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WILPF is a dues paying, membership organization. We rely on donations to JOIN WILPF! For more information, visit our website:
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The monthly WILPF e-News is edited by Theta Pavis and prepared by Rachel Crosby. It is created with the help of many WILPF members, including Carol Urner, Program Chair. Submissions are accepted on a rolling basis at "newsletter@wilpf.org"
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May E-News: In many ways, disarmament has been at the core of WILPF's work since its founding in 1915. Whether we're making important contributions at the United Nations or marching in the streets, WILPF members work hard every day to create a more peaceful and just world. Having just wrapped up weeks of work at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review conference in New York, this month's e-Newsletter is packed with news about the conference and much, much more. In this eNews:
June 5 Is International Nuclear Weapons Abolition Day All members and branches are strongly encouraged to plan local actions on June 5, International Nuclear Weapons Abolition Day, to raise public awareness about the ongoing threat the U.S. nuclear arsenal poses to the human security of U.S. residents. Read about what other communities have planned for June 5th here. WILPF is proud to partner with ICAN - the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons - to protest ICBM test launches and call for a real commitment to nuclear abolition through a Nuclear Weapons Convention. Despite President Obama's promises in Prague to pursue a nuclear weapons free future, the U.S. military is still testing and upgrading Minuteman III ICBMs designed to carry thermonuclear warheads. Two ICBM test launches (with dummy warheads) are scheduled for June 2010 from Vandenberg Air Force base / Space Command near Lompoc California to Kwajalein atoll in the Marshall Islands. The exact date of the launch tests are not known and June 5 provides a great opportunity to expose them - most of the world is unaware that these tests are still being carried out routinely. Read more here. WILPF's New Practicum at the NPT is a Success
WILPF brought 13 participants to New York this month for a Practicum in Advocacy at the United Nations. Held during the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, the Practicum drew 13 participants (nine of whom were students) from around the country. Participants joined WILPF co-president Laura Roskos and DISARM Chair Carol Urner for several days of training. One of the participants, Nicole Scott Cadwell, said afterward, "I have been home for three days now since returning from the NPT conference ... I have shared my experience with co-workers, family and friends. I have even found out that my co-worker's sister is the chair/president of the Detroit WILPF Branch. I am anxious to begin planning how I will share my experience with my community. Attending the NPT conference, meeting the other women in the Practicum, has been very educational and such a rewarding experience for me." Click here to read more about the NPT and the Practicum. Chernobyl Related Deaths Top 900,000 According to a recent report issued by the New York Academy of Sciences, over 900,000 deaths are directly attributable to the 1986 explosions at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. Yet, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty implicitly promotes the development of nuclear power to the extent that many nations party to that treaty have come to think of nuclear power as a guaranteed right. Whether nuclear power is an option or even a right doesn't negate the public health risks inherent in its development, risks that accrue disproportionately to women, and that are commensurate with those of living near a nuclear weapons complex, such as those located at Livermore or Los Alamos. As part of the Abolition Caucus, an informal group of international NGOs participating in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review process, WILPF says no to nuclear power. To find out why, read our joint statement distributed to conference delegates on May 20.
This past April the Jane Addams Hull-House Museum in Chicago was the site of the 2010 JAPA Children's Book Awards. Teachers, librarians, artists, activist, researchers, children and their parents gathered to celebrate these important books that teach peace. WILPF branches continue to donate time and money, making sure these award-winning books reach children in libraries across the country. . |
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