Back anti-nuclear ban, Quakers urge
‘Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reminds us all of the fragility of peace and the importance of investing time, money and diplomatic energy in creating and building peace.'
Quakers called for the government to engage with the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) last month.
On the second anniversary of TPNW, which has been signed by sixty-eight states, the Network of Christian Peace Organisations delivered an open letter to the Foreign Office urging the UK government to back the ban on the weapons.
The letter also called on James Cleverly, the foreign secretary, to consider the ongoing health and environmental legacy of British nuclear tests in Australia and over the Pacific Islands.
‘Russia’s invasion of Ukraine reminds us all of the fragility of peace and the importance of investing time, money and diplomatic energy in creating and building peace,’ the letter says.
‘The strong statements from President Putin, hinting at the potential use of nuclear weapons, highlighted to us all the continued threat that the presence of these weapons in any nation poses to the whole world.’
Oliver Robertson, head of witness and worship for Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM), said: ‘The horrendous power of nuclear weapons runs contrary to the Quaker belief that there is that of God in every person.
‘We call on the UK Government to become involved with the nuclear prohibition treaty, and to consider the damage our nuclear tests caused. All nuclear weapons should be eliminated.’
The UN treaty makes it illegal under international law to develop, test, produce, manufacture, acquire, possess, stockpile, transfer, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons.
The UK became party to another treaty, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), in 1970, and has been joined by 190 other states. But critics say there has been little progress on nuclear disarmament with the five recognised nuclear-weapons states continuing to hold 13,400 warheads. India, Israel, Pakistan and North Korea are not party to the NPT and are also thought to possess nuclear weapons.
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