The world has avoided nuclear war through luck, faith leaders warn
The world has avoided nuclear catastrophe through luck, not good management, warn more than 100 religious groups calling for urgent action on nuclear disarmament.
The groups, including Quakers in Britain, signed a joint statement ahead of a major United Nations conference on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Signatories including the World Council of Churches, Soka Gakkai International and the US Presbyterian Church, describe a spiritual crisis at the heart of modern life.
[QUOTE-START]
A world free of nuclear weapons is the only safe path
- Hannah Brock Womack, peace lead, Quakers in Britain
[QUOTE-END]
When armed force becomes a first resort and populations are taught to accept "the threat of annihilation as a condition of their security," they say, "our moral imagination has failed."
The treaty, now 56 years old, was meant to lead to a world free of nuclear weapons.
Signatories to the statement say that promise has never been kept and describe the disarmament commitment as "deferred, diluted, and in many cases openly dismissed."
They warn that every nuclear-armed country is currently upgrading its weapons. The world has survived so far, the signatories say, "not because our systems are foolproof, but because we have been lucky."
The Doomsday Clock, a symbolic measure of how close the world is to catastrophe, is at 85 seconds to midnight, its most dangerous setting ever.
The statement asks leaders to make real, measurable cuts to their nuclear arsenals and to stop developing new warheads.
Hannah Brock Womack, peace lead for Quakers in Britain, said: “This Review Conference comes at a time when the priceless value of every human being has been forgotten by many world leaders who are in thrall to militarism.
“As faith groups we say to national representatives: we care about this, we notice what happens, we urge you to do the right thing.
“A world free of nuclear weapons is the only safe path, and this treaty is part of making that happen. Use this time in New York to reaffirm the spirit of the NPT in deeds and words."
The statement honours survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and communities affected by nuclear weapons testing.