Nuclear abolition is among the priority topics of the Czech branch of the organisation. “Recently we co-organized a public lecture on the Iranian nuclear programme and the potential conflict that could flare up in the Middle East and we are also preparing a seminar for Czech MPs on this issue. We have successfully promoted the UN contest for children and teens in schools called ‘Art for Peace’ dealing with the topic of a world without nuclear weapons,” explained Jana Jedlickova, the spokesperson for World without Wars and Violence in the Czech Republic.
The Czech branch of World without Wars is developing a complex campaign aimed at raising awareness of nuclear issues and thus pressure Czech parliamentarians to take a stand in favour of nuclear abolition. “Our plan is to work with all sectors of Czech society, from schools and the public to experts and politicians,” said Jedlickova. “Because we believe that international cooperation is essential in this field, we joined the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) that promotes the commencement of negotiations for a Nuclear Weapons Convention, an international treaty to ban nuclear weapons and provide mechanisms to abolish existing nuclear arsenals,” she added. World without Wars members from the Czech Republic will participate in the ICAN campaigners meeting, a two-day event preceding the NPT PrepCom.
“We believe that our participation in Vienna will help us deepen our relations with other organisations. We are eager to learn from successful campaigns carried out in other countries. We would also like to contribute with our experiences that we collected during our past campaigns, especially the World March for Peace and Nonviolence or the successful campaign against the US plan to build a military base in the Czech Republic as a part of their new missile shield project. Of course we will also use this opportunity to speak with the delegates that will represent our country at the NPT Preparatory Committee and present our views and proposals to them,” said Jedlickova who will be attending the conference for the whole two weeks.
International Spokesperson for the organisation, Tony Robinson, added, “We are 2 years already into the current NPT cycle. Instead of movement towards disarmament we see increased expenditure on military programmes and nuclear weapon modernisation, instead of moves towards a Nuclear Weapons Free Zone in the Middle East we see international tension ratcheted up to breaking point. The world is desperately in need of some serious leadership by the US in order for us to make serious steps towards nuclear disarmament. Obama said in Prague not so long ago, ‘the United States has a moral responsibility to act.’ Now would be a good time for him to turn words into actions.”
