New York, NY — On November 28, 2023 a coalition of anti-nuclear activists gathered for a rally at the Isaiah Wall in front of the United Nations, followed by a march to the U.S. Mission to the UN to call on the Biden Administration to attend the meetings and sign the Treaty. The group also marched past the British and French Missions on 47th Street, and to the Russian Mission on 67th Street near 3rd Avenue.
At a time when national leaders are threatening to use nuclear weapons and the risk of use is the highest since the Cold War, a coalition of U.S. groups held a rally and march on November 28, 2023 in front of the United Nations to coincide with the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Featured speakers included survivors of the atomic bombings of Japan in 1945 as well as an Indigenous elder from New Mexico, where their land was contaminated by uranium activities, radioactive waste, and radioactive fallout from the first atomic bomb test.
The Meeting of States Parties from November 27 to December 1, 2023 brings together scientific experts, representatives of governments who have ratified or signed the treaty, members of non-governmental organizations, and parliamentarians across the globe, all of whom are continuing to work towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
Sixty-nine nations have ratified the treaty, which came into force on January 22, 2021. “None of the nuclear-armed states, including the U.S. where the nuclear age began, have signed the treaty,” said Mari Inoue, co-founder of Manhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free World. “We must urge nuclear-armed states to stop developing or modernizing nuclear weapons, and to instead work towards their total elimination.”
The marchers delivered letters to the U.S. and Russian Missions that states in part: “One single nuclear weapon is capable only of murdering millions of innocent people. That is all it can do: it cannot bring about peace or justice. But one meeting between leaders can save the world. You’ve done it before together. Such bravery, wisdom and personal diplomacy is what we urgently ask of you. Please listen and observe this week as to what the vast majority of people worldwide are demanding.”
© Erik McGregor – erikrivas@hotmail.com – 917-225-8963