Nuclear Disarmament/Redefining Security
Since 1945, when the United States dropped atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the world has faced an existential threat of nuclear war. Today the danger of another nuclear weapons use is at its highest since World War II. More than 13,000 nuclear weapons, most an order of magnitude more powerful than the bombs that destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki— 92% held by the U.S. and Russia, continue to pose an intolerable threat to humanity. The detonation of even a small number of these weapons would have catastrophic human and environmental consequences that could affect everyone on the planet.
All the nuclear-armed states (U.S., Russia, China, U.K., France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel) are engaged in programs to qualitatively upgrade their nuclear arsenals. Over the next 30 years, the U.S. plans to spend an estimated $1.7 Trillion to replace its entire nuclear weapons infrastructure and upgrade its nuclear bombs, warheads, and delivery systems. An alarming trend is the increased scale and tempo of war games by nuclear-armed states and their allies, including nuclear drills. Ongoing missile tests, and frequent close encounters between military forces of nuclear-armed states exacerbate nuclear dangers.
The nuclear-armed nations maintain that nuclear weapons are the ultimate guarantor of their “national security”, but nuclear weapons endanger everyone’s security. Security must be fundamentally redefined in human and environmentally sustainable terms. UFPJ works with civil society organizations at home and internationally to promote complete nuclear abolition.
Webinar: The International Nuclear Disarmament Agenda; Civil Society Perspectives from Seven Key States
With the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Doomsday Clock set at 100 seconds to midnight, and the world’s nuclear powers upgrading their nuclear arsenals and dangerously engaging in provocative military “exercises”, activists and advocates around the world are...
Human Rights Versus Nuclear Weapons
We are witnessing a resurgence of interest in the application of international human rights law to one of the principal threats to the human future: nuclear weapons. A general comment issued by the UN Human Rights Committee in 2018 finds the threat or use of nuclear...
The Golden Rule Is Coming Soon –Sailing to a Harbor Near You!
by Gerry Condon Have you heard about the Golden Rule anti-nuclear sailboat? If not, you will probably hear about her soon. She could be sailing to a harbor near you. Some people remember all the way back to 1958, when this 34-ft. ketch was sailed across the ocean,...
Celebrating Entry-Into-Force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
On January 22, 2021, people around the world celebrated entry-into force of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Spanning the globe, at least 150 events, included protests, bannering at nuclear facilities, ringing of church bells,...
Get Ready for Nuclear Ban Treaty Entry-into-Force Action Day: Jan. 22, 2021
On January 22, 2021, people around the world will celebrate the day that the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) enters into force (EIF Day). Please join the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance (OREPA), Nukewatch, The Nuclear...
Celebrate Entry-Into-Force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons!
On United Nations Day, October 24, Honduras became the 50th country to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (Ban Treaty), bringing the total number of ratifications to 50 and meeting the threshold for the Treaty’s entry-into force. The Ban Treaty...
What do you think of these 10 Challenges for Biden?
How are you feeling after this nail-biting election? Relieved? exhausted? apprehensive? That’s where we—the peacemakers— come in. Just as grassroots groups around the country are pushing Biden to embrace visionary policies such as a Green New Deal and Medicare for...
Celebrate Armistice Day – Wage Peace with Renewed Energy!
by Gerry Condon November 11 is Armistice Day, marking the 1918 armistice that ended the First World War, on the “eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.” Horrified by the industrial slaughter of millions of soldiers and civilians, the people of the...
Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty Reaches 50 Ratifications and Nears Entry-Into-Force
On United Nations Day, October 24, Honduras became the 50th country to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), bringing the total number of ratifications to 50 and meeting the threshold for the Treaty’s entry-into force. With entry-into-force...
September 26: International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
On September 26, the UN International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, UFPJ took part in a 10 hour Nuclear-Weapon-Free World global civil society program with presentations, video messages, art, music, workshops and panels. Click here to read the full...
Campaign for Peace, Disarmament & Common Security Launches
UFPJ welcomes a new member organization, the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament & Common Security (CPDCS). After more than four decades with the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), the last 36 years of which he served as Director of the Peace & Economic...
A Plowshares Eight 40th Anniversary Virtual Gathering
A reflective reunion of the Plowshares Eight was held on September 9, 2020. One hundred forty people joined Zoom with the understanding that humanity still lives under the threat of nuclear weapons. A moment of silence began the gathering to recall Fr. Daniel...