Global interfaith statement for a nuclear-free world

The Uniting Church Assembly has signed onto a global interfaith statement to the Tenth Review Conference of Parties to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons expressing unified support for a world free from nuclear weapons. The Uniting Church is one of 100 faith bodies and organisations to support the statement as we mark the anniversaries of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. 

In part the statement reads:

"As people of faith committed to building a peaceful and just world, we come together to unite our voices on this occasion of the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which coincides with the solemn anniversaries of the days atomic bombs were dropped on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. We are honored that survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki continue to guide our activism.

"Today, as we find ourselves faced with deep concerns about a potential escalation of nuclear war, we renew our determination to carry on their legacy and do our part as faith communities to keep working toward a future without nuclear weapons."

The NPT is a landmark international treaty on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament. The Statement calls on parties to the treaty to fulfill their commitments and obligations for nuclear disarmament and support other international instruments that complement such obligations, including the Treaty for the Prohbition of Nuclear Weapons.

The statement concludes, "Our diverse faith traditions remind us that we are not prisoners of our current reality. Each of us are creative, resilient, and capable of creating a world we desire."

Ms Kehkashan Basu will read the statement to the Conference during the NGO presentation segment on Friday, 5 August. The statement will also be read at an interfaith vigil coordinated by the URI Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons on Friday, 5 August at 2pm EDT.

You can read the statement in full here.