20 September 2017
This morning at the UN in New York world leaders will gather to begin the process of ratifying the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty. This legally binding Treaty was agreed at the UN in July of this year with the support of 122 countries. The Treaty aims to remove all nuclear weapons from our world
The UK Government refused to take part in the negotiations that produced the Treaty and have made it clear that they will not sign. Movements such as Pax Christi, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) CND, the Quakers, will continue to urge those countries that have not been a part of the process to come on board and affirm this world-changing opportunity.
This sentiment is expressed in a letter published in the Guardian today, signed by Archbishop Malcolm McMahon, President of Pax Christi, Bishop Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford, Mohammed Kozbar of the Muslim Association of Britain, politicians and others . The letter states:
“The treaty opens for signature today, and more than 100 states are set to sign this ground-breaking document. This is an open invitation from the majority of the world’s states to all countries to sign up and work to make the abolition of nuclear weapons a reality. Our government says it is committed to the same aim, yet it boycotted the talks that produced the treaty and insists the UK will never sign. But the opportunity is there; the UK must seize it and work to make a success of it. The alternative is spiralling nuclear proliferation, massively increased danger and inevitable annihilation. For all our futures, we urge Theresa May to sign the treaty.”
