The concluding session of the United Nations conference to negotiate a legally-binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons has started today.
Here is the daily report from our Scottish Delegation
Queuing to get our badges proved to be a much more interesting experience than expected. We got to reunite with fellow international campaigners and met new ones. We were all excited to be brought together by such a special occasion.
The day continued with a short ICAN briefing followed by the conference.
Countries and civil society had the floor and expressed their support for the nuclear weapons draft treaty. It was highlighted that the draft is intended as a starting point for negotiations, further comments and other technical changes.
The following discussions focused on the preamble which outlines the concern over the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and the importance of humanitarian law. Amendments to strengthen these arguments were suggested by various countries. There was an appetite from many states to ensure that the gender aspects of disarmament were clearly addressed in the treaty. Another popular topic was adding to the treaty the threat of use. We were reminded that the very first UN resolution was to get rid of nuclear weapons.
Between ourselves we have taken notes, monitored statements, counted participants and used social media to raise awareness of the talks. We have also publicised the side event “Disarming the nuclear argument – Book Launch by Tim Wallis” where Janet Fenton, Vice Chair of Scottish CND, will be speaking.
Andy has attended the side event “Verification of the Ban Treaty: Articles 3, 4 and 5 and Beyond” organised by the Program on Science and Global Security and Princeton University. This meeting explored the choice between a very simple treaty that might leave gaps versus a more detailed approach which would be more difficult to negotiate.
We have also visited the WILPF office to collect our banner for the coming Women’s March and Rally to Ban The Bomb.
Throughout the process, we have kept contact with our Scottish based campaigners and the Scottish CND office and we were very pleased to see supporting video messages coming from our elected representatives.
If you want a more technical report on today’s discussions please visit the Nuclear Ban Daily by Reaching Critical Will.
Yours,
Flavia Tudoreanu & the Scottish Delegation
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