Week 1 of the NPT Review ends with NGO statements, street action

May 8, 2010

tags: International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), NPT, nuclear disarmament, Nuclear Weapons Convention, Students

by John Loretz

Both the expertise of non-governmental organizations and the commitment of abolition activists were on display Friday, as the first week of the month-long NPT Review Conference came to a close. Here are some photos from the day’s events. In a separate post, I’ll highlight some key quotes from the NGO papers. I’m heading back to the IPPNW office in Boston now, but will return to New York for the conclusion of the Conference. In the meantime, keep reading the posts by IPPNW’s other bloggers, who have been doing a great job all week. I’ll monitor the NPT remotely until I return and comment on any breaking news. You can also keep up on day-to-day developments by reading Rebecca Johnson’s blog.

Former IPPNW co-president Gunnar Westberg of Sweden joined Nobel Laureate Jody Williams at an ICAN event urging NPT member states to make serious, concrete plans for ridding the world of nuclear weapons.

Nobel Laureate and mine ban campaigner Jody Williams tells the NPT member states at the 2010 Review Conference "You have a mandate to eliminate nuclear weapons NOW...." Earlier in the day Williams spoke at an ICAN event about the importance and urgency of a Nuclear Weapons Convention.

Nagasaki survivor Taniguchi Sumiteru shows the assembled diplomats a graphic photo of the injuries he sustained when he was 16 years old. "Please don't turn your eyes away from me...I cannot die in peace until I witness the last nuclear warhead eliminated from this world."

Rebecca Johnson of the Acronym Institute explains that the Nuclear Weapons Convention fulfills the NPT at a special Review Conference session for NGOs on May 7. 2010.

Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba of Hiroshima, President of Mayors for Peace, spoke for nearly 4,000 mayors in 143 countries "who stand with us demanding a nuclear-weapon-free world by the year 2020." Mayor Akiba was joined by Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue.

IPPNW students and members of other international youth groups at the NPT Review organized a street action in Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza at the end of the first week of the Conference.