#5 OMNI WAR WATCH WEDNESDAYS
January 20, 2021
CELEBRATE THE UNITED NATIONS’ NUCLEAR BOMB BAN TREATY
SIGN PETITION DEMANDING UAF END BOMB BUILDING
CELEBRATE THE UNITED NATIONS’ NUCLEAR BOMB BAN TREATY
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) includes a comprehensive set of prohibitions on participating in any nuclear weapon activities. These include undertakings not to develop, test, produce, acquire, possess, stockpile, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons.
UNITED NATIONS’ ROLE IN THE TREATY
Today we look back to a long struggle that has brought us to this day.
These include previous treaties: the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT); the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests In The Atmosphere, In Outer Space And Under Water, also known as the Partial Test Ban Treaty (PTBT); the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which was signed in 1996 but has yet to enter into ratified force.
The following entry offers a comprehensive summary of the new Treaty by the authoritative ACA. 
"No one can solve this problem alone, but together we can change things for the better." – Setsuko Thurlow, Hiroshima Survivor
Alicia Sanders-Zakre. “Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty to Enter Into Force: What's Next?” ARMS CONTROL TODAY. November 2020
https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2020-11/features/nuclear-weapons-ban-treaty-enter-into-force-whats-next
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will soon enter into force and become binding international law for its states-parties. The milestone will be meaningful for those nations, but it will also affect countries that have yet to ratify or accede to the pact.
Earlier weapons prohibitions have successfully curbed proliferation and advanced norms against weapons of mass destruction. Within one year of the treaty’s entry into force, its states-parties will convene to discuss these issues and the next steps to strengthen the agreement.
The treaty’s final text was approved by 122 nations at the United Nations in July 2017, but nuclear-armed states boycotted treaty negotiations and have since rejected the treaty as simultaneously irrelevant and dangerous.1 Nevertheless, the majority of the world’s countries have continued to support the TPNW, including by signing and ratifying or acceding.2 States-parties hail from all regions of the world, with many from Africa and Latin America, and the fewest from Europe. According to the treaty, 50 ratifications or accessions must be submitted to the United Nations before the pact can take full legal effect. More https://www.armscontrol.org/act/2020-11/features/nuclear-weapons-ban-treaty-enter-into-force-whats-next
Dick Bennett will speak about the UN’s role in initiating the Treaty, and will introduce the speakers: Abel Tomlinson and our guest, Prof. Jeremy Kuzmarov.
Nuclear Bomb Ban Celebration & Protest of U of A Participation in Building Nuclear Weapons
On January 22nd at 11 A.M. at the intersection of Martin Luther King BLVD & Razorback Road (South Side), we are holding a celebration for the landmark Nuclear Bomb Ban, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, “entering into force” as international law. One hundred and thirty U.N. member nations have voted to make nuclear bombs illegal. To mark this momentous occasion, we will be taking part in a Global Day of Action, along with a great many peace groups around the world.
This event is also a protest calling on the University of Arkansas and UA College of Engineering to Stop Participating in Building Nuclear Bombs. The Nobel Peace Prize winning organization ICAN, which spearheaded the nuclear bomb ban, has issued a report titled Schools of Mass Destruction. Their report found the University of Arkansas is involved in the production of these increasingly illegal nuclear bombs. We are demanding that they cancel their Master Collaboration Agreement with the nuclear weapons corporation Honeywell International.
We will be holding a street protest for one hour, and then we will deliver the following petition to UA administrators (please sign & share with your friends):
https://www.change.org/p/university-of-arkansas-stop-helping-build-nuclear-bombs
Also, if you are on Facebook, please join and share our event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/2521268024843251
Thank you,
Abel Tomlinson
OMNI Peace Action Committee, Chair
Arkansas Nonviolence Alliance, Founder
(479)283-5762