UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon calls for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation

With the campaign WMD-We Must Disarm: Take action for a world free of nuclear weapons, Ban Ki-Moon calls on governments and citizens alike to focus on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. Everyone is invited to sign a Declaration to support the Secretary-General’s drive to rid the world of nuclear weapons and to submit their own reasons why We Must Disarm.

Project Ploughshares statement on nuclear disarmament

The Ploughshares statement reflects on the current dangers of nuclear weapons as well as the opportunities for advancing nuclear abolition. Canada is well-positioned as a middle power to support and promote the overall nuclear disarmament agenda, and over the next year should:
• Declare Canada’s commitment to the elimination of nuclear weapons as central to Canada’s pursuit of international peace and security.
• Work with other NATO states during NATO’s review of its security doctrine ahead of the Spring 2010 NATO Summit to insist that nuclear disarmament is essential to our security.
• Press G8 countries at the 2010 Summit hosted by Canada to build the global verification infrastructure that is critical for moving forward with global nuclear disarmament.
• Insist that any sales of Canadian uranium to India for producing nuclear power be conditional on India ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and providing assurances that it has halted the production of fissile material for weapons purposes.
• Lend active diplomatic support to international efforts to commence global negotiations toward a nuclear weapons convention.

Other Resources

Global Zero Campaign: http://www.globalzero.org/
Leaders from around the world have launched the Global Zero campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons, and have set out a plan for getting to zero nuclear weapons by 2030.

The UN International Day of Peace site: http://www.un.org/en/events/peaceday/2009/
Links are provided to the Secretary-General's message as well as his Five Point Proposal for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

The Global International Day of Peace site: http://www.internationaldayofpeace.org.
This resource has many suggestions for activities that groups can undertake and an invitation to list activities with them.

People Building Peace: http://www.peoplebuildingpeace.org.
A project of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (also known as GPPAC or the Global Partnership), and whose secretariat is the European Centre for Conflict Prevention, People Building Peace produces publications documenting and analysing the role of civil society in conflict prevention. It also lists International Day of Peace activities worldwide and provides an Awareness Raising Toolkit that may be helpful.

World Council of Churches

Statement of hope in a year of opportunity: seeking a nuclear‐weapon‐free world (September 2009)

International Day of Prayer for Peace
In 2004 the idea for an International Day of Prayer for Peace that coincides with the UN International Day of Peace was proposed at a meeting between WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan (press release). The Day of Prayer became one of the initiatives of the WCC's Decade to Overcome Violence and congregations worldwide are now invited to pray for peace - possibly using the same prayers - in all participating churches on September 21 or the Sunday preceding it. The resources section of this WCC webpage contains the prayers that have been collected annually since 2004 and includes a brochure and prayers for 2009.

International Day of Peace Vigil: http://www.idpvigil.com/.
The objective of the International Day of Peace Vigil is "To encourage worldwide, 24-hour spiritual observations for peace and nonviolence on the International Day of Peace, September 21st in every house of worship and place of spiritual practice, by all religious and spiritually based groups and individuals, and by all men, women and children who seek peace in the world." The Vigil website has further information on this initiative including a listing of those committing to events this year.

Background

Recognition of the UN-declared International Day of Peace has been building over the past few years and is becoming a genuine global phenomenon. The concept itself is not new, dating back to 1981 when the United Nations General Assembly Resolution UN/A/RES/36/67 stated that it would be appropriate “to devote a specific time to concentrate the efforts of the United Nations and its Member States, as well as of the whole of mankind, to promoting the ideals of peace and to giving positive evidence of their commitment to peace in all viable ways… (The International Day of Peace) should be devoted to commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace both within and among all nations and peoples.”

At first the day was scheduled to be on the third Thursday of September to coincide with the opening of the General Assembly. In 2001, an amending UN resolution UN/A/RES/55/282 fixed the date of the International Day of Peace on 21 September and called for a Global Ceasefire on that Day