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http://ifor-mir.org
Nuclear Weapons, Still A Threat About 25,000 nuclear weapons are still available on our planet. If ever used, the whole world could be destroyed multiple times. The International Fellowship of Reconciliation and its members are still at the forefront in trying to decrease their numbers and increase global awareness about their effects. IFOR Youth Working Group members, Lucia Haemmerle and Bettina Schieraus, participated, on March 4-5th 2013, in a conference hosted in Oslo at the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons. Delegates from 127 countries, several UN organizations, and non-governmental and civil society representatives took part in the event. The topic of the conference was the impact that a nuclear detonation would have on humans, on the climate and the environment. This marks a shift in the discourse about nuclear weapons, which so far has been stuck in Cold War mentality, relating to state security and strategy and thus neglecting the component of short and long-term human tragedy and suffering. The message of the conference was so alarming that it is very likely to reach even the five official nuclear weapon states (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and the United States), even though these countries did not choose to send delegations to the conference in Oslo. The concern of the international community stems from the realization expressed by civil society organizations, like the International Red Cross and Red Crescent movement, that there are, and probably never can be, enough capacities to deal with a humanitarian emergency caused by the detonation of a nuclear weapon. The destructive power that lies within nuclear arms, once unbound, has no regard for national borders, kills people regardless of their nationality or involvement with the military and has devastating long-term effects on human health, environment and climate. This alarming assessment needs to be the most important factor in shaping the nuclear debate on the international level. The conference in Norway was a good first step in the right direction and as such should be highlighted by civil society organizations and peace initiatives in the world. During the conference, the youth network Ban All Nukes generation (BANg Europe), in cooperation with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and the Fellowship of Reconciliation - Austria, urged governments, through nonviolent public actions and discussions with state delegates, to increase the pressure on nuclear weapon states to abolish and disarm their nuclear arms. At the end of the conference, Lucia Haemmerle and Bettina Schieraus stated: “The most important thing the youth delegation learned was that it is important to speak up. In order to pursue the path to a nuclear weapon free world there needs to be an increase in awareness for the horrors contained in each nuclear bomb and the demand for urgent action to be taken.” More Information as well as a full report of the event can be found at: www.bang-europe.org www.icanw.org www.versoehnungsbund.at
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