30 September 2019
Norwich City Council has agreed to support the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) Cities Appeal, which describes itself as ‘a global call from cities and towns in support of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons’. The ICAN Cities Appeal was the 2017 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize “for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition on such weapons”. The Appeal aims to help local councils bring pressure on national governments to join the global negotiations.
Last Tuesday’s meeting saw a petition from Norwich CND (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) presented to the council before a motion proposed by Green Party Councillor Lesley Grahame, and seconded by the Leader of the Council, Alan Waters, was passed without opposition.
Councillor Grahame said:
“The threat of nuclear attack overshadowed my youth and made me get political some decades ago. I’m glad Norwich City Council has agreed that our government should support the prohibition of nuclear weapons. I’ve never understood how anyone could expect to make the world safer through mass killing.
“Those willing to consider disarmament if others do too, have been put to the test by the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons as it does not require unilateral disarmament. So far, the UK has not taken part in the negotiation of the treaty and does not intend to sign it, so the treaty will not be binding on the UK.
“I would like to praise the work of Norwich CND who have campaigned with commitment, compassion and dedication over many years to keep the nuclear issue in the open and find ways forward to reduce the risk of annihilation.”
Notes:
(1) https://www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-statement-on-treaty-prohibiting-nuclear-weapons
(2) http://www.icanw.org/projects/pledge/ The ICAN Parliamentary Pledge has been signed by Green Party East of England MEP, Catherine Rowett, but not yet by either of Norwich’s MPs
