Starting on Monday the 5th of November, a delegation of ICAN activists, including Executive Director Beatrice Fihn will be participating at the 2nd World Forum on Urban Violence and Education for Coexistence and Peace in the Spanish capital, Madrid, convened by Mayor Manuela Carmena.  ICAN (The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

In the words of the forum website, “Cities are the main spaces for meeting and exchange in our societies and for interacting with people, groups, companies, ideas and values. However, they are also spaces where inequalities are generated and where various types of violence proliferate.”

However, cities are also the principle targets of Nuclear Weapons, with Hiroshima and Nagasaki being the prime examples.  In 1945, two bombs caused the immediate deaths of over 200,000 people, and brought horrible suffering to many more.  The blasts from today’s bombs are capable of killing millions of human beings and the subsequent nuclear winter caused by nuclear war is capable of killing billions and ending the world as we know it.  It is therefore essential that cities all over the world raise their voices to prevent nuclear weapons ever falling on them.

During the Forum, ICAN will launch their new Cities Appeal, a pledge to support the TPNW which can be endorsed by towns and cities, especially those in countries that have not so far signed and ratified the TPNW.   In the words of the Appeal: “We firmly believe that our residents have the right to live in a world free from this threat. Any use of nuclear weapons, whether deliberate or accidental, would have catastrophic, far-reaching and long-lasting consequences for people and the environment.”

Fihn will be launching the Appeal at an event organised by World without Wars and Violence which will also officially launch the 2nd World March for Peace and Nonviolence.

In addition, ICAN is participating in different activities and promotional stands as follows:

  • A Virtual Reality experience stand “The Day the World Ended” organised by ICAN. A preview video of which can be seen here.
  • A presentation by students from six high schools of their research on different aspects of nuclear weapons to Beatrice Fihn, at 11am on Wednesday at the Núñez de Arenas high school in Vallecas, Madrid.
  • A Workshop on how cities can divest from nuclear weapons, part of the Don’t Bank on the Bomb campaign, organized by Pax and Centre Delas, at 10:00 on 6th
  • A Workshop on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and the influence of racial and gender violence therein, organised by IPPNW and Soka Gakkai International, at 12:00 on 6th
  • Exhibition “Everything you Treasure: for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons” organised by Soka Gakkai International.

Contact for Media Enquiries in Spanish or English: Carlos Umaña IPPNW Costa Rica and ICAN, +34 685 416 500, carlos.umana@ippnwcr.org