Invitation to global commemoration event : January 25
Event Date: 25th January 2021
Location: Internet 16:00 GMT
UNFOLD ZERO Newsletter
Invitation to global commemoration event : January 25
Dear Peter,Many of us around the world breathed a sigh of relief yesterday (January 20) as the United States ‘nuclear football’ (the briefcase with nuclear weapons codes and communication links for the President to launch a nuclear attack) was passed from Mr Trump to the new US President Joe Biden. The change of administration in the US, combined with the Democrats now controlling the US Congress, provide new opportunities to make progress on nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament.
Tomorrow (Jan 22), the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) enters-into-force, and two days later will be the 75th anniversary of United Nations Resolution 1 (1). The resolution, adopted by consensus, established the goal of a world free from nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
We invite you to a global online forum on January 25 to commemorate these events. The forum will include presentation of civil society appeals and parliamentary resolutions. Click here to register.
Kehkashan Basu, one of the speakers in the January 25 Forum, is President of the Green Hope Foundation, National Geographic Young Explorer and environmental activist, and an endorser of the Appeal for a Nuclear Weapon Free World.January 25 Forum Speakers
- H.E. Ms Tatiana Valovaya, Director-General of the UN in Geneva, Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament, Personal Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the CD;
- Hon Ms Maria Fernanda Espinosa, Member of the World Future Council. President of the 73rd UN General Assembly. Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science;
- Dr Randy Rydell, Executive Adviser, Mayors for Peace. Former senior political affairs officer at the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs;
- Ms Kehkashan Basu, Member of the World Future Council. Founder of Green Hope Foundation, UN Human Rights Champion, Winner of the 2016 International Children’s Peace Prize & Winner of the First-Ever Voices Youth Gorbachev-Shultz Legacy Award for Nuclear Disarmament;
- Ms Vanda Proskova, Co-convenor of Youth Fusion, Vice-Chair of PragueVision Institute for Sustainable Security, Co-moderator of #wethepeoples2020, Global civil society youth speaker for the 2020 UN High Level Meeting on the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
Civil society appeals
There are a number of civil society appeals which are being circulated to governments in conjunction with the TPNW entry-into-force and the 75th anniversary of UN Resolution 1 (1), and which will be presented at the January 25 event. They are:
- Protect People and the Planet: Appeal for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World, endorsed by over 700 representatives of civil society including parliamentarians, mayors, former military leaders, youth, religious leaders, academics, former UN and government officials and heads of nongovernmental organizations. Click here to see the list of endorsers. Click hereto endorse;
- Abolish nuclear weapons to assure a sustainable future: Joint statement by World Future Council members and Right Livelihood Laureates on the occasions of the Entry-into-Force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the 75th anniversary of UN Resolution 1 (1);
- It’s time to wrap up the nuclear era! Statement of the Abolition 2000 Coordinating Committee on the occasions of the Entry into Force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the 75th anniversary of UN Resolution 1 (1).
The Appeal for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World is being sent to governments on January 24, and presented at the January 25 commemoration event. Click here to endorse. Parliamentary action
Parliamentarians around the world are taking action to commemorate the TPNW entry-into-force and the 75th anniversary of UN Resolution 1 (1). One example is Parliamentary Motion S5M-23890 introduced in the Scottish Parliament by Bill Kidd MSP. The motion says:
“That the Parliament notes the Entry into Force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on 22 January 2021; understands that this treaty specifically prohibits states parties from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing, deploying, using or threatening to use nuclear weapons, and from assisting or encouraging such acts; believes that the TPNW will reinforce existing international law obligating all states not to test, use or threaten to use nuclear arms, and understands that the Entry into Force of the TPNW will take place only two days before the 75th anniversary of UN General Assembly Resolution 1 (1), which was adopted by consensus, to ensure the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and all other weapons adaptable to mass destruction.”
Vanda Proskova, one of the speakers at the January 25 event, ‘counting nuclear weapons money’ with Bill Kidd MSP, who introduced the motion in the Scottish parliament to note the entry-into-force of the TPNW and the 75th anniversary of UN Resolution 1 (1).Yours sincerelyUNFOLD ZERO