UNFOLD ZERO Newsletter

Posted: 23rd September 2025

The United Nations has declared September 26 to be the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, and will hold a High-Level Meeting of Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and Ambassadors of UN Member States this coming Friday to commemorate the day and advance nuclear disarmament.

NuclearAbolitionDay.org, a network of civil society organizations working in consultation with the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs to promote the day, sent a Joint Appeal to all UN Member States today, calling on them to use the opportunity of the High-Level Meeting to:

• Affirm that the threat or use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible;
• Stand down nuclear forces and adopt policies never to initiate a nuclear war;
• Cut nuclear weapons budgets and investments, and redirect these to support the United Nations, enhance peacekeeping and international conflict resolution, protect the climate and advance sustainable development;
• Commit to achieving the global elimination of nuclear weapons no later than 2045, the 100th anniversary of the UN.

The Joint Appeal has been endorsed by over 300 organizations as well as another 500 individuals, including legislators, former high-level officials (such as foreign ministers and UN officials), religious leaders, medical practitioners, academics/teachers, youth leaders, private sector (corporate) leaders and others (see below for a sample of the endorsers).

There is still time to endorse the Joint Appeal, if you have not already done so, before it is presented to the High-Level Meeting by Dr. Deepshikha Kumari Vijh, Executive Director of Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy and Coordination Team Member for the September 26 Nuclear Abolition Day Working Group.

Some of the endorsers of the Joint Appeal for Nuclear Abolition Day

Individuals:

• Nobuyasu Abe (Japan)
  Former UN Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs
• Tadatoshi Akiba (Japan)
  Former Mayor of Hiroshima and President of Mayors for Peace.
• Irene Charalambides MP (Cyprus)
  Vice President OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
• Mairead Corrigan Maguire (Ireland)
  Nobel peace laureate1967. Founder, Peace People Ireland
• Gareth Evans (Australia)
  Former Foreign Minister of Australia and Co-Chair of the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament;
• Ela Gandhi (South Africa)
  Honorary Co-President of Religions for Peace and grand-daughter of Mahatma Gandhi;
• Commander Robert Forsyth Ret’d (United Kingdom)
  Former RN nuclear submarine captain & aerospace exec
• Senator Marilou McPhedran O.C. (Canada)
  Founder, Women’s Legal Education and Action Fund
• Oleksandra Matviichuk (Ukraine)
  Head of the Center for Civil Liberties. Nobel Peace Laureate, 2022
• Christine Muttonen (Austria)
  Former President of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly
• General Bernard Norlain (France)
  Former Air Combat Commander of the French Air Force;
• Prof. Giorgio Parisi (Italy)
  Emeritus Professor at “La Sapienza” Rome.
  Nobel Laureate in Physics 2021.
  Member US National Academy of Sciences
• Kunihiko Shimada (Japan)
  Principal Director, Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe)
• Bishop Gunnar Stålsett (Norway)
  Bishop emeritus of Oslo. Honorary President Religions for Peace.
  Former Vice Chair Nobel Peace Prize Committee
• Professor Vappu Taipale (Finland)
  Former Finland Minister of Health and Minister of Social Affairs
• Erkki Tuomioja (Finland)
  Former Minister for Foreign Affairs

Organizations:

• Asia Pacific Leadership Network
  (Asia-Pacific Region)
• Back from the Brink Coalition (USA)
• British Pugwash (UK)
• Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (Canada)
• Christian Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (UK)
• Civic Coalition for Human Rights (Palestine)
• Fellowship of Reconciliation (USA)
• ICAN Australia (Australia)
• Initiatives for Nuclear Disarmament (France)
• Interfaith Communities United for Justice and Peace (USA)
• International Alliance of Women (International)
• International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (International)
• International Peace Bureau (International), Nobel Peace Prize 1910
• IPPNW Guatemala Section (Guatemala)
• MEDACT – IPPNW United Kingdom (UK)
• Middle East Treaty Organization (Israel)
• Mouvement de la paix (France)
• Movement for the Abolition of War (UK)
• Nei til Atomvåpen (Norway)
• Pact for a Sustainable Tomorrow (Kenya)
• Parliament of the World’s Religions (International)
• Pax Christi International (International)
• Peace Action (USA)
• Peace Depot (Japan)
• Physicians for Social Responsibility Finland (Finland)
• Pugwash France (France)
• Pugwash South Africa (South Africa)
• Religions for Peace India (India)
• Swiss Interfaith Women (Switzerland)
• United for Peace and Justice (USA)
• United Nations Association of New York (USA)
• Voices for a World Free of Nuclear Weapons (International)
• Women Capacity and Advocacy Initiative (Nigeria)
• Women’s Initiatives Human Rights Foundation (Libya)
• World BEYOND War (International)
• World Future Council (International)
• World’s Youth for Climate Justice (International)
• Youth Fusion (International)

Stop Nuclear Weapons: Peace is in our Hands

Social Media action for Nuclear Abolition Day, September 26

We invite everyone, where-ever you are in the world, to undertake the September 26 social media action Stop Nuclear Weapons: Peace is in our Hands. The action is based on a hand raised with palm facing forwards, which is a universal message to stop. Hands are also what we use to greet each other, create things and build cooperation.

For this social media action, we use our hands or the NuclearAbolitionDay hand graphic to symbolically stop nuclear weapons and to build cooperation for a peaceful, nuclear-weapon-free world.​

Below are a few examples. For more information and additional examples, see our Social Media page.

Peace is in Our Hands: New York City Hall Park

plus other exciting events for Nuclear Abolition Day

If you are in New York, please join us in the afternoon on Nuclear Abolition Day (September 26) at New York City Hall Park for Peace is in our Hands, a participatory multimedia creation. Choose a hand stamp and add your mark to this piece of public art being created for Nuclear Abolition Day. Come anytime between 3pm-6pm to participate.

For further information on the City Hall event, and additional events in New York and other cities, please visit the NuclearAbolitionDay events page. Hand stamps that will be used to create a Nuclear Abolition Day participatory multimedia creation outside New York City Hall, September 26, 3pm-6pmYours sincerely
UNFOLD ZERO