WILPF Monterey co-sponsors panel discussion on Nuclear Ban Treaty
Published on November, 23 2017
Photo courtesy of student from Middlebury Institute of International Studies
by Judy Karas, chair WILPF Monterey County Branch
WILPF Monterey County Branch co-sponsored a panel discussion on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on Tuesday, October 10, 2017 at the McCone Irvine Auditorium, Monterey CA.
With 122 UN member states having passed the Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on July 7th in New York City, we enter an era where nuclear weapons' possession, development, and possible use will be stigmatized and "delegitimized." The panel gave information about the process of negotiating and passing the Ban Treaty, the ratification process, and various perspectives toward the Ban Treaty. Masako Toki discussed Japan's position on the Ban Treaty and youth involvement with the disarmament issue. The panel also discussed the current nuclear weapons situation, including the U.S. nuclear weapons' modernization plans and the important role of civil society and education.
Speakers included Jackie Cabasso, Executive Director Western States Legal Foundation; Masako Toki, Education Project Manager, Center for Nonproliferation Studies (Critical Issues Forum); Sarah Bittner, Pacific Grove High student participant Critical Issues Forum, and Lesley Kucharski, MIIS student in Nonproliferation and Terrorism Studies and former intern at the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs while the Ban Treaty was negotiated. The panel discussion moderator was Larry Levine, this year's recipient of the Bahai Human Rights award.
Co-sponsored by the Middlebury Institute International Studies, Monterey Peace and Justice Center, UNA-USA Monterey Bay Chapter, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom Monterey County Branch, the program was informative and "connections" were made with staff members at the Center for Nonproliferation Studies and the local chapter of the UNA-USA Monterey Bay group.
For more information, please contact Judy Karas at jkaras@sonic.net.
