I/II. http://www.fox25boston.com/news/group-opposing-nuclear-weapons-wins-nobel-peace-prize/620352496
Group opposing nuclear weapons wins Nobel peace prize by: JAMEY KEATEN and MARK LEWIS, Associated Press Updated: Oct 6, 2017 - 7:56 PM OSLO, Norway (AP) - The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, a forceful show of support for a grassroots effort that seeks to pressure the world's nuclear powers to give up the weapons that could destroy the planet. The choice of the little-known coalition of disarmament activists put the Nobel committee again at the forefront of geopolitics at a time when fears are rising over North Korea's nuclear and missile program and the invective it has drawn from U.S. President Donald Trump. The committee cited the tiny, Geneva-based ICAN for its work that led to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that was reached in July at the United Nations. The group "has been a driving force in prevailing upon the world's nations to pledge to cooperate ... in efforts to stigmatize, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons," Norwegian Nobel Committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said in the announcement. More than 120 countries approved the treaty over opposition from nuclear-armed countries and their allies. In a statement issued after the Nobel was announced, the U.S. reiterated its position that the treaty "will not result in the elimination of a single nuclear weapon." The treaty requires all ratifying countries "never under any circumstances to develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices." It also bans any transfer or use of nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices - and the threat to use such weapons. The nuclear powers oppose the treaty, which goes well beyond existing nonproliferation agreements, arguing that they alone should have the weapons in order to support stability in the world. The U.S., Britain and France said the prohibition wouldn't work and would end up disarming their nations while emboldening what U.S. Ambassador Nikki Haley called "bad actors." They instead suggest strengthening the nonproliferation treaty, which they say has made a significant dent in atomic arsenals. ICAN, a coalition of 468 nongovernmental groups from over 100 countries, says that argument is outdated. "This prize is really a tribute to the tireless efforts of many millions of campaigners and concerned citizens worldwide who have, ever since the dawn of the Atomic Age, loudly protested nuclear weapons, insisting that they can serve no legitimate purpose and must be forever banished from the face of our Earth," said ICAN executive director Beatrice Fihn. The prize is likely to give new momentum to ICAN and its allies in the coming months as the group tries to achieve ratification of the treaty by 50 nations. That would allow the ban to become binding under international law for those countries and put nuclear-armed states in the uncomfortable position of being outliers. On Sept. 20, the first day the treaty was open for signatures, 50 countries signed it and three submitted their ratifications. Three more countries have since added their names. ICAN hopes to get the 50 ratifications by the end of 2018. Norwegian Nobel Committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen noted that international prohibitions have been set on chemical and biological weapons, land mines and cluster munitions. "Nuclear weapons are even more destructive, but have not yet been made the object of a similar international legal prohibition," she said. The five original nuclear powers - the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France, which also are permanent members of the U.N. Security Council - support nuclear nonproliferation but boycotted the treaty negotiations. Nuclear-armed India, Pakistan and North Korea didn't vote. "If you want to make sure that no new states get nuclear weapons, you need to be ready to reject nuclear weapons themselves," Fihn said. "This treaty really demands that they walk the walk." ICAN has its roots in Australia but was launched in Vienna in 2007, inspired largely by another Nobel peace prize-winning group, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. The $1.1 million prize is likely to help boost ICAN's advocacy. It also organized events globally in 2015 to mark the 70th anniversaries of the attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II. The committee, citing nearly 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world, said "the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time." In 2009, it awarded the prize to President Barack Obama, months after he laid out the U.S. commitment to "seek the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons." Since then, the U.S. has been a leading voice against the treaty to ban nuclear weapons. The real lobbying battleground could shape up in countries like NATO member states, Japan and South Korea that have military alliances with the U.S., but where activists could be emboldened by the Nobel prize. Trump has fanned concerns about nuclear conflict, with threats against North Korean leader Kim Jong Un over the secretive regime's tests, missile launches over Japan, and warnings that the U.S. territory of Guam could be next in the firing line. The Nobel committee wanted "to send a signal to North Korea and the U.S. that they need to go into negotiations," said Oeivind Stenersen, a historian of the peace prize. "The prize is also coded support to the Iran nuclear deal" he said, alluding to dialogue that won curbs on Tehran's nuclear program. ICAN's Fihn said many were worried about Trump. "I think that the election of President Donald Trump has made a lot of people feel very uncomfortable with the fact that he alone can authorize the use of nuclear weapons and there's nothing people can do to stop him," she told a news conference at the World Council of Churches building that hosts ICAN's office in Geneva. "There is no one who we can trust with the ability to destroy the entire world," she said. Somewhat unusually for a Nobel peace prize announcement, the nuclear-armed countries were largely silent or restrained in their reaction. "Today's announcement does not change the U.S. position on the treaty: the United States does not support and will not sign the 'Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,'" the U.S. State Department said in a statement. "Unfortunately, we are seeing a deterioration in the overall security environment and growing nuclear capabilities of certain states. This treaty will not make the world more peaceful, will not result in the elimination of a single nuclear weapon, and will not enhance any state's security," it said. It added that the U.S. is committed to "creating the conditions for nuclear disarmament, a goal we share with our international security partners." The British and Russian governments did not comment. But British opposition Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn - a long-time disarmament campaigner whose photo hangs in ICAN's Geneva office - congratulated the group. In a carefully worded statement that did not endorse a nuclear weapons ban, France's Foreign Ministry said the choice "testifies to the importance of nuclear nonproliferation in a context marked by the North Korean crisis." U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres tweeted: "Now more than ever we need a world without nuclear weapons." And India sent the group tulips, said ICAN network coordinator Daniel Hogsta. "It was nice to send flowers, but we want them to sign the treaty," he said. ___ Keaten reported from Geneva. Associated Press writers Vladimir Isachenkov in Moscow, Jill Lawless in London, Sylvie Corbet in Paris, George Jahn in Vienna, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Jim Heintz in Stockholm contributed. ___ This story corrects that 50 countries signed the treaty the day it opened for signatures. II. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/politics/nobel-peace-prize-trump-ican-winners-warning-nuclear-weapons-a7986631.html Nobel Peace Prize winners issue warning about Trump 'A lot of people feel very uncomfortable with the fact that he alone can authorise the use of nuclear weapons' Tom Batchelor @_tombatchelor 19 hours ago The nuclear disarmament group awarded 2017’s Nobel Peace Prize has issued a warning about Donald Trump and his supervision of America’s nuclear arsenal. The International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons – or Ican – said Mr Trump’s election put a spotlight on the risks of nuclear weapons and warned that the US President appeared to be ignoring expert opinion around their use. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday that Ican was to be awarded the honour 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 of such weapons”. READ MORE What is Ican? What do they do and why does it matter? Ican helped lobby for the the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted by 122 countries and banned states from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing, or stockpiling nuclear weapons. Responding to the award, Ican's executive director, Beatrice Fihn, said Mr Trump's election "has made a lot of people feel very uncomfortable with the fact that he alone can authorise the use of nuclear weapons". His presidency “puts a spotlight” on the dangers of nuclear weapons, she said, adding that the commander-in-chief appeared to have a track record of “not listening to expertise”. At a news conference after the prize was announced, Ms Fihn was also asked about a tweet sent two days earlier calling Mr Trump a "moron". She said she was trying to make a joke, "which I kind of regret now", following reports that US secretary of state Rex Tillerson had said the same of the President. Heightened tensions between the US and North Korea have resulted in an increasingly bitter war of words between the countries' two leaders, with Mr Trump threatening to "totally destroy" the hermit state, having earlier promised "fire and fury like the world has never seen". Referring to Kim Jong-un as "rocket man", the US President said America was “ready, willing and able” to take military action. View image on Twitter View image on Twitter Follow The Nobel Prize ✔@NobelPrize Executive Director of ICAN, Beatrice Fihn with signed Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, 7 July 2017 #NobelPrize 4:14 PM - Oct 6, 2017 · Stockholm, Sweden 9 9 Replies 228 228 Retweets 405 405 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy With the standoff between Pyongyang and Washington worsening, the Nobel committee said Ican’s efforts to “stigmatise, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons” were more vital than ever. "Risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it has been for a long time," the committee said. "Some states are modernising their nuclear arsenals, and there is a real danger that more countries will try to procure nuclear weapons, as exemplified by North Korea." Ican responded that the "spectre of nuclear conflict looms large once more". “If ever there were a moment for nations to declare their unequivocal opposition to nuclear weapons, that moment is now," the group said. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
