130 French pacifists attending the World Conference against A- and H- Bomb and Hiroshima and Nagasaki commemorations.

Our project consists in sending two delegations :
•  One delegation of 100 young peace activists to participate in the Peace March, the World Conference against A- and H- Bomb, the 3 rd International Youth Meeting for Peace Culture and the total elimination of nuclear weapons, and in the two cities' commemorations.
•  One delegation of 100 ‘adults' to participate in the International Meeting, the World Conference against A- and H- Bomb and the two cities' commemorations

Background

This project lies within the scope of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010) proclaimed in 2000 by the UN during its millenary General Assembly.

It is also based on the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice of The Hague in 1996: “ There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control .”

Moreover, this projects refers to Dr. El Baradei's –Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency– and Mr. Tadatoshi Akiba's –Mayor of Hiroshima– speeches:
•  According to the former, a nuclear war is very likely if civil society and governements do not act in favour of nuclear disarmament: " If the world does not change, we are heading for suicide" . This assertion reinforces the stake of the Non Proliferation Treaty Review in 2005.
•  The later solemnly calls worldwide governments and citizens to work for nuclear weapons elimination: we know what unbelievable consequences they had on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. " The abolition of nuclear weapons is nohow less important than the abolition of slavery. We do not fight just against a technology or slavery. As Martin Luther King Junior said, we fight the idea that anyone could, for a reason one considers legitimate, cause a nuclear holocaust" . This call gave birth to the Mayors for Peace network, an international organisation of local elected people militating in favour of nuclear weapons abolition.

Finally, such a gigantic project is not our first try. The Peace Movement already organised great international events:
•  In 2000 , we sent 130 young people to the United-Nations in New York to drop the Manifesto 2000 signatures. This Manifesto elaborates upon the notion of Peace Culture through 8 basic points •  In 2002 , before its National Congress in Marseille, the Peace Movement organised its 1 st International Youth Meeting for the promotion of Peace Culture: about forty young from Germany, Belgium, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Israel, France and Palestine gathered to debate about peace culture, exchange their experiences and work out commmon actions.
•  In 2003 , Youth in Movement for Peace –the youth section of the Peace Movement– organised the 2nd International Youth Meeting for the promotion of Peace Culture before the European Social Forum in Paris. More than 60 young from Algeria, France, Israel, Italy, Palestine, United Kingdom and Ukraine exchanged on their actions and their conception of Peace and developed common actions.
The Peace Bell at Hiroshima, 1964

Objectives

•  Showing initiatives
•  Raising consciousness about Peace Culture and nuclear weapons' dangers.
•  Showing one's commitment as citizens.
•  Setting up a Youth International Network to promote Peace Culture.
•  Discovering by oneself the realities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings' consequences.
•  Strengthening the pacifist action regarding nuclear disarmament.
•  Reaffirming civil society's role and weight. Nagasaki Peace Park

More information : sophie.lefeez@mvtpaix.org