Global No First Use campaign and Strategy Meeting

Event Date: 26th May 2021
Location: Internet 16:00 - 18:30

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There is a new ‘wind of change’ that could move nuclear-armed states to agree to never initiate a nuclear war, by adopting No-First-Use (NFU) policies.

On April 29, in the international webinar Nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament: Is it time for no-first-use policies in the USA and globally?, experts from nuclear armed and allied states discussed new opportunities for NFU policies, and how these could reduce nuclear risks and enhance nuclear disarmament efforts. See, for example, Revisiting the case for no first use of nuclear weapons, by Hon Gareth Evans, one of the webinar speakers.

To take advantage of this new ‘wind of change’ - and to build collaboration between those working in different nuclear-armed, allied and non-nuclear states – a group of United States and international organizations is organizing a No-First-Use Global Campaign Meeting on May 26-27, 2021.

This meeting will bring together civil society activists, legislators, academics/experts and many others to discuss strategies, share initiatives and build cooperation with a focus on:

adoption and implementation of NFU policies by nuclear-armed States;
assisting the NFU campaign in the USA by building widespread support amongst US allies in Asia/Pacific and NATO/Europe;
advancing NFU as part of the broader objectives of nuclear risk-reduction and disarmament, and as complementary to other related measures and initiatives.

If you are, or would like to be, active in NFU initiatives, we welcome you to this meeting. Click here for registration application. See also the event facebook page.
Program

Session 1: Sharing of actions and strategies to advance NFU
Timed for participants from Americas/Europe/Africa/Middle East.
May 26: San Francisco (PDT): 8:00-10:30, Mexico City (CDT): 10:00-12:30, New York (EDT): 11:00-13:30, London 16:00-18:30, Geneva/Cairo (CET): 17:00-19:30, Moscow/Tel Aviv/Amman: 18:00-20:30

Session 2: Sharing of actions and strategies to advance NFU
Timed for participants from Asia/Pacific
May 27: Geneva/Cairo (CET): 7:00-9:30, Islamabad: 10:00-12:30, Delhi: 10:30-13:00, Nursultan: 11:00-13:30, Beijing: 13:00-15:30, Tokyo/Seoul: 14:00-16:30, Sydney: 15:00-17:30, Wellington: 17:00-19:30, Honolulu: 19:00-21:30.

Session 3: Campaign events, resources, promotions and cooperation
Joint Session for everyone
May 27: CET: 14:00-15:30, San Francisco (PDT): 05:00-06:30, Mexico City (CDT): 07:00-08:30, New York (EDT): 08:00-9:30, London 13:00-14:30, Geneva/Cairo: 14:00-15:30, Helsinki/Moscow: 15:00-16:30, Delhi: 17:30-19:00, Tokyo: 21:00-22:30, Sydney: 22:00-23:30.

Organised by the Abolition 2000 working group on nuclear risk reduction (global), Basel Peace Office (Switzerland), Beyond the Bomb (USA), Peace Depot (Japan), People for Nuclear Disarmament (Australia), PragueVision Institute for Sustainable Security (Czech Republic), World Future Council (Germany/International) and Zona Libre (Mexico).

Participation is for those individuals and organizations supportive of No-First-Use policies and interested in supporting the global campaign. Fill in the form below to apply for registration.
See below for other upcoming NFU events taking place over the next two weeks.

Some quotes on No-First-Use

“Affirming a nuclear war can never be won and instituting a no first use of nuclear weapons policy are unilateral steps that President Biden can take which will immediately increase global security.”

Peggy Mason. President, Rideau Institute on International Affairs. Former Disarmament Ambassador, Canada. Endorser of the Appeal for NFU and a nuclear-weapon-free world.

“The US and Russia should renounce preemptive first-strike and launch of ICBMs on warning, demonstrated by eliminating land-based ICBMs.”

Daniel Ellsberg. Author, The Doomsday Machine: Confessions of a Nuclear War Planner. Co-author, The Pentagon Papers. Endorser of the Appeal for NFU and a nuclear-weapon-free world.

“The nuclear weapons states by adopting no first use, de-alerting, and shifting to a sustainable common security approach together will get us closer to the abolition of nuclear weapons.”

Robin Collins. Board Member, Canadian Pugwash Group. Endorser of the Appeal for NFU and a nuclear-weapon-free world.

“If all nuclear-armed states agreed to a non-first use policy, nuclear weapons would become obsolete and this would pave the way for their total elimination.”

Marc Finaud, Head of Arms Proliferation, Geneva Centre for Security Policy, Switzerland. Former French Diplomat. Endorser of the Appeal for NFU and a nuclear-weapon-free world.

Other upcoming NFU events:

May 15: Prohibiting First-Use of Nuclear Weapons (USA)

Sat May 15 12:30 pm - 5:00 pm (EDT)</em><br>A <a href="https://unfoldzero.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b24250dac623a8bc5da1b0664&id=2c8a1e7d0d&e=9c9651f584">conference organised by Peace Action Massachusetts</a> to promote the adoption by the USA of a no-first-use policy. The conference will include break-out sessions to enable in-depth discusison with participants on key aspects to advance no-first-use including congressional strategy, supporting the ICBM Bill, reducing nuclear weapons budgets, social media and outreach/movement building. <a href="https://unfoldzero.us12.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b24250dac623a8bc5da1b0664&id=05b930ee3a&e=9c9651f584">Click here</a> to register.<br> <h2>May 22: No First Use: Asia-Pacific Perspectives</h2><em>Saturday May 22 3pm-5pm (New Zealand Time)
The New Zealand Centre for Global Studies is organising this webinar in order to examine what role NFU policies can play to reduce nuclear dangers and advance nuclear disarmament in the Asia-Pacific region. The region includes five nuclear armed countries (China, India, North Korea, Pakistan and Russia) and three additional countries under extended nuclear deterrence relationships which provide possibility of first-use of nuclear weapons (Australia, Japan and South Korea). Speakers include Professor Nobumasa Akiyama (Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo), Dr. Marianne Hanson (University of Queensland, Brisbane); Dr. Manpreet Sethi (Distinguished Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies, New Delhi), and Dr. Tong Zhao (Senior fellow, Carnegie-Tsinghua, Beijing). Click here to register.Yours sincerely
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