You are enthusiastically invited to join the Genesee Valley Citizens for Peace in Geneseo on Saturday, January 22nd from 12 noon – 1:00 pm. We will be joined by our friends from Rochester Veterans for Peace Chapter 23. This will be a celebration of the 1 year anniversary of the entry into force of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). One year ago, in a historic instant, the international community declared nuclear weapons to be illegal!
The treaty bans the development, testing, production, manufacture, acquisition, possession or stockpiling, transfer, use or threat to use, stationing or deployment of nuclear weapons for any purpose.
The TPNW or “Ban Treaty” is the result of a decade of work by the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), along with citizen activists worldwide, and the support of a number of governments.
In July 2017, 122 nations voted to approve the treaty. 86 nations have signed the treaty. As per treaty terms, it legally entered into force 90 days after the 50th nation ratified it. Honduras became the 50th to ratify in October 2020, the treaty entered into force 1/22/2021. There are currently 59 ratifications.
The nuclear weapons nations have refused to sign. As they are not state parties to the treaty, it does not legally bind them, though it exerts strong moral power. As the only nation to use nuclear weapons, the US has an acknowledged responsibility to ensure nuclear weapons are never used again. We must overcome the failure of our leaders. It is our moral obligation to compel our leaders to sign and ratify.
In this spirit we will gather at 12:00 noon on Saturday, 1/22/22, at the corner of Main and South Streets in Geneseo, NY. We will have banners, signs, speeches and songs. We will have information sheets and letters to send to our senators and congress people. Please join us!
Peace,
Holly Adams for GVCP
P.S. It’s sure to be cold, so dress warmly. Wear gloves so that you can hold a sign!