Find out why nuclear abolition is a cause for all

The threat of 23,300 nuclear weapons is everyone’s concern. This is why hundreds of diverse groups from more than 60 countries have come together under the one banner—the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)—in an effort to convince governments to negotiate a comprehensive and binding treaty to eliminate these weapons.

Together we have already begun to generate a global groundswell of popular support for such a treaty, known as a nuclear weapons convention. With the endorsement and involvement of your organization, we can take the campaign its full distance—all the way to zero nuclear weapons. Joining the campaign is free and easy: simply complete the online sign-up form below. We will then keep you updated with information about ways to become active in the campaign.

Today we have an historic opportunity to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world and secure our survival. It could be the best chance we will ever have, but we don’t know how long it will last. The time to act is now. Nuclear weapons are the most destructive weapons ever created, and pose the greatest immediate threat to the future of the planet. No other weapons are capable of destroying a city or entire countries within minutes. So long as nuclear weapons exist, no one is truly secure. The risk of their spread and use is growing in a world increasingly stressed by climate change and resource depletion. Building and maintaining nuclear weapons diverts vast resources and undermines human security.

The 23,300 nuclear weapons in the world today threaten people everywhere. Roughly 95 per cent are held by the United States and Russia. The United Kingdom, France, China, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea also possess them. Their very existence fuels proliferation. Unless we rid the planet of them now, their future use is all but inevitable, and it will have catastrophic consequences.

Political leaders are making bold statements about nuclear weapons abolition. It’s up to us to help them turn their words into action. Our plan for a nuclear weapons convention is the most realistic path to a world without nuclear weapons. A model convention developed by civil society has received the highest diplomatic endorsement—from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

Please consider becoming an ICAN partner organization, and help us to build a united and effective movement for nuclear weapons abolition. You could help by promoting the idea of a nuclear weapons convention with your government in the lead-up to the important Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in May 2010, or engage people in your community to take action on the global Nuclear Abolition Day, which is 5 June 2010. We have a raft of materials to aid public education work on nuclear weapons and, specifically, the urgent need for a nuclear weapons convention.

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