Global Lobbying Efforts

NWC Update: March 9, 2010

Dear Supporter,

It’s now less than two months until the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference begins, and civil society organizations around the world have stepped up their efforts to persuade governments to get behind the growing call for a legally binding, verifiable nuclear weapons convention. If you haven’t already been in touch with us about your own activities to promote the need for a convention, we would love to hear from you. I hope you find this update useful.

1. 40th Anniversary of the Non-Proliferation Treaty

Last Friday marked the 40th anniversary of the entry into force of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. It was an opportunity for governments and civil society to reflect on the current challenges facing the treaty before the Review Conference in May, and to consider ways to fulfil the promise at the core of the NPT — a nuclear-weapon-free world.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) teamed up with Reaching Critical Will, the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms and the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs to host an event at UN Headquarters marking the occasion. Representatives from each of our organizations spoke, as did Ambassador Mona Juul from Norway (her remarks will be available shortly).

Roughly 70 people attended the event, about two-thirds of them diplomats and one-third from NGOs. The countries represented were the United Kingdom, Germany, Brazil, Indonesia, New Zealand, Ireland, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, South Africa, Australia, Norway, Jordan, the Philippines, Switzerland, Poland, Italy, Egypt, Japan, Equatorial Guinea, Syria, Zambia and Finland.

2. Nuclear Abolition Day — June 5

On 5 June — the Saturday after the end of the NPT Review Conference — organizations across the world will hold local events to mark Nuclear Abolition Day. The purpose of the day is to make global call for negotiations on a nuclear weapons convention to get underway, regardless of the outcome of the Review Conference. Some groups are planning large demonstrations, while others are planning smaller vigils, media stunts and forums.

If you would like to hold an event to mark Nuclear Abolition Day, please let me know (tim@icanw.org). We will be launching a website at the beginning of April and would like to have as many events listed from the outset as possible. If you don’t know the details yet, that’s fine — simply a commitment to hold an event, along with a contact email address, is all we need for now.

3. Write to Your Country’s UN Ambassador

Last week ICAN sent a bulletin out to our supporters asking them to write a letter to their country’s ambassador to the UN, and a large number of people have responded. All you need to do is use the letter-writing form on our website, and we’ll hand-deliver the letter to your UN ambassador for you. Many of the letters so far have presented compelling, heartfelt arguments for beginning negotiations on a nuclear weapons convention. Please keep them coming!

4. Global Petition for a Nuclear Weapons Convention 

ICAN volunteers around the world are busy collecting signatures for our Global Petition for a Nuclear Weapons Convention, which calls on world leaders to set the process in motion for a convention at the NPT Review Conference. We only have two months left to collect many thousands more signatures — please help out by encouraging all of your friends, family members and colleagues to sign on. The signatures will be presented to the Chair of the Review Conference.

 5. Global Nuclear Weapons Convention Lobbying Update

  • Australia: ICAN Australia last month held a series of workshops with NGO representatives across the country to raise awareness about the upcoming NPT Review Conference and the need for a nuclear weapons convention. This month meetings are planned in Canberra with the foreign ministry and various ambassadors.
  • Canada: Canadian organizations continue promoting their Declaration for a Nuclear Weapons Convention, which has now been signed by more than 500 members of the Order of Canada (OC). Many of the signatories have expressed great enthusiasm for the cause. Other countries are considering launching a similar initiative.
  • Costa Rica: The entire Costa Rican parliament last month voted to endorse a declaration in support of a nuclear weapons convention, at the initiative of Edine von Herold, who is a council member for Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. Costa Rica, along with Malaysia, submitted the updated Model NWC to the UN in 2007.
  • Denmark: Civil society organizations have arranged a meeting with opposition parties later this month to discuss the possibility of an Arctic nuclear-weapon-free zone. They will also raise the idea of a nuclear weapons convention, in the hope of securing a commitment before the upcoming elections.
  • Finland: Doctors in Finland will be meeting with officials from the foreign ministry this month to discuss plans for the NPT Review Conference, including Finland’s position on a nuclear weapons convention.
  • Kenya: Groups in Kenya have formed a partnership to promote nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in the lead-up to the NPT Review Conference, and have already held a number of meetings with government officials. They will propose that Kenya support a nuclear weapons convention.
  • New Zealand: The New Zealand committee on disarmament is busy preparing for the NPT Review Conference, and trying to persuade their government to take a lead in promoting negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention.
  • Norway: Norwegian campaigners have responded with enthusiasm to a speech by their foreign minister in February outlining an ambitious plan for nuclear disarmament. They are currently exploring possibilities for strengthening their movement for abolition, with the aim of building momentum for Norway to lead the push for a nuclear weapons convention.
  • The Philippines: Medical students in the Philippines are providing encouragement to their government to champion the need for a nuclear weapons convention. Their ambassador, Libran Cabactulan, will chair the NPT Review Conference. Planned activities include a letter-writing campaign, outreach on university campuses and a festival on June 5.
  • Sweden: Organizations in Sweden have met with ambassadors at embassies in Stockholm to promote the need for a nuclear weapons convention in the lead-up to the NPT Review Conference. They are also encouraging the Swedish government to take a lead in advancing the convention idea.
  • Switzerland: Campaigners in Switzerland have presented the idea of a nuclear weapons convention to their diplomats, and will hold a workshop on the need for an NWC at an upcoming conference.

We’ll make these lobbying details available on our website in the coming days. Please let me know if anything should be amended or added (tim@icanw.org). For the next two months, I’ll be trying to keep track of global lobbying efforts related to an NWC. With so much happening, it’s certainly going to be a challenge, but this can only be a good thing! If you need any help getting started, our Global Action Agenda and NWC Briefing Paper should be useful.

In peace,

Tim Wright