EarthAction

Basel Declaration on Trans-Generational Crimes of Nuclear Weapons & Nuclear Energy

Participants of the Basel Conference on Human Rights, Future Generations, and Crimes in the Nuclear Age. Credit: IPPNW.org

The participants in the international conference Human Rights, Future Generations and Crimes in the Nuclear Age, held in Basel from September 14-17, 2017, affirm that the risks and impacts of nuclear weapons, depleted uranium weapons and nuclear energy, which are both transnational and trans-generational, constitute a violation of human rights, a transgression of international humanitarian and environmental law, and a crime against future generations.

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110 Organisations from 44 Countries Call for Diplomacy on Korea Nuke Issue

Source: Abolition2000.org

The United States and North Korea should step back from the brink of war in North East Asia, and instead adopt a diplomatic approach to prevent war, according to an appeal sent yesterday to these two governments, and to the UN Security Council, by members and affiliates of the Abolition 2000 global network to eliminate nuclear weapons.

110 organisations and over 200 additional civil society representatives from 44 countries endorsed the appeal. It highlights 'the increasing risk of war - and possibly even the use of nuclear weapons by miscalculation, accident, or intent,' calls for 'immediate commencement of negotiations to prevent a military conflict from erupting,' and urges 'the UN Security Council to prioritise a diplomatic solution to the conflict.'

Endorsers of the appeal included parliamentarians, mayors/city representatives, scientists, academics, business leaders, medical professionals, veterans, educators/teachers, Nobel Peace Laureates, Right Livelihood Award laureates (the 'alternative Nobel Peace Prize'), religious leaders, artists, nuclear victims, lawyers, women's organisations, youth, former UN officials & diplomats, NGO leaders and other civil society campaigners.

'Diplomacy with North Korea has worked in the past, and could succeed again if the security concerns of all countries in the region are taken into consideration,' said Alyn Ware, Global Coordinator of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation (PNND) and coordinator of the appeal. 'This could include negotiations for a North East Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, which appears to have cross-party support from three key countries - Japan, South Korea and North Korea.'

'We support the call for a negotiated settlement of the dispute between Korea and USA, Japan, South Korea and neighboring countries with a view to secession of nuclear testing in the interests of humanity and protection of the planet,' said Ela Gandhi (South Africa), Grand-daughter of Mohandas Gandhi and Co-President of Religions for Peace.

'We support this call for a diplomatic approach for North Korea,' said Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate and member of Women Cross DMZ, a group of women who walked from North Korea to South Korea in support of peace. 'As we experienced during our visit to North Korea, the people want peace not war.'

'I feel sad for the ordinary folk who live in North Korea,' said Karipbek Kuyukov (Kazakhstan), a second generation victim of nuclear tests and Honorary Ambassador of the ATOM Project. 'We [in the USSR] went through that too. We thought having weapons of mass destruction means being stronger and more powerful, but it is like an illusion. It is like carrying a huge rock up a steep mountain.'

The appeal also opposes any pre-emptive use of force by any of the parties, calls on all parties to refrain from militaristic rhetoric and provocative military exercises, and welcomes the offers by the UN Secretary-General and the European Foreign Minister to assist negotiations to resolve the conflict.

UNFOLD ZERO, an affiliate of Abolition 2000, joins others in the Abolition 2000 network to promote this appeal.

By Alyn Ware, on behalf of the UNFOLD ZERO team

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GDAMS – 05th-18th April 2016

©Picture from Icy and Sot    www.icyandsot.com

Given the numerous crises facing the planet – the environment, the economy, epidemics, mass poverty – is this the right priority for the use of public money? We say no: a massive reallocation is needed. There are thousands of organizations and millions of individuals who support this point of view – what is needed is a serious mobilizing effort to make it visible. For this reason we have launched a global movement calling for the transfer of military money to human needs.

Every year since 2011, in mid-April, we have been organizing the Global Day of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS) to coincide with the release of the annual world military expenditure figures by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). It is also timed to tie in with Tax Day in the U.S., when Americans pay their taxes and debate their use.

On the Global Day, people on all continents join together in collaborative actions to focus public, political, and media attention on the costs of military spending and the need for new priorities. Such events help us build the international network around this issue, and reach new audiences.

Each location has a free hand to craft its own approach. It could be linked to a national, local, or international peace issue, such as on-going wars, anti-bases protests, arms trade deals, work against small arms, resources for nonviolent conflict resolution, a nuclear disarmament campaign, etc. It can also be linked to welfare cuts, hospital closures, reductions in pensions or development cooperation; or to the need to put money into tackling climate change.

We encourage groups and individuals to maximize the Global Day as an opportunity to connect up with each other across the sectors — peace, environment, development, labour, youth, faith-based, anti-poverty organizations and individuals who share our perspective. Our only specific request is to call attention to a common focus: the overall size of global military spending.

The number of actions are increasing each year. As for the types of activities: a whole range is possible — from physical actions: flashmobs, street theatre/demonstrations, banner displays, seminars, signature collections or concerts; to social media campaigns: Thunderclap; Selfies or groupies on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest; video productions on Youtube; or some combination.

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Global Day of Action on Military Spending

Did you know that global military spending reached 1.75 Trillion US dollars in 2012? 

Monday, April 14, 2014 has been declared as the fourth Global Day of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS), coinciding with the release by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) of its annual statistics on global military spending. The GDAMS initiative was co-founded in 2011 by the International Peace Bureau and the Institute for Policy Studies.

GDAMS urges global citizens to take action to focus political, public, and media attention on global military spending and the need for new priorities. Military spending stands as the major obstacle to addressing the human needs and environmental crisis globally. Here in the US, Tax Day actions will be held on April 15 and some groups will combine GDAMS actions with those. 

How to Participate in GDAMS

Locally: Visit http://demilitarize.org/action-events/ to find an event being organized in a city near you. Post your event to let others in your area join you.

On the Web: Take part in the recently launched  “If I Had $1.75 Trillion…” ‘selfie’ campaign to collect your opinion as well as to  create public awareness  on what the budget currently invested in the military sector could be reallocated to instead. Don't forget to also post your picture to EarthAction's Facebook Wall or tweet it to @EarthAction.

Feeling Motivated?: Gather some friends and fellow activists, find a busy street corner or a public space like a military base, capitol building or town hall and make signs articulating the true cost of military spending. Click here to see the GDAMS effective tools for organizers including posters, facts sheets, and printable leaflets. Tell your local radio station, newspaper, television station or other media agency that you’ll be out spreading the word about your government’s military spending.

Sources:

Official GDAMS website

International Peace Bureau Fact Sheet

So Let's Talk About Drones...

"UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said drone attacks must be regulated by international law. Ban, speaking at a university in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, said every effort should be made to avoid mistakes and civilian casualties. "The use of armed drones, like any other weapon, should be subject to long-standing international law, including international humanitarian law," he said. Pakistan has been lobbying for support to end U.S. drone strikes in its tribal region along the Afghan border. Washington views the strikes as an important means to fight Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants, but Islamabad condemns them as a violation of its sovereignty and international law. The UN secretary-general, who arrived on August 13 in Pakistan on a two-day visit, inaugurated a new building at the National University of Science and Technology that will house the Center for International Peace and Stability. The UN chief lauded in his address the contribution of more than 8,000 Pakistani UN peacekeepers in various parts of the world. "Your country's long history [with UN peacekeeping forces] began more than half a century ago when the first Pakistan troops deployed in faraway Congo, Africa," he said. "Year in and year out, Pakistan has remained one of the largest contributors." Ban will also hold talks with Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and will be the guest of honor on August 14 at the annual Independence Day celebrations to mark the founding of Pakistan in 1947. Ban's visit comes amid escalating tensions between Pakistan and India, who have blamed each other for several shooting and shelling incidents across the Line of Control, the UN-monitored boundary that divides the disputed Himalayan territory of Kashmir. The Indian Army accused Pakistan on August 13 of firing across the boundary in Kashmir overnight. No casualties were reported. Tensions flared on August 6 when five Indian soldiers were killed by gunmen.

Story from http://www.rferl.org/content/un-chief-drones-international-law/25074187.html

Global Action on Military Spending

Did you know that in 2011, global military spending exceed US $1.74 trillion dollars? We believe it is time to spend that money on human needs instead.

Join the global movement to reduce Military Spending. People from all continents are joining together in actions to focus public, political, and media attention on the costs of military spending and the need for new priorities. We hope you will check out events near you and participate! You can also visit demilitarize.org for much more information on military spending. 

UN Adopts Landmark Treaty Regulating Global Arms Trade

-Image from the NYT

Washington Post - "The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the first international treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar global arms trade Tuesday, after a more than decade-long campaign to keep weapons from falling into the hands of terrorists, warlords, organized crime figures and human rights violators.

Arms Trade Treaty Negotiations (March 18—25)

- Photo Courtesy of RadioFreeBrighton
12 BILLION...
...the number of bullets produced each year. 

Thousands of people are killed, injured, raped, and forced to flee from their homes as a result of the unregulated global arms trade. The Control Arms campaign is a global civil society alliance calling for a bulletproof Arms Trade Treaty: a global, legally binding agreement that will ease the suffering caused by irresponsible transfers of conventional weapons and munitions.

Representatives from all countries will come together at the UN from March 18—25 to take the next step in developing a strong and effective global Arms Trade Treaty. MAKE YOUR VOICE HEARD.

Click here for the Control Arms Campaign website. They have lots of resources and suggestions for taking action on this important issue.

Our friends at GlobalSolutions.org have lots of materials on their website for people who live in the U.S.A. Here’s a link to their Fact Sheet, and here’s a link to a great blog post, Getting Small Arms Out of the Wrong Hands, by Don Kraus, their Executive Director.

Learn more:

10 Killer Facts: the Global Weapons Trade, Amnesty International

Why do we need an arms trade treaty?, Amnesty International

5 Myths About Nuclear Weapons

- From Wikimedia Commons

Check out this NY Times op-ed by Ward Wilson, written Jan. 13, 2013, dispelling the myths of beneficial nuclear weapons. Follow the link here to read it. Also, click here to watch artist Isao Hashimoto's short film, showing 2,053 nuclear explosions in one video. 

April Action Alert: How would you spend 1.6 trillion dollars?

Grant a primary education to every child on Earth? Bring clean water and basic sanitation to the entire global population? Reduce maternal mortality rates by three quarters? Adequately treat every person living with HIV/AIDS? End armed conflict? All of the above?

Imagine the world we could live in if each of those dreams came true. Instead, global military spending in 2011 was equivalent to 1.6 trillion dollars. Every minute, the United States spends 2.1 million dollars in military spending. That means the money spent by the US government in just day could cut the spread of malaria worldwide by half, saving over 300,000 lives. 

On Tuesday, April 17th, 2012, concerned global citizens in locations around the world will be taking action to not just imagine but secure a world with less spending on militarization and more spending on human rights. This year marks the second Global day of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS), founded by the International Peace Bureau and the Institute for Policy Studies. 

GDAMS urges global citizens to take action to focus political, public and media attention on global military spending, and to let our world leaders know that we’re watching. Something EarthAction can really get behind.

How to Participate in GDAMS:

Locally- visit Demilitarize.org to find an event being organized in a city near you. Events are already being organized in over 35 countries!

On the Web- Take a picture explaining what you would do with 1.6 trillion dollars. Post it to the GDAMS photo wall and on social media sites to show the world you’re interested in new priorities for the world’s biggest economies. Post your picture to EarthAction's Facebook Wall or tweet to @EarthAction to spread the word.

Tweet

Feeling motivated?- Gather some friends and fellow activists, find a busy street corner or a public space like a military base, capitol building or town hall and make signs articulating the true cost of military spending. GDAMS has effective tools for organizers incuding posters, quick facts and printable leafletts. Be sure to post your event to let others in your area join you! Tell your local radio station, newspaper, television station or other media agency that you’ll be out spreading the word about your government’s choice to fund bombs instead of books and warfare instead of healthcare.

More Information-
Official GDAMS website: demilitarize.org,
International Bureau for Peace fact sheet: http://ipb.org/i/pdf-files/Dont_Spend_Money_on_War_Use_it_for_Peace.pdf

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