edinburghcnd

Edinburgh CND News 3rd December

EVENTS:
  1. Tuesday 5th December: Edinburgh CND monthly meeting with AGM and winter treats, all welcome: 6pm to 7.30pm, Peace and Justice Centre, 5 Upper Bow, Edinburgh EH1 2JN.
  2. Friday 8th December: UN House, a partner organisation of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), will hold an open party on the eve of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, featuring Protest in Harmony: from 5.30 pm, Dolphin House, 4 Hunter Square, Edinburgh EH1 1Q. Please email if you wish to attend this.
  3. Saturday 9th December: UK CND Day has called a nationwide Day of Action to celebrate ICAN’s Nobel Peace prize win and to promote the United Nations treaty banning nuclear weapons. We will be having our monthly stall that day and intend to make it a part of this event: 12.00 noon (note earlier time) at the East End of Princes Street. We will be continuing until 1330 with the support of Women in Black.              and                 From 2pm to 4pm there will be Peace Prize Crane-Making at the Peace and Justice Centre 5 Upper Bow
  4. UNFOLD ZERO encourages people to commemorate Human Rights Day today (December 10) by advancing the human right to freedom-from-the-threat-of-nuclear-weapons. They recommend two recent appeals on nuclear weapons and human rights to send to your parliamentarians and governments. Both of the appeals highlight the threat of nuclear weapons to current and future generations, and call on governments to undertake significant nuclear disarmament measures at the 2018 UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament.
    Such measures could include non-nuclear states signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (today being highlighted by the Nobel Peace Award) if they have not already done so, and nuclear-reliant states agreeing to no-first-use as a step towards comprehensive prohibition.
  5. Monday 11th December WILPF Scottish Branch Party to celebrate ICAN winning the Nobel Peace Prize will be held at  Serenity Café  6.15 to 8 pm Serenity Café  The Tun, Jackson’s Entry, 111, Holyrood Road Edinburgh EH8 8PJ All Women Welcome. Check out the venue: www.serenitycafe.co.uk  
award_ceremony
The majority of Scottish parliamentarians are now committed to work for the new UN nuclear ban treaty. All SNP (including our First Minister Nicola Sturgeon), all Scottish Greens along with some Scottish Labour representatives (including leader Richard Leonard) have signed it. This commits signatories “ to work for the signature and ratification of this landmark treaty by their respective countries.“ 
Peace is the prize – Celebratory weekend (8-11 December) 
On the 10th December, the Nobel Peace Laureates will take centre stage in Oslo to collect the 2017 prize. This year’s peace prize will be awarded to ICAN, the global network which supported the 122 states backing the new UN treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons.
To celebrate the Nobel Peace Prize – which honours the tireless efforts of thousands of people across the world who brought about the nuclear ban – Bruce Kent will host an ‘award ceremony’ at the MoD! This is your chance to come and collect a peace prize and raise awareness about the nuclear ban.
After the ceremony, there will be a die-in to highlight the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. Medact members will wear scrubs to symbolise the lives of medics that would be lost once a nuclear bomb is detonated. 
And for your diary:. Wednesday 17th January, 7 pm, Nuclear Savage Film + discussion. Augustine United Church, George IVth Bridge
See below for events on 14th and 15th, 16th and 18th
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OTHER LOCAL NEWS:
0. NEW: Saturday 16th December 12.30pm – 2pm: Campaigning stall at the east end of Princes Street (next to the Wellington Statue – drop by for a chat or stop for a while and lend a hand it would be much appreciated.  We’ll have copies of the greetings cards that we’ve produced on sale as well as CDs, leaflets and petitions.If you’re in Glasgow on Saturday Glasgow Stop the War have organized and event at 2pm on the Jamaica Bridge – details at https://scotlandstopwar.org/2017/12/15/events-on-16th-december/                                                                                                                                               Monday 18th December 7.30pm at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace: This is our final meeting of the year. We’ll be at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace at 7.30pm – come along and share homemade Muffins, Mince Pies and conversation about the state of the world and plans for 2018.

1. Don’t Bank on the Bomb Scotland have the following activities planned –
Thursday December 14 – 11 am – street stall and leafleting at Tescos in Nicolson Street Edinburgh .
This activity will mainly involve handing out leaflets on the links between banks and financial institutions and companies involved in the production of nuclear weapons
Thursday December 14 – 12 30 pm – Don’t Bank on the Bomb planning and organising meeting in the Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre Upper Bow Edinburgh .
Anyone interested is welcome to come to these activities
Please help pass word round. Also see news from Commonweal below.
 
 2. Edinburgh CND and the CO Memorial Committee are pleased to announce the Design Competition for a permanent Memorial to Conscientious Objectors to be created in Edinburgh’s Princes St Gardens.
Artists are invited to submit applications by 12 noon 15 December 2017. A shortlist of three or four artists will be engaged to create designs for the Memorial.
View and Download the Brief Here.
Queries should be directed to: COMemorial@peaceandjustice.org.uk
Attached is a full text of the announcement of the Memorial Design competition  which you are welcome to amend and use as you see fit.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
University students, young academics and young activists from around the world met at the historic Charles University from Nov 27-29 to discuss actions and initiatives to prevent nuclear war and promote nuclear disarmament. As nuclear tensions increase following North Korea’s most recent missile test, they released an appeal calling on world leaders to reduce the risks of nuclear weapons being used and to support United Nations initiatives for nuclear disarmament, including the High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament to take place in 2018. The appeal also calls for the $100 billion nuclear weapons budget (most of which is spent on the US nuclear arsenal) to be slashed, and the funds to instead by allocated to climate protection, implementing the sustainable development goals, and for other social and economic needs. The appeal recognizes that a large number of countries still rely on nuclear deterrence as part of their security doctrine, but affirms that these countries are legally obliged to achieve nuclear disarmament. The appeal – Reach High for a Nuclear-Weapons-Free World – was adopted at the conclusion of a three-day conference in Prague, Czech Republic, organised by the Youth Network of Abolition 2000, the global civil society network to eliminate nuclear weapons. 

Basel Peace Office and Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (PNND) were honoured to be invited to the international conference held at the Vatican earlier this monthat which Pope Francis gave a powerful speech condemning nuclear weapons.
PNND Co-President Senator Ed Markey, Chair of the United States Senate Climate Change Task Force, also joined the “We Are Still In” coalition at the COP23 Climate Conference which was held in Bonn, Germany from Nov 6-17. The We are still in coalition consists of  a group of U.S. states, cities, universities, companies, and nongovernmental organizations working together to achieve America’s commitments to the Paris Agreement despite the Trump administration/s efforts to the contrary. See Markey’s press release on COP23. 
On November 15, PNND held two events in the Spanish parliament (Congress of Deputies) to discuss risks of nuclear war, international initiatives to abolish nuclear weapons, and the role of parliamentarians.
On November 14, the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on the President’s unilateral authority to launch a nuclear attack, including the first use of nuclear weapons and PNND Council member Jeremy Corbyn, Leader of the UK Labour Party, is one of three recipients of the prestigious 2017 Sean MacBride Peace Prize, conferred by the International Peace Bureau (IPB) a Nobel Peace Laureate organisation.
Los Alamos Bulletin 237: http://www.lasg.org/  NNSA doubts LANL pit production; Nobel peace prize get-togethers Sunday Dec. 10 (Santa Fe & Albuquerque) and Bulletin 238: Normative plutonium policies as we see them – a quick sketch
Australia: Walkatjurra Walkabout: Supreme Court Case update with other news available on request
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OTHER THINGS:
 1.On 17th February 2018, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament will celebrate its 60th anniversary.
To celebrate six decades of vibrant and powerful activity, we are curating an online exhibition with exhibits provided by our members and supporters. We are inviting you to send in a photo that best symbolises your most significant memory from the past 60 years. This could be a photo of you at a demonstration, vigil or blockade; a picture of a site that is significant to you, like Greenham, Molesworth or any of the bases; or a photo of an artefact, like your favourite badge, banner, knitting or piece of fence. What you choose is up to you! If you have something to share, please include a short explanation (100 words max) of why the image is so important to you.
2. In August 2015, Common Weal South Lanarkshire submitted a Freedom of Information request to all 32 Local Authorities in Scotland to establish which councils had investments in companies designing, manufacturing or selling arms in the UK and worldwide. All 32 local authorities responded, with NINE councils confirming they had investments (Orkney Island Council, Highlands Council, Moray Council, Glasgow City Council, Edinburgh Council, Scottish Borders Council, Fife Council, Falkirk Council and Aberdeen City Council). These investments were made without the consent, consultation and knowledge of residents within these local authorities. These investments have been made through scottish local government pensions schemes.
In a bid to highlight those councils who declared investments in the arms industry we decided to target each council individually starting with Edinburgh City Council. This Council alone has £128m invested in the arms industry, while Scotland’s largest local authority pension scheme, Strathclyde Pension Fund has investments worth £83 million in 11 of the 20 companies with the biggest global involvement in arms manufacture. Glasgow City Council has had shares worth £19.6 million (2015), in the top two arms-producing and military services companies; Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer of Trident nuclear weapons, and Boeing.
Through a social media, press and targeted campaign we contacted every politician representing each council, all associated community councils and groups active in the council area. We wrote to Edinburgh City Council requesting that they investigate, review and support an investment policy which is transparent, ethically and morally sound that opposes any direct or indirect investments in the arms industry. Common Weal South Lanarkshire believe such a policy would attract the overwhelming support of the people and encourage a wider movement which seeks to invest in our future, instead of perpetuating conflicts using public funds. Alas our request was not taken seriously by the Leader of The Council who merely stated these investments were done so via their Pension Committee. That said, we expected such a reply, our intention being to raise public awareness of how public money was being invested by a council whose conscience is questionable at best in acknowledging the pain, death and suffering such investments have on those least able to protect themselves. It is worth noting the UK are one of the largest arms traders in the world and we wonder why we are a target for terrorism.
3. A new book on North Korea: Fire and Fury: How the US Isolates North Korea, Encircles China and Risks Nuclear War in Asia https://www.amazon.co.uk/Fire-Fury-Isolates-Encircles-Nuclear/dp/1905570937/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
edinburghcnd

Special Post: Two Events on 2nd December.

On Saturday 2nd December, Edinburgh CND will be visiting Faslane Peace Camp. Please see the letter below for details on how you can help.

Also on that day we will have a stall at the Radical Fair 1pm to 5 pm Augustine United Church 41-43 George IV Bridge, EH1 1EL Edinburgh, United Kingdomhttps://www.facebook.com/events/328452514225147/

Peace Camp post: For a year now Edinburgh Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament has been directly supporting the Peace Campers at the gates of Faslane Trident submarine base. You may be one of the kind people who have already donated cash, food, clothing and tools to these off-grid heroes who have been opposing nuclear weapons 24/7 for 35(!) years.

Despite the Westminster government going ahead with Trident replacement at a cost of over £200 Billion the peace movement is not downhearted. This year has seen the UN Treaty on the banning of nuclear weapons and the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to ICAN (International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons) who worked so hard to achieve it. The tide is turning, just as it did with cluster bombs and land mines; not completely eradicated yet but generally given up by most nations.
Meantime the nuclear warhead convoys continue to roll, placing us all in danger. Last week one used the Edinburgh bypass, shadowed by Nukewatch and widely reported on social media. Faslane Peace Campers play their part here, monitoring the base for these sinister unmarked trucks which come from the bomb factory near Reading.

The peace campers have great spirit and work hard to oppose nuclear weapons in any way they can.
But life is tough living on almost no money in ‘vintage’ buses and caravans with no mains power. Regular court appearances, sometimes at the other end of the country, follow direct action, and drain cash and energy.

Can you help? Almost anything you can donate will be used!

Cash, food and clothing are all welcome, also any camping and building materials. 

On the Faslane Peace Camp Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ faslanepeacecamp/ there’s a wish list, and, as you’d expect at this time of year, SOCKS feature quite prominently! Follow this link to the peace camp’s CROWDFUNDER page https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/ support-faslane-peace-camp/

So, if you’d like to support the peace camp please contact us soon at the mobile number or email address below. We hope to run our next peace convoy through to the camp in early December.

Thanks in advance!

With best wishes,
Malcolm Bruce
Edinburgh CND
edinburghcnd@yahoo.com

edinburghcnd

Edinburgh CND News 19th November

STOP PRESS : CNDs Budget Statement: http://www.cnduk.org/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=3598

UPCOMING EVENTS:

++Gerry Mulvenna has kindly agreed to shoot a wee video to send a message to ICAN in Oslo from all Scottish supporters. If you can participate, please come to the foot of Castle Street, Edinburgh for ten am on Saturday 25th November.

  1. Saturday 2nd December: Edinburgh CND will have a stall at the Radical Fair between 1pm and 5pm. We will have SCND cards and jewellery for sale, as well as plenty of campaigning materials: Augustine United Church, 41-43 George IV Bridge, Edinburgh.

Image may contain: one or more people, people sitting and indoor

This will likely also be the day of our next visit to the Faslane Peace Camp.

  1. Tuesday 5th December: Edinburgh CND monthly meeting with AGM and winter treats, all welcome: 6pm to 7.30pm, Peace and Justice Centre, 5 Upper Bow, Edinburgh EH1 2JN.
  1. Friday 8th December: UN House, a partner organisation of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), will hold an open party on the eve of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, featuring Protest in Harmony: from 5.30 pm, Dolphin House, 4 Hunter Square, Edinburgh EH1 1QW.

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  1. Saturday 9th December: UK CND Day has called a nationwide Day of Action to celebrate ICAN’s Nobel Peace prize win and to promote the United Nations treaty banning nuclear weapons. We will be having our monthly stall that day and intend to make it a part of this event: 12.00 noon (note earlier time) at the East End of Princes Street.

More from Edinburgh CND: the following motion proposed by Edinburgh CND at the Scottish CND annual general meeting on 11 November was carried:

“This conference affirms that the prime aim of SCND and it’s local groups is to push for the abolition of the Trident Weapon system and all other nuclear weapons. We will work with all other campaigns that help to further this aim. In particular, we should work with Nukewatch to urge the Scottish Government to take firm action to keep convoys off our road.”

Please help Faslane Peace Camp get through the winter! To maintain an all year round presence, the camp relies heavily on donations of money, food, tools and building materials. Money raised through crowdfunding will enable them to buy better tools and building materials, build longer-lasting structures, and most importantly, be better resourced in our campaign against nuclear weapons. Click here to support the Faslane Peace Camp crowdfunder. Or you can visit the camp, taking some of the items on their wishlist:

News From CND UK: The UN’s global ban treaty could eliminate all nuclear weapons and help create true security for the world. But only with nuclear armed states like ours on board. We need to develop a transition plan for disarming Trident, lobby the government to support the Ban Treaty and raise awareness of this issue through a national Citizens’ Treaty. If we succeed, the UK will join the 95% of the world that doesn’t own nuclear weapons, making us safer and freeing up £billions to put into the things we genuinely need: hospitals, homes, schools and jobs.

CND’s response to John McDonnell’s emergency budget demand:
Kate Hudson, CND General Secretary, said: “Investment in public services is vitally necessary – so it’s time for Labour to prioritise that and drop its commitment to wasting £205 billion of public money on Trident.
“Investment in public services is about creating a decent society for all – a well-educated and healthy populace, with real security issues addressed. Wasting £205 billion on a cold war relic is completely incompatible with that approach.
“The Labour Party is putting forward a real alternative vision of how to run the economy to address inequality and serve the needs of the whole community. But on Trident it lines up with the government and accepts the status quo.
“Every billion committed to Trident is a billion that could be spent on schools and hospitals, or on defence diversification for hi-tech jobs that address the 21st century threats we face like climate change and terrorism.
“Britain needs a government with a new vision and a new set of spending priorities that meet people’s needs. They cannot include Trident.”

News from ICAN:

  1. Stewart McDonald MP is holding an event in parliament for the achievement of ICAN’s Nobel Peace Prize. There will be an ICAN meeting will before at Medact’s office (The Grayston Centre, 28 Charles Square, London N1 6HT) from 11.30am.
  2. CND and Medact are hosting a demo outside the Ministry of Defence on the 9th of December, which is Nobel Ceremony weekend! Info and updates on ICAN’s Facebook event here. Please click that you are going to try and spread the word. Two posters can be downloaded from Dropbox here.
  3. Chester CND came up with the brilliant idea of buying some space in their local paper for an ad congratulating ICAN on the Nobel Peace Prize and drawing attention to the Treaty.  A sample can be downloaded from Dropbox here
  4. Parliamentarians played a major role in realizing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Now we are seeking their help to promote the signature and ratification of the treaty by all nations. The Parliamentary Pledge is a commitment by parliamentarians around the world to work for their government to join the treaty. Please ask MPs to sign.
  5. ICAN UK publication: The Treaty on the prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – What was achieved and why the UK should join can now be downloaded.

+++++The 2017 Annual NFLA / Mayors for Peace joint seminar, which will take place from 1.30pm – 3.30pm on Friday 1st December in the LEAF Centre, 113 – 115 Portland Street, Manchester. 

UNfold Zero asked: Do you have ideas on interesting actions or initiatives for nuclear disarmament – especially for youth? You are invited to send these ideas by email or twitter (#ReachHighPrague or #YouthAgainstNukes) for consideration at the Reaching HIGH for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World international youth conference and training in Prague this week.

 

edinburghcnd

Edinburgh CND News 14th November

REMEMBER: 2 meetings onWednesday 15th: These are Edinburgh CND supported events
1. Socially Constructed Radiation Hazards: Nuclear Power and Fracking   4 -5.30pm 
Staff Room, sixth floor Crystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square Edinburgh EH8 9LD
 Dr Fairlie is a radiation biologist, an expert on radiation doses and risks to human health. As a public intellectual, he speaks out plainly against human activities that add to radiation hazards.  The Chernobyl accident in 1986 triggered his studies of the hazards of radiation releases from nuclear facilities. He contributes to the international debates about leukaemia clusters around nuclear plants.  More recently, he has commented on the likely long-term health impact of Fukushima, the radioactive risks of fracking and the health hazards of shells hardened with depleted uranium.  This is a unique opportunity to ask questions of an expert. These topics may not be close to your research interests but they may impact on your life. Nuclear accidents, like atmospheric nuclear tests, have a global impact but small local emissions also have health effects. Dr Fairlie will present some of his work and take questions about the radiation hazards on any of these issues. This is a rare opportunity to ask questions of an independent expert, as most radiation scientists tend to come from nuclear energy or nuclear weapons establishments.
 Fairlie, I. 2014. ‘A hypothesis to explain childhood cancers near nuclear power plants’. Journal of environmental radioactivity 133: 10-17. 
Fairlie, I. 2009. ‘Depleted uranium: properties, military use and health risks’.Medicine Conflict and Survival 25: 41-64
 
2. Don’t Bank on the Bomb Scotland invites you to a Stop Funding Nukes public meeting in the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria St, Edinburgh EH1 2JL on 2017. Doors open at 6:30 pm and meeting starts at 7 pm.  Don’t Bank on the Bomb Scotland invites you to a Stop Funding Nukes public meeting in the Quaker Meeting House 7 Victoria Street Edinburgh EH1 2 JL on Wednesday November 15 . Doors open at 630 pm and meeting starts at 7 pm.
Don’t Bank on the Bomb Scotland is a campaigning network and  we are inviting people to the public meeting to discuss developments in campaigning for divestment in nuclear weapons . Programme for meeting – 630 pm – Coffee
7 pm – Welcome and Brief introduction
710 pm- Medical and Humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons- Dr Michael Orgel – Medact Scotland
740pm- International Campaigning – Elizabeth Minor – from Nobel Prize winning peace organisation ICAN
750pm- Susi Synder – from Don’t Bank on the Bomb in the Netherlands on using Global Ban Treaty to boost divestment
820pm- A chance to ask questions of radiation biologist Ian Fairlie who is an expert on radiation doses and risks to human health . 835 pm – brief input on the work of Don’t Bank on the Bomb Scotland
840 pm – questions and answer session
9 pm – closing remarks and information on forthcoming activities of Don’t Bank on the Bomb Scotland.
 Anyone who is interested is very welcome to attend the meeting and please pass the word round.
 
 Activities Around the Nuclear Ban
 CNDUK writes: We’ve seen the British government boycott the nuclear ban negotiations and attempt to trash the treaty. That’s why we must continue to take matters into our own hands. CND has launched the Citizens’ Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
They are inviting all of  supporters to help collect thousands of signatures to show that British citizens support the ban and want the government to sign up. We already know that 75% of British citizens think the government should have supported the negotiations – now we must mobilise that sentiment to pressure the government to sign.
On the 10th December, the Nobel Laureates will take centre stage in Oslo to collect the 2017 prizes. This year’s peace prize will be awarded to ICAN, the global network which supported the 122 states backing the new UN treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. The Nobel Prize is a fantastic opportunity to raise awareness about the ban. At a time when the British government is boycotting the ban, it’s apt that the Nobel Prize Committee has chosen to award the movement that is challenging the nuclear states that seek to maintain the status quo.
Day of action
For the 9th December CND are planning a day of action. Local CND groups will hold street stalls to invite citizens to sign the treaty. Edinburgh CND will be at the East End of Princes Street from 1230.

 

The Scrap Trident Coalition in Scotland is inviting people all over Scotland to throw a PEACE IS THE PRIZE! Party, where they choose a way to celebrate the occasion and to share their contribution to the party on social media. The sharing will also stretch beyond our borders and it will be great to show the world just how much it means to us in Scotland to be part of that majority world that is determined to end the nuclear threat for once and for all. Everyone can take some pictures or videos and upload them on Facebook and Twitter and tell the world how you are celebrating, anytime from Friday the 8th December through till Monday 11th. Don’t forget to share with scraptrident on Facebook and Twitter and make sure to use the hashtags #nuclearban #TPNW Watch out for Scottish participation! A special song and some funky images and some interesting locations are already in the pipeline. If you can let us know what your plans will be we can work on getting a bit of media attention on the weekend. We hope you will want to get active for Peace is The Prize and to share your plans and, when the time comes, some messages and pictures. To get details of the song when its ready and to use the new graphics when they are done, get in touch and let Scrap Trident know via a private message on the ScrapTrident Facebook page or by sending an  email to scraptrident@gmail.com.                                                                                                                          Also: UN House will be hosting another event in Edinburgh on Friday 8th December at 5.30 and others are invited to join them, or host other activities – more details on the Scrap Trident websiteThere is also an international Peace Rally planned for Faslane on Sep 18th 2018, so local groups can start to think about how they may take part. SCND would like to hear from anyone interested in helping to organise this.

An interesting article:

CND UK magazine this month looks into how nuclear weapons and nuclear power are both outdated industries, on top of all the other reasons to oppose them. They’re also launching a Day of Action to celebrate the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to ICAN, a network of disarmament organisations including CND. Read Campaign: November edition Download Campaign: November edition
Scottish Parliament: The SNP will be holding a briefing and reception for ICAN at the Westminster House of Commons on 29th November, and there will be a cross party parliamentary briefing at Westminster on 5th December – I will send more details on these events as they emerge
Other meetings:
  1. Join Scilla Elworthy, founder of Oxford Research Group and Peace Direct, Scot and internationalist, for a day workshop celebrating a life committed to conflict resolution. 10.30am – 4pm Saturday 18 November, David Hume Tower LG.09, George Square, Edinburgh EH8 9JX. Attend by donation [see below]. Register: https://peacebuilding18nov.eventbrite.co.uk/ “Many people feel powerless in the face of what they see on TV or read in the news – a world in crisis, with wars and violence…
  2. CAAT Edinburgh next group meeting will be taking place on: Monday 27 November from 7 to 8.45pm at the Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre, 5 Upper Bow Edinburgh EH1 2JN.  CAAT Nationally is taking legal action to end the UK’s shameful complicity in the devastation in Yemen  but they urgently need your support: caat.org.uk/saudi-appeal Weapons produced in the UK are playing a central role in the attacks: over £4.6 billion worth of arms sales – including £2 billion of bombs – have been licensed by the UK government to Saudi Arabia since the conflict started.
International news (or more Nuclear Ban):
Young academics, professionals and activists working in the field of nuclear disarmament, are invited to Prague for the international youth conference Reaching HIGH for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World. The conference, which will take place from Nov 27-29, 2017 (apologies for incorrect date in an earlier notice) at the historic Charles University, established in 1348 by King Charles of Bohemia. 
Jacinda Ardern, leader of the New Zealand Labour Party and a member of PNND, last month formed a coalition government and became Prime Minister following a hung parliament in the September elections. She is New Zealand’s third female prime minister and, at 37, the country’s youngest leader in 150 years.
Republican U.S Senator Bob Corker, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced last night that on November 14 he will convene a committee hearing on the President’s unilateral authority to launch a nuclear attack, including the first use of nuclear weapons. “A number of members both on and off our committee have raised questions about the authorities of the legislative and executive branches with respect to war making, the use of nuclear weapons, and conducting foreign policy overall,” Corker said yesterday (See Trump critic Sen. Corker to hold hearing on president’s authority to launch nuclear attack, ABC News). The most vocal of the Foreign Affairs Committee Members on this issue has been PNND Co-President Senator Ed Markey, who has introduced draft legislation which would bar the president from launching a preemptive nuclear strike, without authorization of the U.S. Congress. NB this is being held at time of writing  (November 14): U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee  hearing on the President’s unilateral authority to launch a nuclear attack, including the first use of nuclear weapons.
PNND invite you to participate in Move the Nuclear Weapons Money, a global campaign to cut funding for nuclear weapons and reinvest these resources in areas of social, environmental and economic need.
Launched at the Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in October 2016, the campaign builds on the work done over the years by parliamentarians and civil society on this issue, and highlights new initiatives. The campaign is being led by Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (PNND), World Future Council (WFC) and the Basel Peace Office, in cooperation with the International Peace Bureau (IPB) Global Campaign on Military Spending and Abolition 2000.
Last Friday Nov 10, Pope Francis addressed a high-profile conference on nuclear disarmament hosted by the Holy See at the Vatican, where he denounced the possession of nuclear weapons. Pope Francis told participants that ‘humanity cannot fail to be genuinely concerned by the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental effects of any employment of nuclear devices. If we also take into account the risk of an accidental detonation as a result of error of any kind, the threat of their use, as well as their very possession, is to be firmly condemned.”

End note: Following the unique live shoot of “THE GOOD SOLDIER SCHWEJK” last July, Sands Films is now engaged in the long post production process. The film promises to be very special and unique, not unlike  Schwejk himself: much loved character with his very own, unexpected and enduring ways of anti-war protest.Meanwhile, life goes on and the studio is very busy with a great many projects and events. (Please keep in touch by joining our mailing list if you are not already receiving our weekly newsletter) and follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

edinburghcnd

Edinburgh CND News 3rd November

STOP PRESS: White Poppies on sale Friday 10th at the Wellington statue  5pm – 6pm to catch people going home from work.

STOP PRESS (2) Radical Voices Sunday, 12 November 2017 Come and join our quarterly gathering to listen to singers of radical songs and share songs, stories and poems on a different theme each month. Entry is free, with raffle and donations collected for a relevant cause. White poppies… Peace is possible The Constitution Bar Constitution Street Leith, EH6 6RS 6.30-9.30pm With music from: Penny Stone, other special guests ……..and you! – bring a song, story, poem or something to share

EVENTS in November
1. Saturday 4th: SCND Stall at Edinburgh’s Ecofair  The Out of the Blue Drill Hall from 10am to 4pm. White Poppies will also be on sale on the SfB Bookstall
2. Tuesday 7th: Monthly organising meeting 6-7pm at the Peace and Justice Centre
3. Saturday 11th (1): Monthly leafleting 1230 East End of Princes Street. White Poppies for sale.
4. Saturday 11th (2): SCND annual conference St Columba’s by the Castle, 14 Johnston Terrace, Edinburgh, EH1 2PW.  Registration is from 10 am and the meeting starts at 10:30 am. The meeting should last until about 3 pm and a lunch will be provided. The agenda is available on the website (see also P and J events below)
5. Saturday 11th (3) After the Origami Peace Cranes workshop (P&J Centre, 2-4pm), we will go to lay a white poppy wreath at the War Memorial on the Royal Mile just outside City Chambers (across from St Giles). All invited to join us in a brief ceremony to remember all those who have died or been adversely affected by wars, including civilians and the soldiers of our “enemies
 5. Sunday  12th  1pm to 4pm Poppies for Peace film showing. Grassmarket Community Project Candlemaker Row
6. Wednesday 15th (1): Socially Constructed Radiation Hazards: Nuclear Power and Fracking   4 – 5.30 pm 
 Staff Room, sixth floor Chrystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square Edinburgh EH8 9LD
 7.  Wednesday 15th (2) : Don’t Bank on the Bomb Scotland invites you to a Stop Funding Nukes public meeting in the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria St, Edinburgh EH1 2JL on 2017. Doors open at 6:30 pm and meeting starts at 7 pm. This is an Edinburgh CND supported event
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The continuing struggle for international nuclear disarmament:
The Basel Peace Office encourages you to support, and take advantage of, key parliamentary and youth actions (listed below). These include initiatives and events to increase the number of countries signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (Ban treaty), reduce the risks of nuclear war, and build success for the 2018 UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament (UNHLC). A Parliamentary Action-Plan for a for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World was published and released by PNND at the IPU special session on October 16 and youth participated in the 26th Sept conference (see previous post)
STOP PRESS: Young academics, professionals and activists working in the field of nuclear disarmament, are invited to Prague for the international youth conference Reaching HIGH for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World. The conference, which will take place from Nov 27-29, 2017 (apologies for incorrect date in an earlier notice) at the historic Charles University, established in 1348 by King Charles of Bohemia.
In a resolution adopted by the UN General Assembly, the UN set the dates and mandate for aHigh-Level conference on nuclear disarmament to take place from May 14-16, 2018. The principal aim for the conference is to make progress on effective measures for nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament. STOP PRESS The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution yesterday (2nd) setting the dates and mandate for this first ever UN High-Level conference on nuclear disarmament, which will take place from May 14-16, 2018.


Modelled after successful UN high-level conferences and summits on sustainable development, climate change and the oceans, the principal aim for this event is to make progress on effective measures for nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament.

Alyn Ware at PNND: As reported last week in the UNFOLD ZERO update, the Non-Aligned Movement has submitted a draft resolution to the United Nations General Assembly laying out the general mandate and dates for the 2018 United Nations High-Level Conference for Nuclear Disarmament. The vote at the United Nations will take place between Oct 26 and Nov 2.
Are you (individually or as your organisation) able to contact the United Kingdom government to urge them to vote in favour of the resolution (or at least to abstain)?
Recent United Nations High Level Conferences (UNHLCs) on sustainable development, climate change, oceans and refugees have all been very successful, despite difficult political environments.
The beauty of the UNHLC on Nuclear Disarmament is that it calls for ‘effective nuclear disarmament measures’ to pave the way for a nuclear weapons convention (a global treaty which would include the nuclear-armed States and would prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons). These effective measures could include:
  1. comprehensive measures like the ban treaty which is currently only supported by non-nuclear States (a goal is to get 100 countries signing by the end of the UNHLC);
  2. regional measures, such as nuclear weapon free zones in the Middle East and North-East Asia;
  3. incremental measures like de-alerting, no-first-use and stockpile reductions that could be supported by the nuclear-armed States, and could reduce the risks of nuclear war occurring by accident, miscalculation or intent.
 Three nuclear-armed States already support the draft resolution, along with over 120 non-nuclear countries. The United Kingdom, in answers to questions in the UK parliament from PNND members, has indicated that they are not yet decided on whether to attend the UNHLC. The UK Representative to the Conference on Disarmament, Ambassador Matthew Rowland, participated as a speaker in a roundtable event we organised on this topic in Geneva in September. Although critical of the ban treaty, he gave suggestions on how the 2018 UNHLC could be useful to make progress on incremental measures, and affirmed that the UK is still open to the possibility of attending.
 
Albuquerque – Today the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its 73-page of the future costs of maintaining and modernizing US nuclear weapons, entitled “Approaches for Managing the Costs of U.S. Nuclear Forces, 2017 to 2046.”[1] The total cost estimated by CBO was $1.242 trillion (T), of which $800 billion (B) is estimated as necessary to maintain and operate planned forces. The remainder ($400 B) is CBO’s estimate of the cost to modernize these forces. According to CBO, it will cost $4.6 million (M) per hour, 24/7, to keep US nuclear forces for the next 30 years.
+++Minutes of October Scottish Ban meeting are available
 
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 ICAN UK network meetings in November:                                                                                      – There will be a meeting in Edinburgh on 14th November at 2.30pm, provisionally at the Peace & Justice Centre, 7 Upper Bow EDINBURGH EH1 2JN, for ICAN UK partners who are in town and available – RSVP to coordinator@peaceandjustice.org.uk if you are able to come to this                                                                                                                                            – There will also hold a meeting in London on 29 November at 12pm – location to be confirmed.                                                                                                                                                    – Parliament: The SNP will be holding a briefing and reception for ICAN at the Westminster House of Commons on 29th November, and there will be a cross party parliamentary briefing at Westminster on 5th December – I will send more details on these events as they emerge

 

FOR OTHER EVENTS in November including: Cooperative Games & Conflict Resolution for Primary Schools Facilitator Training.  Sat 4 Nov. 9:15 –1:30pm and Origami Peace Cranes Workshop. Sat 11 Nov. 2 – 4pm.   see http://peaceandjustice.org.uk/   

 AND IN THE FUTURE:

1. CND are still revelling in the outstanding news that ICAN won the Nobel Peace Prize. The prize is being awarded on 10th December, and to utilise this historic moment, CND has called a day of action on Saturday 9th December to help raise the profile of the global ban treaty. Watch this space! We will be having our monthly stall that day……
 
2. Also in Edinburgh UN House open ICAN group will welcome all to a party at UN House on the eve of the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, 
Friday 8th Dec from 5.30, UN House 4 Hunter Square with Protest in Harmony .                  
 

3. 4th of December, 7 pm, CCA Glasgow It was a Pacific island paradise…until the United States tested nuclear weapons and conducted secret human radiation experiments. Experiments that would remain top-secret for decades….Until now…This documentary reveals a shocking political expose, and an intimate ethnographic portrait of Pacific Islanders struggling for survival, dignity and justice after decades of top-secret human radiation experiments conducted on them by the U.S. government

Trailer – “Nuclear Savage: The Islands of Secret Project 4.1.” The film showing will be followed by a Skype discussion with a victim of the nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific Islands where participants can make remarks and raise questions. More details about the speaker to come. Unfortunately the venue can only accommodate up to 74 people so please get your tickets soon. This event is organised by Peace Education Scotland (SCND Education).

4. Please also note that SCND are calling an 
International PEACE RALLY, at FASLANE SEP 15, 2018 This PEACE RALLY is to mark the NOBEL PEACE PRIZE AWARD YEAR and to highlight  international support for Scotland’s desire to get all nuclear weapons out of Scotland and out of the world. Themes to help you plan, its never too soon to start mobilizing!

International campaigners have already committed to join.

Other news:
1. The Peace & Justice Centre and the Conscientious Objectors Memorial Committee are pleased to announce the Design Competition for a permanent Memorial to Conscientious Objectors to be created in Edinburgh’s Princes St Gardens. Artists are invited to submit applications by 12 noon 15 December 2017. A shortlist of three or four artists will be engaged to create designs for the Memorial. View and Download the Brief Here. 
Queries should be directed to: COMemorial@ peaceandjustice.org.uk
2. Another film: the filmmakers have interviewed communities effected by the nuclear industry and are making a digital archive of these oral histories that will be available to anyone. This week we released our first podcast, which includes interviews from downwinders at the Trinity Test Site: https://soundcloud.com/u ser-636230507/how-many-thousan ds-of-yearsThis month they are fundraising so that we can conduct fieldwork at the Nevada Test Site, finish post-production and release this film. I was wondering if you could help us spread the word about this project. This is the link to our fundraising page which has a trailer and the story of the project: http://bit.ly/OffCountry
and for an alternative at Christmas: Comas The Tun, 8 Jackson Entry Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH8 8PJ email@comas.org.uk
edinburghcnd

Edinburgh CND News 20th October: Update 26th

STOP PRESS (26th):
LOVE CULTURE HATE RACISM Sat 28 October, 12pm - 4pm
Grassmarket Community Project, 86 Candlemaker Row, Edinburgh, EH1 2QA
There is something for everyone in the best ever line-up for  this year’s Love Culture Hate Racism: including a stall with  White Poppies and CND materials.This musical and cultural     celebration reflects Edinburgh's diverse communities and has performers including Jit Jive playing African music sure to get you on your feet, Syrian Guitarist Ayman Jarjour and story   teller Mara Menzies who will enchant and captivate your kids. From pulsating drumming to the Baharat ensemble performing music from the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean, to bookbug sessions we have it all.
Stalls and events include origami tutors, face painting, Henna hand painting, hair wrapping, books and stalls from local    community groups (including CND) And no multicultural celebration would be complete without food from the corners of the globe. Free entry, donations welcome.
Please like and Share the Facebook event page
https://www.facebook.com/events/114101745975266/
1. Talking about the Iran Nuclear deal Kate Hudson, CND general secretary, said:
“President Trump has sabotaged the Iran nuclear deal, opening the door to nuclear proliferation and military conflict. This is a tragic misuse of power. The world faces enormous existential global challenges, like climate change: this is the time for states to work together, to cooperate, not to take unilateral, confrontational actions that risk reducing our planet to a radioactive wasteland.
“The Iranian nuclear deal was a remarkable achievement which shows just what can be achieved through painstaking diplomacy and negotiation. It removed the prospect of war and nuclear weapons development and replaced it with cooperation and the possibility of real constructive engagement. Rather than seeing this as a model for future engagement, as a way forward for solving complex problems like that of the Korean peninsula, Trump is on the path to war.”
On a similar theme: an interesting article:
Commenting on this:
 Ian Fairly is speaking at a ECND sponsored meeting in Edinburgh on 15th November:
Stop funding nukes – Don’t Bank on the Bomb
(Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria St, Edinburgh EH1 2JL) 
Doors open at 6:30 pm and meeting starts at 7 pm.
Speakers include: 
Susi Snyder – (Don’t Bank on the Bomb- Netherlands), Elizabeth Minor (ICAN UK), Dr Ian Fairlie (radiation biologist) and Dr Michael Orgel (Medact Scotland)
and another comment:
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2. After the Edinburgh World Justice Festival: Helping the Faslane Peacecampers        In response to the support offered at the last CND meeting they did as part of the Justice Festival, the Faslane Peace Camp have finally set up a crowd funding page to make it easier to donate. They’ve popped it up on the facebook page

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3. The UNFOLD ZERO/Basle Peace office virtual conference (see previous blog for details) included key participants from other UN High-Level conferences (HLCs) that have had considerable success, including those on climate change, sustainable development and the oceans.
A key point that ensured their success was develop a mandate, agenda and proposed outcomes for the HLC that can attract participation of all countries, and especially the most relevant countries, i.e. those who are most needed to make progress on the issue.
Another key point was to ensure active participation of parliamentarians, including through parliamentary questions and motions, participation in the HLC preparatory meetings, and coordination through inter-parliamentary forums like the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the Parliamentary Assembly for the Organisation of Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Basel Peace Office asks you to contact your government and urge them to support the resolution (if they are not already doing so), and to announce that they will attend the UN High-Level Conference at the highest level.
For more information on the Oct 11-12 conference visit Reaching HIGH virtual conference. They are also organizing a nuclear abolition event for the 700 parliamentarians from around the world who are gathering today in St Petersburg for the IPU Assembly. (The President of the ban treaty negotiations is one of the keynote speakers).  The Non-Aligned Movement submitted their draft resolution on the 2018 UN High-Level Conference to the United Nations on Thursday. The UN conference will advance ‘effective measures for nuclear disarmament’ including (but not limited to) a nuclear weapons convention.  One goal put forward is to get 100 signatures for the ban treaty by the end of the UN High-Level Conference (many states will sign at the conference). The Non-Aligned Movement, representing 120 countries, submitted a  draft resolution to the United Nations General Assembly late last week laying out the general mandate and dates for a special United Nations process to advance comprehensive nuclear disarmament – a United Nations High-Level Conference for Nuclear Disarmament.
The conference, which is like a summit, will take place at the United Nations in New York from May 14-16, 2018. It could build support among non-nuclear countries for the new Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and also build traction and progress on nuclear-risk reduction and disarmament measures to be undertaken by the nuclear-armed States. (Three of the nuclear armed States are already supporting the draft resolution). 
The 2018 UN High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament aims for the same inclusivity. The proposed mandate, outlined in the draft resolution, is to advance ‘effective measures’ for nuclear disarmament. This can include incremental measures on which it’s possible to get agreement and action by nuclear-armed and allied countries. And it includes more comprehensive measures which non-nuclear States can support, such as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (‘ban treaty’).
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4. Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre Newsletter http://peaceandjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Peace-and-Justice-News-October-17.pdf

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5. Following on from the successful UK CND conference last weekend, Youth and Student CND will this weekend host an exciting workshop day to discuss how we build an alliance to scrap Trident. Organisations such as Food not Bombs London will host sessions on campaigning, there will be screenings of anti-nuclear films and former Green Party leader Natalie Bennett will give a talk. And there will be refreshments, including beer! Saturday, October 21st 9:45am-4:30pm Waterloo Action Centre, London Register for your free ticket here  If you live outside London and would like to attend, we can offer the first ten people to contact us £20 towards your travel expenses. Terms and conditions apply but do email information@cnduk.org for more information on this offer.

6. Extra bit: November 1 is the first ever National Block It Out Day. This initiative from STOMP Out Bullying™ aims to block negativity from online spaces, and end cruelty, homophobia, LGBTQ discrimination, racism, hatred and online violence.
National Block It Out Day encourages those who are bullied, trolled and mistreated online to block out their bully on social media, and empower their friends to do the same. With a focus on positivity and safety, National Block It Out Day seeks to erase online cruelty for good.

 

 

 

 
edinburghcnd

Edinburgh CND News 11th October 2017

Please see previous post for information about the Peace Prize.
1. The Edinburgh World Justice Festival is now over half way through and there was an excellent meeting organised by Scottish Wilpf on Monday. 
Edinburgh CNDs meeting is today:
Wednesday 11th October 7pm at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace: Faslane Peace Camp – what can we learn – organized by Edinburgh CND https://www.facebook.com/events/1928856954056199/ 
Edinburgh Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament’s meeting at the Edinburgh World Justice Festival. An introduction to the organisation and politics of Faslane Peacecamp through the eyes of present day and past participantshttp
See also EWJF blog: ://www.ewjf.org.uk/faslane-comes-to-edinburgh-lessons-from-the-forefront-of-the-anti-nuclear-movement/
Saturday 14th October: Conference 10am to 6pm Kings Hall Community Church. We will have a peace stall at the event (which we will leave briefly to do our leafleting 1230 East End of Princes Street). Do join us at either event.

Sunday 15th October: 2pm to 5pm Peace Walk start from Peace Pole on the Terrace, St John’s Church, off Lothian Rd, EH2 4JB Walk for peace, visiting peace places across Edinburgh. We’ll read poems, hear stories of nonviolent struggles for peace and disarmament, sing, and dance for peace; with mindful silent sections and concluding with reflection at Salsibury Centre. We warmly invite those of all faiths and none, all abilities, ages & backgrounds.

Monday 16th October 7.30pm at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace: Learning from mass movements against war – organizing for the future – organized by Edinburgh Stop the War. 

They’ll be showing the short film ‘Old Enough to Know Better’ which chronicles the activity of Edinburgh’s anti war school students in 2003.  They’d also welcome short contributions for individuals who have been involved in anti-war campaigning.  In discussion we want to draw on and learn from these experiences and think about how we can apply them in 2017. 

 
for the full programme go to www.ewjf.org.uk
 
2. A member of Edinburgh CND, who was recently in Australia, wrote this article on nuclear weapons companies and the ban treaty: New treaty could help stop arms companies exploiting nuke threat
3. Governments are meeting at the United Nations in New York right now, and until the end of October, to discuss nuclear weapons threats, and adopt nuclear disarmament resolutions.
There are two key UN initiatives that could make a difference – the new Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the 2018 UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament.
Similar UN High Level Conferences (HLCs) on other topics have been very successful, agreeing on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopting the Paris agreement on Climate Change and adopting the 14-point Action Plan to Protect our Oceans.
Join the global virtual conference, a series of webinars on Oct 11-12 organized by the Basel Peace Office, UNFOLD ZERO, PNND, Global Security Institute and the Abolition 2000 working group on the 2018 UN High-Level Conference   Click here to register.  Click here for more background and for the conference program.
Together we can achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world.
4. UK nuClear News No.100 October 2017 is now available to download here: www.no2nuclearpower.org.uk/nuclearnews/NuClearNewsNo100.pdf
5. A youth blog:
6.Los Alamos Bulletin 235: http://www.lasg.org/  Also some interesting press releases
7. UK CND is attending the political parties’ conferences again this year to put pressure on them to commit to getting rid of Trident and sign the United Nations’ global nuclear weapons ban treaty. We report back from the Labour conference in our October edition of Campaign magazine. The magazine also features what our Youth and Student section has been up to, and their exciting upcoming event.
Read Campaign: October edition
Download Campaign: October edition
They also have their annual conference and international meeting this week-end. http://www.cnduk.org  ++++++Includes: ‘Redefining security – from deterrence to common and human security’ by Dr Jenny Clegg, as background to and in support of Greater Manchester & District CND’s resolution on ‘common security’ at CND AGM & Policy Conference 2017, which is Resolution 8 in the conference pack.

Jenny will also be speaking at the conference on Saturday, titled ‘Confrontation or cooperation’, if you would like to discuss the briefing with her.
8.https://www.anfa.org.au/ For news from Australia
9. A book: Nic Maclellan: Grappling with the Bomb – Britain’s Pacific H-bomb tests (ANU Press, Canberra, 2017).
You can purchase a copy of the book or download a free E-book from the ANU Press website at: http://dx.doi.org/10.22459/GB.09.2017
10. On September 26, the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, peace and disarmament activists around the world, in a social media action, Reached HIGH for a nuclear-weapon-free world.
The action highlighted United Nations initiatives to prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons, including the new Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and the 2018 UN High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament.
See photos of the social media action on facebook at Reach High photos.
 
 
edinburghcnd

Special Post for the Nobel Peace Prize

Please see EVENTS for information on ECNDs meeting on 11th October (and other events)
Wednesday 11th October 7pm at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace: Faslane Peace Camp – what can we learn – organized by Edinburgh CND https://www.facebook.com/events/1928856954056199/ 
Scottish CND: As you might have heard the 2017 Peace Nobel Prize goes to ICAN for the work to rid our world of the evil of nuclear weapons and the major role played in achieving the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). This is a well deserved award and Scottish CND are honored to have been partners for such a long time (read Scottish Scrap Trident Coalition – Press Release). However, the work has just started and we urge you to write to your representatives and join the series of nuclear ban meetings.

The TPNW signed by more than 50 member states which will soon be coming into force. Parliamentarians across the world played a major role in realising the treaty through their actions in the campaign. Now we are seeking their help to promote the signature and ratification of the treaty by all nations. The Parliamentary Pledge is a commitment by parliamentarians around the world to work for their government to join the treaty.

Given the position of the Scottish Parliament in opposing nuclear weapons, this is a very important way in which they can put pressure on the UK Government.
 
You can see if your parliamentarians have signed here.
If they have not, please ask your MSPs and MPs to sign it.
Send them a letter (find model here) and follow up with a phone call to their office. If you are unsure who your representatives are, this website might be of help https://www.writetothem.com.
See http://www.banthebomb.org/ for meetings around Scotland (see end for meetings in Scotland)
 
 
 

Message from CND ICAN – the global peace network – of which CND Is a partner organisation, has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

At a time when the prospect of nuclear war seems closer than it has for a generation, the award of this prestigious prize is an essential recognition of the global majority against nuclear weapons – and the movement that has done so much to advance it.

Campaigners have worked tirelessly over the last few years, together with the 122 states who launched the first ever nuclear weapons ban treaty at the United Nations just a few weeks ago. We congratulate all the grassroots activists and campaigners, in Britain and around the world, who have done so much to make this possible.

The US-North Korean nuclear brinkmanship is an enormous challenge to this fantastic work. So too is President Trump’s determination to unpick the Iran nuclear weapons deal, a deal that has been widely recognised as successful. That’s why we warmly welcome the decision of the Nobel committee to support those who are struggling for more co-operation and less confrontation, defying the sordid logic of our present world leaders who appear to be hell bent on war.
Anti-nuclear weapons campaigns in Britain have responded to the Nobel peace prize announcement.

Kate Hudson, CND general secretary, said:

“At a time when the prospect of nuclear war seems closer than it has for a generation, the award of this prestigious prize is an essential recognition of the global majority against nuclear weapons – and the movement that has done so much to advance it.

“ICAN – the global peace network – of which CND is a partner organisation, has worked tirelessly over the last few years, together with the 122 states who launched the first ever nuclear weapons ban treaty at the United Nations just a few weeks ago. We congratulate all the grassroots activists and campaigners, in Britain and around the world, who have done so much to make this possible.

“The campaigns to highlight the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons were an important factor in convincing the majority of the world’s states that they must take matters into their own hands in creating this new multilateral framework for abolishing nuclear weapons. See end for ICANs Press Release
The Basle Peace Office and UNFOLD ZERO add: Governments are meeting at the United Nations in New York right now, and until the end of October, to discuss and adopt nuclear disarmament resolutions.

One of these UN resolutions will set the dates and mandate for a unique event in 2018 – a UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament.

Similar UN High Level Conferences on other topics have been very successful, agreeing on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adopting the Paris agreement on Climate Change and adopting the 14-point Action Plan to Protect our Oceans

Will governments use the opportunity of the 2018 High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament to prevent nuclear war in North-East Asia and between Russia and the West, reduce nuclear stockpiles and advance the new treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons? 

Or will the nuclear armed and allied governments continue the status quo and spiral towards a nuclear catastrophe?

Reaching HIGH virtual conference, Oct 11-12, 2017

Find out more about the 2018 High-Level Conference. Input your ideas into the deliberations at the UN in New York.

Join the global virtual conference, a series of webinars on Oct 11-12 organized by the Basel Peace Office, UNFOLD ZERO, PNND, Global Security Institute and the Abolition 2000 working group on the 2018 UN High-Level Conference.
Together we can achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world.
LOS ALAMOS PRESS STATEMENT: http://www.lasg.org/BAN/BAN_open.html
Nobel Peace Prize Statement – ICAN UK – 6 October 2017
ICAN UK represents the British-based NGOs who are partners of ICAN, a civil society network
of over 450 organisations in one hundred countries.
Dr Rebecca Johnson, an original co-chair of ICAN and member of the International Steering
Group based in the UK, said:
“We thank the Nobel Committee for recognising and honouring ICAN and the thousands of
people in our international network that have worked so hard to ban and eliminate nuclear
weapons. The nuclear threats being issued by President Trump and North Korea remind us
that nuclear sabre rattling can lead to nuclear war through arrogance or miscalculation.
With British civil society at the forefront of nuclear disarmament efforts for so many years,
this Nobel Award encourages us to redouble our efforts to persuade the British government
to sign the UN Nuclear Prohibition Treaty, cancel Trident and take the lead to eliminate all of
these abhorrent weapons of mass destruction.”
Professor David McCoy, physician and former director of Medact, an ICAN-UK partner, said:
“Nuclear weapons are an unacceptable threat to human health and global security – they
have no place in the modern world. The UK government should be leading international
efforts to get rid of nuclear weapons instead of boycotting them. Health professionals are
calling on Government to scrap Trident and spend the money on the NHS.
Richard Moyes, Managing Director of UK NGO Article 36 – part of ICAN’s International
Steering Group, said:
“The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize highlights the importance of this new treaty at a time when the
threat of nuclear weapons is more pressing than ever in recent decades. ICAN focused
attention on the humanitarian impact that the use of these weapons would cause – with just
a single weapon threatening to kill and injure hundreds of thousands of people and to poison
their environment for the future. Despite the politics of these weapons, the scale of
humanitarian suffering that they can cause means they cannot be considered acceptable,
and that is why ICAN here in the UK and internationally has worked for them to be banned.”
Kate Hudson of ICAN partner CND said “This Nobel Peace Prize commits all of us to bring the
UK on board the historic UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Meetings on the Treaty Ban:
Edinburgh had a great meeting on September 20th. Meetings are also planned for:

  • East Kilbride, Sun 8 Oct | 7:00 pm                                          Calderwood Community Centre, Blackbraes Rd, 7 pm, hosted by Radical Independence Campaign
  • Cromarty, Fri 13 Oct | 7:30 pm                                                              The Victoria Hall, Cromarty, hosted by Cromarty Peace Group
  • Scottish Greens Autumn Conference 2017,Sat 21 Oct | 6:00 pm    Edinburgh (Sighthill campus of Napier University in Edinburgh)
  • Inverness, Thu 26 Oct | 7:00 pm                                                         The  Chieftain Hotel, hosted by SNP Inverness Branch
  • Skye, Sat 28 Oct | 11:00 am                                                                  Aros Portree, hosted by Yes Skye and Lochals
  • Peterhead, Sat 28 Oct | 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm                                      Encounter Cafe on Drummers Corner Known by some as the old Habitat shop, hosted by Aberdeen CND
  • Dunbar, Mon 30 Oct | 7:00 pm                                                        Dunbar Methodist Church Hall, 10 Victoria street Dunbar, hosted by Anglican Pacifists hosted by Anglican Pacifists
edinburghcnd

Edinburgh CND News 29th September

1. Reminder: The Peace Boat will be visiting Edinburgh on the 3rd October between 2.30 and 9.00pm
There will be Hibakusha on board, and young climate change ambassadors from Japan along with other Japanese participants when peace boat is visiting Edinburgh.
More about the young people here:
  In the early evening they will visit the Peace and Justice Centre, and the Paper Crane Project. They arrive at the Centre at 7pm so we will see them after our monthly organising meeting (6-7pm, same venue) .

 

2. The Edinburgh World Justice Festival, of which Edinburgh CND is a part, is organising or supporting a number of important meetings over the next three weeks.  We hope to see you at some of them.

Saturday 30th September: Festival Launch 6-8pm Fig Tree Cafe EH1 1SU

Sunday 1st October; Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre: Campaign Non-Viloence. Bridgend Farmhouse EH16 4TD 1-5pm AND Opening of From Hiroshima to Faslane exhibition at Methodist Church. Runs 7pm 1st Oct to 1pm on 7th

 Wednesday 4th October, at 50 George Square, Room G04, Screening of Shadow World (organized by CAAT and Take One Action), Panel Discussion includes Stop the War 

 Thursday 5th October 7pm at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace – The Shadow World – inside the global arms trade – with author and activist Andrew Feinstein (Edinburgh Stop the War and others) see https://www.facebook.com/events/142391576367622/

Monday 9th October 7pm at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace: International Peace – Women’s Campaigns organized by SWILPF https://www.facebook.com/events/1675467595806046/?

Wednesday 11th October 7pm at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace: Faslane Peace Camp – what can we learn – organized by Edinburgh CND https://www.facebook.com/events/1928856954056199/ 

Saturday 14th October Conference 10am to  6pm Kings Hall Community Church

Monday 16th October 7.30pm at the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Terrace: Learning from mass movements against war – organizing for the future – organized by Edinburgh Stop the War

++++for the full festival programme go to www.ewjf.org.uk

 

3. After President Donald Trump gave a terrifying speech at the United Nations threatening to destroy North Korea, Pyongyang this week accused the United States of declaring war. CND is alarmed by the threat of nuclear war in North East Asia and the wider Pacific region. North Korea continues to test nuclear weapons and missiles in defiance of the international community, while the US and its allies continue their provocative actions in the region. There is a real danger that these actions will lead to the use of nuclear weapons by intention or miscalculation. The UK government could have an important role in this conflict. CND is urging Prime Minister Theresa May to use all appropriate diplomatic, international and legal means to end the nuclear threat. The government should also be pushing  for negotiations with North Korea and a return to the Six-Party Talks involving China, North Korea, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the US.

The world is a worrying place right now, not least the escalating nuclear rhetoric between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un. It’s crucial that we get together and work out how to play our part in making the world a safer place. CND has a couple of important events coming up over the next month, where these issues will be up for debate, so why not come along?

Confrontation or cooperation? Nuclear abolition in dangerous times: International Conference
Saturday, October 14th Register for your free ticket
Scrapping Trident: A New Generation of Anti-Nuclear Activists 
Saturday, October 21st Aimed at Youth and Student CND supporters, this is a day of workshops and talks by anti-Trident groups, including Campaign Against the Arms Trade, Food not Bombs London and SNP Youth.
As well as planning the concrete next steps for the campaign against nuclear weapons, refreshments will be provided.

As the US-North Korea nuclear crisis worsens, protesters descended on Downing Street at on 28th September to call on the Prime Minister to rule out further British involvement in military drills over the Korean peninsula. Kate Hudson, CND general secretary, said:
 “Our government must do all it can to prevent nuclear war, but instead of that it has chosen to join in with Donald Trump’s preparations for war – participating in military drills over the Korean peninsula – and has remained silent about the US President’s increasingly belligerent approach to the conflict.

NB: in Scotland: Saturday 30th September 1pm – 4pm at Strathclyde University Student Union, 90 John Street, Glasgow G1 1JH, North Korea, Trump and War: Dissecting the Crisis in the Pacific As tensions mount in the Asia-Pacific we are pleased to announce that we will be joined by Dr Owen Miller, among others, to dissect the nature and history of North Korea – as well as the strategic objectives and ambitions of the United States in relation to Japan, China and South Korea. Organised by New Foreign Policy  Booking on Eventbrite at www.northkoreatrump.eventbrite.com

Corbyn calls for ‘dialogue and negotiations’ in response to US-North Korea nuclear crisis Kate Hudson, CND general secretary, said: “Jeremy Corbyn is right to call for the end to the dangerous war of words in the US-North Korea nuclear crisis and for the UN secretary general to kick-start negotiations – only through talks is there a possibility of de-escalating this crisis. “The world is on the precipice of catastrophic warfare. That’s why it’s outrageous that Theresa May has remained silent on the growing crisis and that her Foreign Secretary could neither confirm nor deny whether the British military is involved in military drills over the Korean Peninsula.”  September 26th was the United Nations’ International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons and CND has been spending the day at the Labour Party conference explaining why a Labour government should commit to signing the UN’s global nuclear weapons ban treaty. CND will  be taking the same demand to the Tory party conference. You can also get involved by calling on your MP to support the ban treaty: Write to your MP
53 countries have already signed in less than a week, let’s get the UK to sign as well. In a new blog post, Kate Hudson has written on why Labour must support the nuclear ban treaty.

ALSO on the 30th:

Not all women were in favour of war in 1914-1918.  Many were particpants in the Women’s Peace Crusades. Scottish branch of Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom have linked up with Glasgow Women’s Library to bring you an event focusing on the Peace Crusades in Glasgow & Manchester.
The event will take place on Saturday afternoon, 1.30-3.30 on 30 September 2017,  at Glasgow Women’s Library. All women are welcome to attend this free event.
EVENTS IN NOVEMBER:
1. On Saturday 4th November Greater Manchester & District CND and the Working Class Movement Library will be hosting a Peace History Conference in Manchester. The conference will mark the 100th anniversary of the Russian
Revolutions and looks at the effects on the British labour and peace  movements. Spaces are limited so early booking is advisable.
NB fromManchester CND Just a reminder of tomorrow’s Tories Out demo in Manchester.

If you are coming down, please bring your group’s banner and join the CND block. 
We’ll have a marquis set up in Castlefield Bowl from midday. Please come say hi!
 
2. Socially Constructed Radiation Hazards: Nuclear Power and Fracking   4 -5.30pm on Wednesday 15th November Staff Room, sixth floor Crystal Macmillan Building, 15a George Square Edinburgh EH8 9LD

 Dr Fairlie is a radiation biologist, an expert on radiation doses and risks to human health. As a public intellectual, he speaks out plainly against human activities that add to radiation hazards.  The Chernobyl accident in 1986 triggered his studies of the hazards of radiation releases from nuclear facilities. He contributes to the international debates about leukaemia clusters around nuclear plants.  More recently, he has commented on the likely long-term health impact of Fukushima, the radioactive risks of fracking and the health hazards of shells hardened with depleted uranium.  This is a unique opportunity to ask questions of an expert. These topics may not be close to your research interests but they may impact on your life. Nuclear accidents, like atmospheric nuclear tests, have a global impact but small local emissions also have health effects. Dr Fairlie will present some of his work and take questions about the radiation hazards on any of these issues. This is a rare opportunity to ask questions of an independent expert, as most radiation scientists tend to come from nuclear energy or nuclear weapons establishments.

There  will also be an evening meeting part sponsored by Edinburgh CND

edinburghcnd

Edinburgh CND News 20th/21st September


(B) Treaty comprehensively bans nuclear weapons research, possession, use, deterrence, and all forms of assistance in these prohibited acts

Around 45 states signed, more in following days; ceremony began 8 am EDT; entry into force follows 50th ratification. (http://www.lasg.org)

Edinburgh CND joined others outside the Scottish Parliament for a citizens signing.
CND writes: 122 countries, frustrated by the lack of progress by the nuclear states, have taken matters into their own hands to produce this groundbreaking framework through which signatories can work towards a nuclear-free world.
CND’s call for Britain to join this initiative has been echoed by faith leaders, politicians & trades unionists who have set out why Britain must sign up to the treaty in today’s Guardian and CND’s Kate Hudson has written more on Trump’s speech & the nuclear ban in the Independent.
Kate Hudson, CND general secretary, said:
“The anti-nuclear weapons movement across the world has been working towards this day for decades. The earliest CND placards called on our leaders to ban the bomb and abolish all nuclear weapons. “As a result of that sustained campaign, and tireless efforts from the states that have brought this to fruition, a ban treaty will be launched at the United Nations today. “In these turbulent times – when there is a real possibility of nuclear war – it is very inspiring to see the international community – the majority of world states – taking matters into their own hands to make progress on building a nuclear free world.
ICAN writes : UK absent as UN States line up to sign this important new nuclear treaty 
(London, 20 September 2017) International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons UK (ICAN UK)
Heads of State and Foreign Ministers from many countries will started the process of joining the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) when it opened for signature by the UN Secretary General António Guterres in New York, 20September
Vatican City first to sign and by end of day there were 50 signatures:
article: https://opendemocracy.net/uk/new-hope-for-nuclear-free-world-but-where-is-uk

Copies of the Treaty are also available fromICAN

B. Keep up the pressure – No Nuclear War protest
CND (www.cnd.uk.org) writes: In the coming weeks our movement must step up to assert a very different agenda to the one our government is pursuing. Protest: There is a protest in London: No Nuclear War 5pm • Thursday 28th September • Downing Street, London
Other actions you can take Sign our letter to tell Theresa May how to prevent a nuclear war Letters will be delivered to Downing Street on the 28th September as part of a protest.                                                                                                                                                   There will be stalls on the 26th (see above).                                                                               Please write to your MPs and local press.

The Basle Peace Off ice writes: The United States and North Korea should step back from the brink of war in North East Asia, and instead adopt a diplomatic approach to prevent war, according to an appeal sent yesterday to these two governments, and to the UN Security Council, by members and affiliates of the Abolition 2000 global network to eliminate nuclear weapons.
110 organisations and over 200 additional civil society representatives from 44 countries endorsed the appeal. it highlights the increasing risk of war – and possibly even the use of nuclear weapons by miscalculation, accident, or intent, calls for ‘immediate commencement of negotiations to prevent a military conflict from erupting,’ and urges ‘the UN Security Council to prioritise a diplomatic solution to the conflict.’Launching a ‘preventive‘ military attack against North Korea would not resolve the nuclear threat in the region, it would only ‘make matters much worse‘ according to Senator Ed Markey, Co-President of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (PNND), who led a United States bipartisan delegation to Korea and Japan at the end of August.

C.Anti-nuclear weapons campaigners have welcomed a decision by Trades Union Congress 2017 to call on Labour to establish a Shadow Defence Diversification Agency ahead of the next general election. The agency will address the long-term challenges of a shrinking manufacturing sector by “developing an overall national industrial strategy including the possibility of conversion of ‘defence’ capacity”. Kate Hudson, CND general secretary, said: “This is very welcome news. Jobs are often presented as an argument in favour of Trident replacement, so it’s essential that there is a plan to secure alternative high-skilled jobs – and to create many more jobs – if a Labour government decides to scrap the present government’s £205 billion scheme

EVENTS:                                                                                                                                                    1. September 21st is International Peace day and September 26 has been chosen by the United Nations to be the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (Nuclear Abolition Day).
On this day, join parliamentarians, mayors, religious communities, youth, artists, activists and others around the world to Reach HIGH for a nuclear-weapon-free world Take a photo of yourself, or you and others, on a high place or reaching high, or lifting a peace sign/object up high; Post your photo on social media with the hastags #ReachHIGH2018, #Sep26dontNukeUs, #abolishnukes, and/or #YouthAgainstNukes. Contact UNFOLD ZERO for a sample peace sign to use in your action. They expect that the High Level session will be able to be watched live on UN Web TV http://webtv.un.org/live-now/watch/high-level-plenary-meeting-to-commemorate-and-promote-the-international-day-for-the-total-elimination-of-nuclear-weapons/5569780423001

2. The Peace Boat will be visiting Edinburgh on the 3rd October between 2.30 and 9.00pm
There will be Hibakusha on board, and young climate change ambassadors from Japan along with other Japanese participants when peace boat is visiting Edinburgh.
More about the young people here:
 They have been invited to the Scottish Parliament early in the day, and then they are going to visit the Story Telling Centre  for a cultural exchange and a meal. In the early evening they will visit the Peace and Justice Centre, and the Paper Crane Project. They arrive at the Centre at 7pm so we will see them after our monthly meeting.

                                                                                                                                                                 3. Nukewatch Public Meetings: Could Scotland Cope with a Nuclear Weapons Convoy Crash?
EDINBURGH: 28 Sept 6pm, Godfrey Thomson Hall, Thompsons Land, St John St, Edinburgh EH8 8AQ  Jointly organised with UN House
HELENSBURGH: 2 Oct 7.30pm, EDINBURGH: 6 Oct 7pm, Yes Hub, 31 Lasswade Rd, EH16 6TD  jointly organised with Edinburgh Yes Hub
GLASGOW: 10 October, 7pm, STIRLING: 24 Oct 7pm, GLASGOW: 26 Oct 12.30pm,
The Nukewatch report “Unready Scotland” raises sharp questions about the preparedness of the civil authorities in Scotland to respond to a serious incident involving the transport by road of UK nuclear warheads, with its unique combination of high explosives and toxic nuclear materials.

4. SCND AGM takes place on Saturday, November 11th in the Quaker Meeting House, 7 Victoria Street, Edinburgh, EH1 2JL.
Registration is from 10 am and the meeting starts at 10:30 am.
The meeting should last until about 3 pm and a lunch will be provided. Further details on the SCND website http://www.banthebomb.org


 

5. The Conservative Party is holding its Annual Conference in Manchester this year and there will be a week of demonstrations, actions and events organised by the many, many people who oppose them. 1st October – Tories Out – Festival and demonstration
 On the opening day of the conference, there will be a major festival and demonstration, starting in Castlefield Arena (Manchester) at 12pm.- For info on the demonstration, visit here – For info on the CND bloc at the demo, visit here

Please bring banners, placards and loud voices!                                                                          2nd October – Avoiding Apocalypse – CND public meeting – 5.15pm Greater Manchester CND is hosting a meeting about the global situation and how we can build an alternative to a foreign policy based on nuclear weapons and war. Speakers will include: Dr Kate Hudson (General Secretary of CND), Ann Feltham (Parliamentary Officer at CAAT) and Dr Jenny Clegg (Expert on North East Asia and CND Council Member). Fully details are here                                                                                                                                                    STOP PRESS: (a) If you are in Manchester join CND at 6pm on Sunday 24th September at St Paul’s Church on West Street. (b) In a new blog post, Kate Hudson has written on why Labour must support the nuclear ban treaty. (c)You can follow CND’s activities at Labour Party conference on our Twitter @CNDuk – you can join in the conversation about nuclear weapons by using the #Lab17 hashtag when you’re tweeting.

 6. A four-day international conference of doctors, lawyers, scientists and nuclear experts from 27 countries concluded in Basel yesterday with the release of the Basel Declaration on human rights and trans-generational crimes resulting from nuclear weapons and nuclear energy. PNND adds Now is the time to start asking questions in your parliament about the 2018 UN HIgh-Level Conference, whether your government will attend at the highest level (Prime Minister or President) and what they hope to achieve at the conference.

7. Peace and Justice Events:                                                                                                   (a) Thurs 21Sept: Celebration lunch for International Day of Peace and the birthday of the P&J. For volunteers and anyone interested in getting involved. Peace & Justice Centre.  We will provide the soup and bread.                                                                               (b)    2.  Living Nonviolently Toward the Earth 1st October – 1 – 5pm Bridgend Farmhouse.  41 Old Dalkeith Rd. EH16 4TD                                                                                    (c). Walk for Peace Edinburgh. 2 – 5pm.  Sunday 15 Oct (Note Date change) .  Starting from Terrace of St John’s Church, EH2 4BJ.  A gentle, mindful walk, visiting peace places across Edinburgh. With poetry, singing, stories of nonviolence and struggles for peace & disarmament, a dance for peace and a silent section led by members of the Interbeing Community Sangha. All welcome.
Now is the time to start asking questions in your parliament about the 2018 UN HIgh-Level Conference, whether your government will attend at the highest level (Prime Minister or President) and what they hope to achieve at the conference.