Nuclear disarmament promoted at the Inter Parliamentary Union Assembly

On 24 October (United Nations Day), at a plenary of delegations from approximately 150 parliaments, PNND and the Inter Parliamentary Union released a 195 page handbook for parliamentarians in English and French on Supporting Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament. The launch included a video of parliamentarians around the world in front of their parliaments supporting a nuclear-weapons-free world and calling on their parliamentary colleagues to use the handbook to advance this goal.
October 30, 2012 Topics:  UIP, Guide à l’usage des parlementaires (UIP/PNND)
Alyn Ware, PNND Global Coordinator, introducing the IPU/PNND Handbook Alyn Ware, PNND Global Coordinator, introducing the IPU/PNND Handbook
Speakers at the plenary included Saber Chowdhury MP (Bangladesh, President of the IPU’s First Standing Committee on Peace and International Security), Tibor Tóth (Executive Secretary, CTBTO), Randy Rydell (Senior Political Affairs Officer, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs), Hélène Laverdière MP (Member, Co-Chair PNND Canada) and Rob van Riet (World Future Council,  co-author of the Handbook).

The plenary was followed by a workshop on New and Innovative Tools to Promote Nuclear Disarmament run by PNND and the Comprehensive Nuclear test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO). The workshop highlighted nuclear disarmament tools for parliamentarians including the Handbook, CTBTO E-Tutorials, online videos (ATOM Project and ICAN videos), World Future Council Future Policy databases, CTBT I-Tunes Upage, PNND online information and the  Capacity Development Initiative E-learning platform.

The plenary and workshop also included a number of interventions from parliamentary delegations (including Costa Rica, Egypt, Kazakhstan, India, New Zealand, Thailand, United Arab Emirates…) promoting specific parliamentary actions to advance nuclear disarmament.

The Handbook is available online in English and French. For a summary report on the workshop, please click here.  Photos of the workshop are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ipu2012uip/sets/72157631845263290/

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