Yorkshire CND Newsletter February 2022

 As bellicose rhetoric increases, CND calls for dialogue, de-escalation and a new approach to security:

“Tensions between NATO and Russia are reaching alarming proportions. We call for an end to this confrontation: if it doesn’t end, everyone will lose and many will die.

Current tensions have been three decades in the making. Despite dramatic changes across Europe after 1989, with the demise of the Soviet Union and the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, NATO – under US leadership – began the process of expansion into eastern Europe. This has continued to include former Soviet republics and NATO has gone on to become a global military force, abandoning its ‘defensive’ remit and engaging in war far beyond the North Atlantic. NATO expansion has caused significant regional tension and its continued expansionary plans are threatening to drag Europe into a devastating war – because it refuses to take Russian security concerns into account. NATO’s refusal to rule out membership for Ukraine is provocative and destabilising. Dialogue is essential to resolve these issues – war is not the answer.

Meanwhile the people of Ukraine are suffering and the country is already paying a heavy economic and human price as a result of these hostilities. Despite the Minsk agreements, the violent clashes in eastern Ukraine continue. NATO and Russia are adding fuel to the fire through arms deliveries, troop deployments and military exercises. These provocations and preparations for war have to stop.

Both NATO and Russia are nuclear-armed and any war could be catastrophic. Three NATO members – Britain, France and the United States – possess nuclear weapons. Five European states – Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey – host US/NATO nuclear bombs and are committed, under ‘nuclear sharing’ arrangements, to use these weapons of mass destruction upon command from NATO.

NATO, a nuclear-armed alliance, which threatens the use of nuclear weapons, cannot create genuine security and should be dissolved. Europe needs a new type of security policy, based on cooperation, mutual respect and trust.

We call for a clear commitment that the NATO nuclear alliance will not expand further.
We call for continued diplomatic efforts to reduce current tensions, rather than militarised responses.

We call for serious efforts to build common security across Europe with a European nuclear-weapon-free zone at its heart.”

The Meeting of States Parties might be postponed, but we still have a world to win

 After a series of consultations among the states parties and ICAN, the states parties have taken a decision to postpone the MSP due to ongoing challenges with COVID-19, travel restrictions, UN room limitations and much more.

In short, states were choosing between holding a hybrid meeting with very restricted participation in March or a larger meeting fully inclusive of civil society in the Austrian summer later this year. While it’s not fun to postpone big events, there is the possibility with this decision that big events can be planned, and some will even be able to attend Vienna in person. It is great that the decision by states was also driven by the need to ensure an inclusive meeting, and that they wanted to ensure that civil society can partake fully.

They’ve made a provisional booking at the UN in July, but are also considering dates in May or June. States expect to confirm the dates within a month.

ICAN supports this choice and welcomes the commitment to maximize in-person representation of civil society. The TPNW has always been set apart by its inclusiveness. It is vital that the first MSP reflects the global nature of the treaty as well as prioritising voices of survivors, which would not have been possible in March given the current Covid-19 situation.

Of course we want this meeting to happen sooner rather than later, but this is a great chance for our campaign to increase the number of States Parties, increase commitments by non-Parties to attend as observers, and strengthen our campaign work for the coming months.

This is an opportunity for the peace movement in Yorkshire to double our efforts over a longer period of time, putting pressure on MPs, working at getting resolutions passed at the local level, organising events, stalls and actions leading up to the MSP, and critically, demanding the government take up the possibility of observer status like Germany and Norway have. Contact [email protected] to let us know of any plans you have or any support you need.

8 February – 7pm – Ukraine: the next NATO war?

What’s going on in Ukraine? Why are Russian troops at the border? What’s it got to do with NATO?

Peace movements across Europe are addressing these questions, engaging with peace activists in Ukraine and beyond to work for a sustainable peace.

Join the No to war – No to NATO network to discuss these key issues.

With guest speakers:

Kristine Karch, Germany, Co-Chair No to NATO, campaign Stopp Air Base Ramstein
Reiner Braun, Germany, Executive Director International Peace Bureau (IPB)
Nina Potarska, Ukraine National Coordinator Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF)
Yuri Sheliazhenko, Chair of Ukraine chapter of War Resisters International, peace journalist
Moderation: Kate Hudson, CND General Secretary, ICC No to NATO

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9 February – 6.30pm – Talks not Bombs: Get Britain to attend the first TPNW conference (National CND meeting)

CND is campaigning to get Britain to attend a major conference that is bringing together countries that have ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The government must engage with this global agreement supported by the majority of the world’s states.

Join us for this online event to discuss the campaign. Speakers TBC.

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14 February – 6.30pm – Kill the Bill: live interview + Q&A with Baroness Jenny Jones

The government is planning to make important changes to the law that will restrict the right to protest when lockdown restrictions ease.

The police, crime, sentencing and courts bill would give the Home Secretary, Priti Patel, powers to create laws to define ‘serious disruption’ to communities and organisations, on which police can then rely to impose conditions on protests.

But in a victory for protestors, the House of Lords – in which Baroness Jenny Jones sits – voted down some of the worst elements of the bill.

Jenny will give us background on the Kill the Bill campaigns, her experience in the House of Lords and her views on future developments as the bill returns to the House of Commons.

Check out Jenny Jones’ latest news on her work on the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in the House of Lords.

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15 February – 1pm – The world after Covid-19: Invest in peace and development

The world’s governments spend nearly two trillion dollars a year on the military, while people go hungry, suffer poverty and disease, and lack the most basic public services. The peace dividend – the better uses to which military spending could be put – is a key component of the people’s case for common security. But we must hold out for workers in the industry the realistic prospect that a just conversion from military to social expenditure will provide them with the wages and use the skills that they currently have. If the world is to emerge from the COVID19 pandemic with a more resilient, human-centred recovery, we will need the funding and skills that have been squandered for decades on nuclear and other weapons to be redirected to life-saving medicines and equipment and the development of climate-friendly technologies.

This webinar will assess the money currently wasted on weapons, the uses to which it could be put and the case for a socially just peace dividend, using practical examples to secure popular support for reallocating military expenditure, and especially the billions spent on nuclear weapons, to social goods.

Speakers:

Hilary Wainwright, author of “The Lucas Plan – A New Trade Unionism in the Making?”, and associate of the Transnational Institute and the Institute of Development Studies, Sussex University. She will speak about just conversion from military production to socially useful and environmentally sustainable production.

Dr Mahmoud Mohieldin, UN Special Envoy on Financing 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and an Executive Director of the IMF, who will speak about what could be done to promote the Sustainable Development Goals with the money saved by not spending it on weapons.

Dr Michael Brozska, Associate Senior Researcher, SIPRI who will outline just how much money is spent on weapons of war.

Owen Tudor, Deputy General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), who will speak on how unions would like to see current military spending redirected to a new social contract – education, health, tackling climate change, and investing in the care economy.

Chair: Winnie Byanyima, Head of UNAIDS and former Head of Oxfam International (acting in her personal capacity)

LIVESTREAM

19 February – Legacy of the atomic bomb: recognition for atomic test survivors – LABRATS seminar

LABRATS are hosting a seminar to showcase the nuclear testing program and its effects on the world, through the eyes of the veterans, their wives and their descendants.

2022 is the 70th anniversary of Operation Hurricane, Britain’s first atomic test in the Montebello Islands in Western Australia. It is also the 60th anniversary of Operation Dominic, a joint US/UK operation on Christmas Island in 1962. In partnership with ICAN, LABRATS will discuss the legacy of the atomic bomb on atomic test survivors at this event.

This seminar will mark the start of a number of events for the #lookmeintheeye campaign during 2022, and will be produced into a documentary video to ensure that the world does not forget the sacrifice of nuclear veterans and their families across the world.

For any queries, please contact 020 3286 3988 or email [email protected].

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20 February – 1pm – Working for Peace in the Middle East – CND online conference

Join CND and guest speakers to discuss the current situation in the Middle East and how we can best campaign for peace in the region. Will the Middle East ever be nuclear-free? And what is the UK’s role in the region?

1pm – 2:10pm: Voices from the Middle East: can the region be nuclear-free?
Chair: Dave Webb, former CND Chair
Sharon Dolev, Middle East Treaty Organisation (Israel)
Emad Kiyaei, Middle East Treaty Organisation (Iran)

(Ten-minute break)

2:20pm – 3:30pm: Under scrutiny: the UK in the Middle East
Chair: Tom Unterrainer, CND Chair
Andrew Feinstein, Director of Shadow World Investigations
Kate Hudson, CND General Secretary

(Ten-minute break)

3:40pm – 4:10pm: Campaigning for peace in the Middle East – what next?
Chair: Jill Evans, CND Cymru Chair
Lindsey German, Stop the War convenor
Sara Medi Jones, CND Campaigns Director

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26 Feb – SOS NHS Day of Action

CND is supporting the SOS NHS campaign to highlight how the cost of nuclear weapons could instead be invested in the NHS.

Save the date for this national day of action – more information to follow soon.

For any enquiries, please contact [email protected]

3 March – 6.30pm – Nuclear convoys: did you know that nuclear warheads could be driving through your town?

Join CND, NFLA and Nukewatch for this online webinar to discuss nuclear convoys.

Convoys carrying nuclear bombs often travel along Britain’s roads, putting at risk the communities which they travel through. No radiation warning symbols are carried and neither the public nor local authorities are warned of these nuclear convoys. This webinar will discuss these convoys, the dangers they pose and share how you can get involved in tracking them as part of the campaign to scrap Trident.

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14 March – 7pm – Nuclear power: not fit for purpose? – CND webinar

Join this webinar, organised by CND’s Trade Union Advisory Group.

Nuclear power is increasingly marketed as part of the solution to the climate crisis and there is considerable support for it from trade unions. In fact it’s dirty, dangerous, expensive, won’t help with our climate problems, and there are far more jobs in renewables.

Recent news shows that French nuclear corporation EDF is in real financial trouble, and their current technology is facing big problems. A design flaw recently manifested in the EDF EPR reactor in Taishan, China, may affect all the other EPRs in France, Finland and even Hinkley C – currently being built in Somerset.

Academic expert Dr Paul Dorfman will brief us on this subject. He is an Associate Fellow in the Science Policy Research Unit at the University of Sussex; Chair, Nuclear Consulting Group; Member, Irish Govt. Environment Protection Agency; and Mem=mber of Radiation Protection Advisory Committee.

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We are recruiting! (extended deadline)

We’re looking for an experienced Events and Campaigns Co-ordinator, could it be you?

Would you like to work as part of a dynamic campaigning team? Do you want to make a real difference by helping make the world a safer place for future generations?

We are looking for an energetic campaigner to join our existing team at the Yorkshire Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Closing date: 5pm, 28th February 2022

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Nuclear weapons are banned! What does this mean for Britain?

A new and extensive briefing has been published as a guide to what the TPNW means for the UK Government as we reach the first anniversary of its entry into force. As part of providing a comprehensive, detailed and referenced analysis of how the TPNW will impact the UK Government and its nuclear policies, Dr Rebecca Johnson’s report includes an exploration of challenges and opportunities in Scotland, and the constitutional question .

READ REPORT

Doomsday Clock stays at 100 seconds to midnight

In deciding to keep the Doomsday Clock at 100 seconds to midnight, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists have made it clear that humanity remains in the greatest danger. CND General Secretary Kate Hudson said:

“This is the closest we have been to midnight since the inception of the Doomsday Clock 75 years ago.

Unfortunately our leaders are not doing what it takes to make the world safer. They talk a good talk about their commitment to nuclear disarmament but then they announce a 40% increase in our nuclear arsenal. But dangers are not just present in military terms, there’s a failure to address the other existential threat – the climate catastrophe, and a failure to properly protect us during this pandemic; and there are also attempts to strip away our right to protest – a right that has never been more important.

The world is as dangerous as ever but many are fighting to change these terrible policies – and we are part of that. Together we must act to turn back the hands of the Doomsday Clock.”

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MHAC continues its weekly evening demonstration at Menwith Hill

There is a witness and protest outside the main entrance to the American base at Menwith Hill every Tuesday evening (6 – 7.30 pm). This demonstration has been going almost every week since July 2000. Menwith Hill is in North Yorkshire on the A59 to Skipton road and nine miles from Harrogate.

Yorkshire CND and affiliated groups are resuming their tradition of delegating a local group to attend once a month. Bradford CND and Leeds CND have plans to attend in the coming months.

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