Now is the time to give Obama a strong push toward nuclear abolition, the direction he wants to go. So come to Basel next August and make it happen!
B. Lown, August 2009
AUGUST 25 - 30, 2010
University of Basel , Switzerland
FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT
Arguments
Nuclear disarmament is gaining new momentum in the policies of the new US administration. The vision of both presidents Obama and Medvedev of a "world without nuclear weapons" is remarkable. The planned reduction of the number of strategic nuclear weapons and the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) by the US Senate are the next important steps but these efforts must be supported on all levels. In order to give the present impetus, sustainability and resolve against the inevitable moves by the nuclear weapons establishment and old-style security strategists, a new alliance must be forged. The IPPNW convention, meeting a few months after the NPT Review Conference, is an opportunity to consolidate such a coalition. It will do so in two ways: It will first foster contact and dialogue between mainstream security experts and practitioners which have turned to supporting nuclear abolition and civil society supporters of nuclear disarmament such as IPPNW members. Secondly, it will facilitate contact between nonaligned Switzerland and other disarmament-willing NATO member governments and other countries.
This momentum notwithstanding, the obstacles on the way are considerable. They are less of a technical than of a political nature. There are powerful forces around the world content with the status quo or even trying to enhance the role of nuclear weapons in military strategies. Hopes for nuclear disarmament were high in the nineties after the end of the Cold War. However, with a receding threat of nuclear war, public mobilization for the cause of disarmament became non-existent and support hardly perceptible. When resistance against disarmament policy grew, not the least in the US Congress, the forces supporting it proved too weak to counter the anti - disarmament juggernaut. This must not happen again!
Forming an Alliance
It is essential to forge a strong and lasting alliance between the various quarters that are now in favor of nuclear disarmament. It is the declared objective of IPPNW to use the occasion of the global organization's world convention of August 2010 for assisting in the shaping of such an alliance. The convention aims at bringing together the three groups who appear now to be the core of a disarmament movement: 1) Mainstream security experts and practitioners, 2) Disarmament experts from "likeminded" countries and international organizations who have built experience in working for nuclear disarmament under difficult circumstances. 3) Civil society organizations that have for long supported nuclear disarmament. It is essential that these three groups find common ground for this common cause. It is expected that political leaders subscribing to the objective of a zero nuclear weapons world will meet enormous opposition at home and abroad and face an uphill battle. They need a sustained, well-organized and wide support by all factions.
Switzerland and the International Court of Justice (ICJ)
Swiss diplomacy is capable and effective beyond it's small size and, for some years, Switzerland has been very supportive of the idea of nuclear disarmament. The Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice took the issue of nuclear arms out of the strategic paradigm of the deterrence discourse and framed it in terms of the basically inhumane nature of these weapons. With this move, there exists now a powerful motivation for Switzerland and other nations to engage in the field. In a dialogue between IPPNW Switzerland and the Swiss government, the idea of a nuclear weapon free zone in Europe was well - received. It could be a landmark move on the path towards nuclear disarmament in Europe. Switzerland has been a respected and recognized interlocutor in international relations and could be a welcome outside assistant to the efforts of NATO members in their attempt to change Alliance policies.
Timing
The convention will be held at a propitious time. The NPT Review Conference will have been over for just a few weeks and the meeting in Basel will be a momentous event. The recent initiatives taken by the American government and the supportive independent efforts by other governments such as Norway and Australia, nurture the hope that next years Review Conference will add considerably to the momentum of nuclear disarmament. This is just the right time to push forward for a broad coalition.
Agenda
The core of the conventions agenda will consist of Plenary meetings devoted to key issues of disarmament: The rationale for nuclear abolition and the moral issues involved, the position of key actors such as the United States, Russia, France and India and the specific steps that are or should be on the agenda to move nuclear disarmament forward. Working groups will allow participants to engage more actively. Subjects there will go beyond the nuclear issue, but the goal is also to attract IPPNW activists and other civil society groups interested in disarmament. The agenda is broad and the composition of the speakers' list attractive enough to catch the attention of the media.
Outcome and Follow up
IPPNW intends to produce a concise document summarizing "what is new" after this conference, particularly on political strategies leading towards nuclear disarmament. This is intended as a means for assisting both civil society coalition members and active disarmament diplomats. It is also planned to produce a short briefing paper for journalists and pursue efforts to bring together officials from disarmament-minded NATO and non-aligned governments in Europe. Central themes will be the development of Nuclear Weapon Free Zones in Europe, the Arctic and the Middle East.
IPPNW
IPPNW originated in 1962, when a group of physicians in the USA (Physicians for Social Responsibility, PSR) investigated the potential consequences of a nuclear attack on the city of Boston and presented their conclusions. This led to an appeal for disarmament, which expanded internationally and to the foundation of IPPNW in 1980. In 1985, the organization and its founders B. Lown and E. Chazov were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their sustained commitment to international peace and nuclear disarmament. Today, IPPNW is a non-governmental organization with tens of thousands of doctors, medical students other health workers and concerned citizens in 62 afiliates, dedicated to an active policy for peace.
IPPNW is particularly well endowed to serve as the mediating point between the various prospective members of the coalition. Doctors have considerable credibility and prestige. For any physician, the notion of global security based on nuclear weapons is an absurdity: the stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction is unacceptable. If used, such weapons will release lethal dosages of radiation. Hundreds of thousands will die on the spot and countless others will suffer the effects of radiation poisoning. The contamination of the planet will continue for millennia, with concomitant consequences for human health and all life on earth. The only approach is prevention, one of the key goals of medicine. Disarmament is the only secure form of such prevention. IPPNW, as one of the recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize, has the aura of authenticity in the disarmament sector. This makes it an ideal host for a convention with the purposes discussed above.
Main Topics
Other topics
Target Audience
The congress is intended primarily for doctors, health professionals and medical students but open to all interested persons. Some 400 to 600 doctors from all over the world are expected to attend, along with as many as 200 medical students. Public events are aimed at encouraging interest in the rest of the population.
Organization
IPPNW Switzerland Office
Claudia Bürgler
Klosterberg 23
CH-4051 Basel
Tel.: +41 (0)61 271 50 25
E-mail: sekretariat(at)ippnw.ch
Internet: www.ippnw2010.org
Professor Dr. med. Andreas Nidecker, MD
Head organization committee 2010 IPPNW World Congress
Tel.: +41 (0)61 683 11 60 (evenings)
E-mail: andreas.nidecker(at)ippnw.ch
For Details please review our Website, www.ippnw 2010.org which will be continuously updated
The greatest terrorism today is the possession of genocidal nuclear arsenals - you and only you can put a stop to such a moral obscenity! B. Lown, August 2009