05/16/2009 IPPNW was one of more than 75 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) participating in the 2009 Preparatory Committee meeting for the 2010 Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty at UN Headquarters in New York. The two-week PrepCom made important strides toward strengthening the disarmament and non-proliferation "pillars" of the NPT, which had come under enormous strain during the eight years of the Bush administration in the US.
The IPPNW delegation to the PrepCom included Tilman Ruff, Ruth Mitchell, and Dimity Hawkins of the Australian affiliate, MAPW; Klas Lundius, Emma Rosengren, and Johannes Eldblom of the Swedish affiliate, SLMK; Michael Dworkind and Kim Kroeber of the Canadian affiliate, PGS; Ira Helfand, Peter Wilk, Jill Parillo, and Steven Starr of the US affiliate, PSR; Victor Sidel, IPPNW's principal UN liaison; and John Loretz, program director in the central office. Dr. Ruff was also a member of the Australian delegation.
On Tuesday, May 5, NGOs presented a series of papers on various aspects of disarmament and non-proliferation during a three-hour formal session of the PrepCom. IPPNW convened a paper on the relationship between the NPT and the Nuclear Weapons Convention, which was read by Ruth Mitchell.
Later in the first week, IPPNW co-sponsored side events on the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and on the Nuclear Weapons Convention. During week two, PSR activists Ira Helfand and Steven Starr presented the recent scientific findings about the climate and health effects of regional nuclear war.
Read PrepCom blogs by Ruth Mitchell here.
Read PrepCom blogs by John Loretz here.
For a comprehensive archive of PrepCom resources, including NGO and government statements, a listing of PrepCom events, and the daily NGO newsletter News in Review, go to Reaching Critical Will.
Photo by John Loretz. Some members of MAPW (IPPNW Australian affiliate) and SLMK (IPPNW's Swedish affiliate) in between sessions at the UN.
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