On March 26, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (PNND) will launch the Spanish edition of a Handbook for Parliamentarians on Supporting Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, at the 128th Assembly of the Inter Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Quito, Ecuador.
“This Handbook brings disarmament down to earth, offering specific guidance on why it matters and how to achieve it… I commend this volume not just to legislators, but to all who truly care about nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and – without exaggeration – the future of our planet.”
— UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, July 2012
PNND was commissioned to produce the Handbook in follow-up to a ground-breaking resolution IPU adopted by consensus in 2009 which called on parliamentarians and parliaments to take action on a number of nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament measures, and to support the UN Secretary-General's Five Point Plan for Nuclear Disarmament including a global treaty or package of agreements to eliminate nuclear weapons.
IPU is an international organisation of parliaments with membership of over 160 national parliaments (including most of those of the nuclear-weapons-States and their allies) and 10 regional parliaments. The 2009 resolution has thus been instrumental in elevating parliamentary attention and action on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament - and in assisting to build engagement between parliaments and the United Nations on nuclear disarmament issues and initiatives.
The Handbook identifies existing examples of good parliamentary practice in the area of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament and offers recommendations for further parliamentary action. The English and French editions of the Handbook were launched at the 127th IPU Assembly in October 2012. It has already been sent to the Speakers/Presidents of every parliament in the world and to the United Nations Missions of all countries in New York and Geneva.
The Handbook was written by Rob van Riet (World Future Council) and Alyn Ware (PNND Global Coordinator) in close consultation with an Advisory Group consisting of key parliamentarians, experts, and institutions, including the United Nations, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
The launch of the Spanish edition in Quito will include special screenings of two short videos in Spanish which are available for parliamentarians to use in order to educate about, and promote, nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.
Production of the Handbook was made possible thanks to a generous contribution from the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.
For more information contact alyn@pnnd.org.
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