his vision for a world without nuclear weapons.

Send a Rox-Stop e-card to Peter Garrett.  BHP Billiton are planning to expand Olympic Dam uranium mine to be the world's largest, and the largest ever open cut mine. There can be no guarantees this uranium won't end up in nuclear weapons. E-mail the environment minister Peter Garrett (peter.garrett.mp@aph.gov.au) and ask him to reject the planned expansion. Send e-card.

ICAN NEWS

ICAN's Assoc Prof Tilman Ruff appointed NGO advisor to Gareth Evans as Co-chair of the International Commission for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament.  Tilman was invited as Chair of ICAN Australia. This affirms the influence and respect that ICAN has gained, and is the first step in involving NGO voices in the Commission's work. Two further international NGO advisors are expected to be announced soon.   

OXFAM Australia and Soka Gokkai join ICAN.  Thanks to Oxfam Australia who have joined as an ICAN partner - bringing our Australian total to 47! Thanks also to Soka Gokkai international, who have joined on behalf of their 12 million members. Read the full list of our international partners.

WE CAN!  Students act on nuclear weapons Students at a recent Youth Action Conference learned how WE CAN make a difference - painting ICAN banners and writing to world leaders. The conference was organised by the Foundation for Young Australians, a key ICAN partner. Read more.

ICAN in India.  Assoc Prof Tilman Ruff recently toured India with the support of ICAN India, visiting the Jadugoda uranium mine and attracting significant press coverage of nuclear weapons and problems with uranium mining. Read more.

NUKES NEWS

Australia to review all nuclear treaties.  The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties will review all Australian nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation treaties, a process which invites public submissions. This is a fantastic opportunity for Australians to make submissions to the Government on a range of nuclear issues - submissions are due January 30. Read more. Make a submission.

UN Secretary General supports Nuclear Weapons Convention.  In a recent public speech the UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon outlined five key steps to nuclear disarmament. The first urges action towards a Nuclear Weapons Convention. Read more. 

Nuclear Commission meets in Sydney.  The recently formed International Commission on Non-Proliferation and Disarmament met in Sydney in October, with the next meeting planned for Washington.  Following the meeting, the Commission's Chair, Gareth Evans, said, "The scale of the havoc and the devastation that can be wreaked by one major nuclear weapon alone puts 9/11 and almost everything else into the category of insignificance".

Nuclear weapons risk will grow: US National Intelligence Council.  The Council's "2025 report" looks at long term global trends and states "The risk of nuclear weapon use over the next 20 years, although remaining very low, is likely to be greater than it is today as a result of several converging trends. The spread of nuclear technologies and expertise is generating concerns about the potential emergence of new nuclear weapon states and the acquisition of nuclear materials by terrorist groups." Read report. Read news story.

Lost nuke 'left in Greenland '. The US abandoned a nuclear weapon under ice in northern Greenland in 1968. Read more.

Obama told to scale back defence projects.  A senior Pentagon advisory group has advised the President Elect that current defence spending is unsustainable and must be cut back. Read more.

Uranium found on suspect Syrian site.  The Syrian facility bombed by Israeli planes last year bore multiple hallmarks of a nuclear reactor and the ruined site was contaminated with uranium, UN nuclear inspectors have confirmed. Read more.

US Secretary of Defence signals need for new US nuclear weapons.  Robert Gates, Secretary of Defence under Bush and being retained by Obama, has argued in support for new US nuclear weapons programs.  Read more. 

French nuclear compensation not good enough. French nuclear veterans have strongly criticised a proposed new law covering compensation for survivors of French nuclear testing in Algeria and French Polynesia. The law would, for the first time, cover former nuclear workers and military personnel and recognise their health was affected by French nuclear tests - but survivors say exposure thresholds.