Activities

“Italia, Ripensaci” 2.0 – Three busy days for ICAN in Italy

February 2018

A whirlwind tour of 4 Italian cities to announce the new stage of our campaign called “Italia, Ripensaci”, which means literally “Italy, reconsider your decision!” This is an idiomatic expression which we first used in October 2016 when Italy voted against the convening of a conference in 2017 to negotiate a binding legal instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, in the UN First Committee. Continue reading ““Italia, Ripensaci” 2.0 – Three busy days for ICAN in Italy”

Joseph Gerson at the CND International Conference

London, October 14, 2017

I want to thank Kate for the opportunity to join and learn from this year’s conference. In each of our countries, we have disastrous leaders in power. But, with its imperial power, its arsenals, and its disregard of the rule of law, and with a man described by his secretary of state as a “fucking moron” at the helm of power, Trump and his coterie are far and away the most dangerous. Continue reading “Joseph Gerson at the CND International Conference”

The Ban Treaty – Next Steps: Sign and Ratify

Dear friends of peace,

Dear colleagues,

A historical document was adopted by 122 states at the UN on July 7th: the treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons.

For many years we have been working for and promoted such a treaty. As the South-African Ambassador said, we faced through the last years “an incredible amount of pressure”, we were accused of being “irrealistic” and divisive, but this treaty had to be achieved as a “moral duty”. Continue reading “The Ban Treaty – Next Steps: Sign and Ratify”

Joseph Gerson Reports on IPB Ban Treaty Side Event

Friends,

I am ostensibly on vacation, but I am en route home after a quick trip to New York City where I chaired I side event at the U.N. on the impacts of the Ban Treaty. That is to say how our movements can build on the treaty whose text will be completed Friday. Continue reading “Joseph Gerson Reports on IPB Ban Treaty Side Event”

Report on the second week at the UN negotiations to prohibit nuclear weapons

New York 26-30 June 2017

The second week of the negotiations for a Treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons started with the publication on June 27th of the second draft of the Treaty (now called a “Treaty” and no more a “Convention”.) The 130 states in the room are now actively negotiating long hours in small or big committees in order to keep open the possibility to finalize a good text by June 7th. Continue reading “Report on the second week at the UN negotiations to prohibit nuclear weapons”

Report – 2nd Negotiations Round on a Nulcear Weapons Ban Treaty

After the successful session in March 2017 and the publication of the draft of the Convention to prohibit nuclear weapons by the Chair Ambassador Elayne Whyte from Costa Rica, the Second round of negotiations on a Convention started on June 15th.

The sprit of the 125+ participating countries is productive and dynamic and no major disagreements have been stopping the hard works of the participants from going forward. Nuclear weapons States possessors and their allies, the countries who rely on nuclear weapons in their security doctrines, have chosen to boycott the process, except the Netherlands. Continue reading “Report – 2nd Negotiations Round on a Nulcear Weapons Ban Treaty”