This year celebrities, religious leaders, politicians and states people have joined the call to abolish nuclear weapons.

Watch our 90 second video summarising what they said in 2007.

WIN A TRIP TO GENEVA! Students for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World are organising a conference in Geneva in mid 2008. They are organising a contest for people to have their travel expenses paid for. Visit the Disarmament Hub for more information.

Quick links in this issue:
ICAN ACT - things to do
NUKES NEWS
WE CAN - new ICAN partners

ICAN ACT - things to do this month:

NEW: sign up to the ICAN ‘Cause'on Facebook. Join ICAN on Myspace, and the ICAN Facebook group.

Use your holidays to GET EDUCATED about nuclear weapons

BOOK an ICAN speaker for your next event. E-mail jessica@icanw.org

SIGN THE ICAN PETITION

Sign up celebrities to ICAN: Add faces to the growing personal endorsements of ICAN - from states people, politicians, musicians and others. If you know any 'famous' people who may want to endorse ICAN - we can provide information to approach them with.

Join your organisation with ICAN. ICAN partners commit to building the campaign. Could your union, church, professional group, social group or other become an ICAN partner?

NUKES NEWS

ICAN's Dr Sue Wareham asserts that the most ‘family friendly' policy is to save the planet from scorching or self-destruction. See Online Opinion: The two major challenges: climate change and nuclear weapons

Iran

The stand off between the President of US and Iran continues this month, as UN bodies attempt to find some middle ground.

US Intelligence reports that Iran ceased its nuclear weapons program in 2003, and would be unlikely to be able to build a nuclear weapon before 2013. This follows the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report last month, which suggested that there is no evidence that Iran has a current nuclear weapons program.

Iran's president "claimed victory", and the head of the IAEA, a UN agency, said Iran had been "somewhat vindicated" by the report. Read story. The US reported they are still offering to allow Iran to give up its nuclear enrichment capacity, and avoid sanctions

This new report has raised questions for members of the Security Council about the wisdom of imposing a third round of sanctions on Iran (which the US are pushing for).

Good news...

United Nations General Assembly votes for nuclear abolition. 25 resolutions were adopted in the UN General assembly last week seeking nuclear disarmament and the reduction of the nuclear weapons threat.

A new resolution to take nuclear weapons from hair-trigger alert was supported by 139 countries. The US voted against it, arguing that their weapons are not on hair-trigger alert, even though thousands of their weapons can be launched within minutes (UN GA is great for semantics!).

Australia disappointingly voted in favour of only six of nuclear resolutions. The resolutions Australia supported were regarding nuclear weapons free Zones in Asia and the Southern Hemisphere, keeping space for peaceful purposes, support of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and a general renewed determination towards the elimination of nuclear weapons.

While abstaining or voting against the other resolutions, Australia was often in a tiny minority with the USA. While the Federal Government changed hands before final votes were taken, the new Labor Government followed indication votes of the previous Government, stating they didn't have time to consider their own position.

For those wanting more detail, please e-mail moritz@icanw.org for a 5 page summary.

The Pope again urges action on nuclear disarmament talks. Releasing his speech for Peace Day on the 1 January 2008, the Pope said: At a time when the process of nuclear non proliferation is at a standstill, I feel bound to entreat those in authority to resume with greater determination negotiations for a progressive and mutually agreed dismantling of existing nuclear weapons Read full article.

Opposition continues in UK Parliament to renewal of nuclear armed Trident submarines. Read more.

Bad news...

Russia wants ‘in' for a second arms race. Russia has reported it needs to match US nuclear capability, deepening evidence we are in a second arms race. Read Story . They have also indicated they will increase their weapons' alert status. Read Story

Bush handed blueprint to seize Pakistan's nuclear arsenal. The journalists who outed the clandestine Khan network of nuclear smuggling wrote in the Guardian that the Bush administration has been "war-gaming" scenarios to secure Pakistan's nuclear weapons, should the situation in the country further disintegrate. Pakistan's Foreign Minister rejected claims that the weapons were not secure.

60 accidents or near misses at US nuclear weapons laboratories The US's three nuclear weapons laboratories have had almost 60 serious accidents or near misses in the past seven years, according to a report released by the Government Accountability Office. Read full report

New report highlights shortcomings in Russia's nuclear security arrangements.

The New Scientist reported from a summary of a new Russian report that was presented at an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting last week. The report says that measures preventing smuggling are "small" and cooperation amongst authorities is "inadequate".

Russia on track to transfer nuclear material to Iran.

The IAEA are in Russia overseeing the sealing of barrels of uranium to be sent to Iran's Bushehr nuclear power station.

WE CAN - ICAN's Partners

Thanks to the World Federation of United Nations Associations who joined ICAN this month.

-- 

Jessica Morrison

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

Director - Australia

Medical Association for Prevention of War

G03 60 Leicester Street, Carlton VIC 3053

Phone: + 61 3 9347 4795        

Mob:     0431 519 577

Fax: + 61 39347 4995

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www.icanw.org