The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) will tomorrow host a free conference about weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in the Middle East.
Saturday 13th October, UCL, 10am-5pm
The event, taking place in central London, will see speakers from Britain and across the Middle East debate security issues and prospects for the UN initiative of creating a WMD-free zone in the region.
Sharon Dolev from the Israeli Disarmament Movement, who will be speaking at the conference, said:
“This is one of the most unstable regions in the world; it does not need nuclear weapons added to the mix… We have to decide how the region will look – full of nuclear weapons or a WMD-free zone.”
“As Israelis we have to be part of an international movement that pushes for a nuclear free world. That is the only way to be secure.”
Writing for Al Jazeera today, CND’s General Secretary Kate Hudson discussed the importance of Nuclear Weapons-Free Zones (NWFZs) across the world: “NWFZs are highly successful forms of collective security across large parts of the world. Currently, 115 states and 18 other territories belong to 5 regional treaties, covering a majority of the earth’s surface, including almost the entire southern hemisphere.”
Hudson described the UN initiative of a conference towards a WMD-free zone in the Middle East, to be convened by Finland, as representing “a significant moment which we would do well to seize upon.”
“To allow this momentum to falter could well result in a hitherto unseen scale of nuclear proliferation across the region, the implications of which are grim. But if we are to build on this momentum it could represent a significant step towards global disarmament and completely transform security relations within one of the world’s most unstable regions.”
Details:
Building towards a nuclear weapons-free Middle East: civil society input for a new Helsinki process
ICH, University College London, 30 Guilford Street, London, WC1N 1EH
10:00 – 17:00
Free of charge and open to the general public