Endorsing the Joint Appeal for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

Endorsing the Joint Appeal for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

Dear UNA-NYC Members and UN Supporters,

On September 26, I joined with members of our NYC chapter and others from the NYC area to participate in a unique opportunity, taking part in a multimedia action to "stop" nuclear weapons, Peace is in Our Hands, which took place at New York City Hall Park.

I was also pleased to sign the endorsement, on behalf of the United Nations Association of New York, of the Joint Appeal for the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons - in honor of which Nuclear Abolition Day was established by an open group of organizations, working in consultation with the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs.

On the same day, at UN headquarters in midtown, the President of the UN General Assembly hosted a High-Level Plenary Meeting to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, and at which the Appeal was presented.

The appeal has been endorsed by more than 1600 organizations and individuals from around the world - including parliamentarians, local body representatives, religious leaders, Nobel laureates, former government ministers and UN officials, academics, scientists, medical professionals, youth leaders, business leaders, educators, retirees and more. Endorsing organizations came from a range of fields including peace, disarmament, human rights, environment, sustainable development, youth and faith-based organizations.

At the Plenary Meeting, President of the UN General Assembly Annalena Baerbock invited civil society speakers to participate in the commemoration, including Dr. Deepshikha Kumari Vijh, Executive Director of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy and Coordination Team Member of NuclearAbolitionDay.org, as well as Satoshi Tanaka, Executive Board member of Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations that won the Nobel Peace Prize last year.

"The 80th anniversary of the United Nations coincides with the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki," said Dr. Deepshikha Kumari Vijh. "These are events that testify that no use of nuclear weapons could ever comply with international humanitarian law given their indiscriminate effects and catastrophic humanitarian consequences."

The meeting opened with a message from UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterrez, in which he warned that "we are sleepwalking into a new nuclear arms race, more complex, more unpredictable, and even more dangerous. The risks of escalation and miscalculation are multiplying." Disarmament is the foundation of peace, he said, while calling on all countries possessing nuclear weapons to return to dialogue in efforts to "forge a world free of these weapons of extinction."

Those interested can watch the video of the September 26 UN High-Level Plenary meeting. Please see Stop Nuclear Weapons: Leaders of the UN and Member States, Celebrities and Civil Society Called for Action on Nuclear Abolition Day for a blog report on the presentation of the Joint Appeal to the UN, plus some other actions and events on Nuclear Abolition Day. Photos from these events can be seen at the organization's LinkedIn and Facebook pages.

In closing, there will be an opportunity to present the Joint Appeal to the First Committee of the UN General Assembly on October 17. This committee, which includes representatives from all UN Member States, considers disarmament resolutions for adoption by the UNGA. The Joint Appeal will remain open for further endorsement until then.

Ann Nicol
Executive Director, UNA-NYC

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Action Links

• Read and add your endorsement of the Joint Appeal here

• Subscribe to the newsletter of UNFOLD ZERO, a platform for United Nations (UN) focused initiatives and actions for the achievement of a nuclear weapons free world. UNFOLD ZERO aims to unfold the path to zero nuclear weapons through effective steps and measures facilitated by the UN General Assembly, UN Security Council, UN Secretary-General and other UN bodies.