Events to Commemorate Third Anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Monday, January 22^nd marks the third anniversary of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.  This year’s focus is the lie of deterrence.  For decades policy makers have declared nuclear weapons necessary to deter enemy attacks, all the while ignoring the humanitarian costs of the nuclear arms race and the global devastation promised by the nuclear weapons should deterrence fail.

Deterrence has always been a smokescreen, meant to hide the truth about nuclear weapons while nations amassed huge stockpiles in order to project power around the globe.  If deterrence ever was a credible policy, that credibility has evaporated as new countries have joined the nuclear club—precisely because they fear the weapons of other nations, exposing the reality that the policy of deterrence has always and inevitably promised proliferation, and with it, ever-increasing peril.  The only path to true security is the elimination of nuclear weapons—and the only path to eliminating nuclear weapons is the Ban Treaty.

The United States has yet to sign on and ratify the Treaty.  Nevertheless participating in in-person and virtual events will make a difference.

Join with a family member or friend to read the Treaty.  A public-reading friendly version is available at https://www.nuclearbantreaty.org/resources/treaty-excerpts-for-public-reading/   This version highlights the important portions for our collective work.

On Saturday, January 13, Massachusetts Peace Action is sponsoring an online conference from noon-3:30pm Mountain Time: Reducing the Threat of Nuclear War 2024.  In addition to speakers, there will be more than a dozen breakout rooms. Information and registration: https://secure.everyaction.com/UokyFJ64eEK_rh3FAV4IxQ2?ms=email-01-10&emci=df59d080-52af-ee11-bea1-0022482237da&emdi=e410ab21-e2af-ee11-bea1-0022482237da&ceid=322282

On Sunday, January 14 at 8 am Mountain Time, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) and the Young Professionals in Foreign Policy will be host a webinar about the interconnectedness of the two great existential threats posed by the climate crisis and the danger of nuclear war.  To register, go to the registration page:  https://members.ypfp.org/event-5521082

The anniversary of the Ban Treaty will be followed on Tuesday, January 23^rd at 8 am Mountain by the virtual 2024 Doomsday Clock announcement of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.  The setting of the hands of the clock always draws media attention, and it dovetails perfectly with the Ban Treaty’s goal of eliminating the threat of nuclear annihilation.  https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/

John Pope at the Bulletin has put together a toolkit that you can use to educate people and the media about the nuclear threat and the Doomsday Clock. https://www.canva.com/design/DAF486DSDw0/4uRnj9IGFzDFI5Eyp4ZgPA/edit?utm_content=DAF486DSDw0&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

On Saturday, January 27^th from noon to 2 pm Mountain, an online forum about Building a World Without Nuclear Weapons: An Urgent Imperative will focus on the increasing threat of nuclear war and what ordinary citizens can do to prevent it.

The speakers are John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe, NM; Dr. Ira Helfand, co-founder and past president of the IPPNW; and Marie Dennis, Catholic Nonviolence Initiative/Pax Christi International.  For more information and to register, go to: https://paxchristima.org/

1. Your financial support makes a difference! Please help CCNS with a tax-deductible contribution or a monthly sustaining donation.  Mail your check to CCNS, P. O. Box 31147, Santa Fe, NM  87594-1147, or use our e-contribution form on the right side of our home page at http://nuclearactive.org/ Your contribution keeps you informed through our weekly Update broadcast and social media postings.  Stay informed with the CCNS Media Network!  Many thanks!

2. Friday, January 12, 2024 from noon to 1 pm MT ***  NEW LOCATION DUE TO RECONSTRUCTION OF GUADALUPE BRIDGE.  ***  Join the weekly peaceful protest for nuclear disarmament on the corners of Alameda and Sandoval in downtown Santa Fe with Veterans for Peace, CCNS, Nuclear Watch NM, Loretto Community, Pax Christi, Nonviolent Santa Fe, and others.

3. Wednesday, January 17, 2024 – Public Comments due about Los Alamos National Laboratory Electrical Power Capacity Upgrade Project Draft Environmental Assessment (DOE/EA-2911) for construction and operation of a new 115 kilovolt (kV) power transmission line and upgrading LANL’s existing infrastructure. ACT NOW:  Protect the Caja del Rio!  Stop the Power Transmission Line at https://p2a.co/mhyopdf   The Draft EA is available in the NNSA NEPA Reading Room at: https://www.energy.gov/nnsa/nnsa-nepa-reading-room or directly at https://energy.gov/nepa/doeea-2199-los-alamos-national-laboratory-electrical-power-capacity-upgrade-project 

Tags: Ban Treaty, Building a World Without Nuclear Weapons: An Urgent Imperative, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Doomsday Clock, Reducing the Threat of Nuclear War 2024, the lie of deterrence, Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons