The next main event on the 2020 Vision Campaign calendar, and the final one in 2005, is UN Day / Disarmament Week (October 24-30). Our actions at this time will reaffirm that nuclear disarmament is a central responsibility of the international community, and we will reach out to a worldwide constituency emphasizing that the United Nations is the venue of choice for addressing global issues. The call to action in October is primarily in support of the Jumpstart Disarmament Project, but also provides opportunities to develop other aspects of the Campaign Plan for 2005-2006. (See Themes below.)
In this orientation kit:
DatesPurposeActivities‘Attitude’
ThemesOutreachResourcesContacts
Dates:
UN Day, 24 October 2005, commemorating the 60th anniversary of the opening of first General Assembly session in 1945.
More information about UN Day
Disarmament Week, 24-30 October, initiated by the First UN General Assembly Special Session on Disarmament in 1978.
More information about Disarmament Week
‘JUMPSTART’ your activities: September 24, World Peace Day
More information about World Peace Day
Purpose:
The United Nations represents our best hope that humankind will collectively tackle the great challenges facing us today, above all the threat of weapons of mass destruction, and in particular nuclear weapons.
Beginning in early October the First Committee of the UN General Assembly will attempt to address the impasse at the NPT Review Conference (May 2005) and the prolonged deadlock in the Conference on Disarmament (1998-2005). It is hoped that a group of nations will propose that the First Committee step in and empower a subsidiary body to address nuclear disarmament in all its aspects, including commencing talks on a program of action for the achievement and maintenance of a nuclear-weapon-free world. This can be done in the First Committee by a majority vote ? unlike the NPT or CD which are hamstrung by rules of procedure that require unanimity or consensus on every decision. The subsidiary body would operate under the same rules as the First Committee.
It is hoped that the public interest displayed by the UN Day / Disarmament Week activities outlined below will strengthen the political will of countries to act along these lines in late October.
Activities:
Political:
The core event in each city during this period should feature the mayor of that city speaking on behalf of his/her fellow citizens for the commencement of nuclear disarmament talks. Ideally a public event would take place at City Hall with the Mayor presiding, media attention, etc. There are, of course, many other forms the Mayor’s involvement could take. Cities in close proximity to each other might hold a joint event involving several mayors and the public.
The core outcome of the activity should be a proclamation by the City Council or at least a message from citizens and the Mayor to the First Committee urging adoption of a resolution on commencing nuclear disarmament talks. These messages should be sent to the Chairman of the First Committee, the President of the General Assembly, and the Secretary General of the United Nations. Similar messages should be sent to the Head of Government and the Foreign Minister of the city’s country. The city’s newspaper might also be willing to write an editorial or run an op-ed piece.
More about activities, including examples..
Ceremonial:
Fly the United Nations and 2020 Vision flags!
Some cities already fly UN flags as a matter of policy 365 days a year. Mayors for Peace wishes to encourage this practice. At a minimum, the UN flag should be flown on UN Day and, as a beginning step, throughout Disarmament Week. The position of the UN Flag relative to the national and city flags is up to each city to decide according to its own traditions.
During Disarmament Week please also consider displaying the beautiful UN poster. This poster declares your city’s support for the UN and is excellent promotion for Mayors for Peace as well. We wish to acknowlege the fine work of our New York Representative Margo LaZaro, whose devotion to this project make the poster a reality and got Mayors for Peace credited on it. Please encourage your people to order and display this poster at home, at work, or at public events. It is available free of charge (except for a nominal charge for shipping and handling). Please send your request to Margo at: margolazaro@earthlink.net
‘Attitude’:
We must see nuclear weapons for what they are: a hold-over from a by-gone era. In the world we live in today, they only do a disservice to the global security we all need. Only a terrorist would want to use a nuclear bomb. The idea of using nuclear weapons to attack terrorists in underground bunkers is simply ludicrous. As the U.S. Conference of Mayors declared, “Weapons of mass destruction have no place in a civilized world.” During UN Day / Disarmament Week, citizens will have a chance to inform themselves about the nuclear dangers, learn about proposals for eliminating nuclear weapons, and take action to start the process going toward a nuclear-weapon-free world.
Themes:
“Jumpstart Disarmament!”
While the dangers of nuclear arsenals on hair-trigger alert, possible loose nukes, and tons of poorly accounted for stocks of weapon-grade fissile materials must be given urgent attention, a process for mapping the road all the way to a nuclear-weapon-free world must also begin without any further delay. The four basic requirements for getting the job done are a proper mandate and authority; proper time and resources; proper auspices and procedure; and proper participation. There is a decent prospect that headway will be made on several of these requirements in the First Committee in October, and a genuine process will be underway. Such a process will give us a good point of reference for further efforts to satisfy all the basic requirements. The task of getting reluctant states to play a more constructive role will be greatly facilitated by the existence of an ongoing process under UN auspices. It will allow the debate on nuclear weapons to be framed in terms of whether or not citizens want their governments to be working with other governments to eliminate this most-terrible weapon of mass destruction. This is a debate we can win!
More on the “Jumpstart” project plans.
“Ask the People!” (secondary)
International UN Day (October 24), the first day of Disarmament Week, will be used to announce, in New York and Hiroshima, an international round of national opinion polls. In the past, polls have consistently found that large majorities favor universal prohibition of nuclear weapons. From October 2005 to June 2006, Mayors for Peace will be encouraging the use of a common set of questions by pollsters in about 50 key countries. We believe that the collective results will be stunning, and will show that only a tiny minority desire to retain or acquire nuclear weapons. Never again will a public leader be able to claim to speak for his/her people when refusing to engage in international efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons. And those who provide leadership for nuclear disarmament can be confident they speak on behalf of the vast majority both in their country and internationally.
More on the “Ask the People!” project plans.
Local themes:
The international themes provide a necessary global dimension to our campaign activities. But, local themes are often what are foremost on the minds of citizens and mayors. Mayors for Peace encourages event organizers to incorporate local themes in the UN Day / Disarmament Week activities. This should be done in close cooperation with all concerned groups (see out-reach). Examples.
Outreach:
All activities should be seen as an opportunity for outreach to constituencies that do not necessarily see nuclear disarmament as an area of immediate concern. This is especially true of international campaign activities such as the UN Day / Disarmament Week. In this case, four obvious constituencies that should be encouraged to plan or participate in events. They can all bring knowledge and volunteers to event planning, and may take initiative to organize an event of their own.
UNAs and other UN related groups
In most countries there is a United Nations Association. There are also youth groups that simulate UN General Assembly debates. The nature and quality of these groups, of course, varies from country to country, and even within a country from one local chapter to another. In most cases it will be worthwhile reaching out to these groups.
University Political Science and International Relations Department
Most universities conduct courses on international relations and international institutions which prominently feature the United Nations. Courses could be tailored to study the General Assembly in the period leading up to UN Day, with ‘field trips’ taking place on that day and during Disarmament Week.
Foreign Affairs Societies
Nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament is a regular news item these days. Most foreign affairs societies would find it perfectly natural to hold a meeting on this issue and might be willing to time a meeting to coincide with Disarmament Week. They would, most likely, be honored to take part in an event at City Hall.
Parliamentarians
National legislators have an oversight function in international affairs. The 2020 Vision Campaign aims to build strong working relations between mayors and members of parliaments as a means of holding governments more accountable to the will of the citizens. Parliamentarians should be invited to participate in the UN Day / Disarmament Week activities. (This outreach can be seen as a step toward deeper cooperation in July-August 2006 when events will center around the 1996 World Court advisory opinion and international law.)
More on outreach.
Resources:
Mayors for Peace will be providing updates on developments in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly, including electronic versions of all relevant resolutions that are submitted. There will also be a final report on the results of the First Committee and implications for the 2020 Vision Campaign in 2006.
In addition, the best source of information regarding the First Commitee is www.reachingcriticalwill.org. Please visit that site for daily First Committee reporting.
Contacts:
For questions about the Jumpstart Disarmament and the Ask the People Projects, please be in touch with the 2020 Vision Campaign Manager, Aaron Tovish: 41 22 340 3853 aaron.tovish@ ipb.org