International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons

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The movement for the elimination of nuclear weapons has had some significant victories since it began. It's important that we celebrate these victories: they inspire us to persevere, even when we don't seem to be making much progress. They're proof that the will of the people can prevail. Read about the victories below and celebrate them in whatever way you consider appropriate. We've provided you with two suggestions.

Suggestions

1. Designate your own "Abolition Day": Celebrate the victories of the anti-nuclear movement by dedicating a particular day to nuclear weapons abolition. You and your classmates could organize a mini anti-nuclear festival with exhibitions, music and performances. Invite your families along.
2. Re-enact a victorious moment: Pretend you were there when the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was formed or when the United Nations passed its first resolution calling for the world's nuclear forces to be eliminated. Make out that you led the great anti-nuclear rallies of the 1980s or played a part in the abolition of South Africa's nuclear weapons. Re-enact these historical moments with your classmates—so that they aren't forgotten.

Timeline of victories

1. 1946: The United Nations General Assembly, in its very first resolution, calls for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and establishes a commission to deal with the problem raised by the discovery of atomic energy.
2. 1955: Eleven leading scientists and intellectuals sign the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, warning of the dangers posed by nuclear weapons and calling on world leaders to find peaceful solutions to international tensions.
3. 1957: Internationally renowned physician and Nobel Peace Prize winner Albert Schweitzer publishes the famous Declaration of Conscience, his public appeal against the development of nuclear weapons.
4. 1970: The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty—an international treaty promoting nuclear non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament and the right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy-enters into force.
5. 1981: Thousands of women march to Greenham Common, a military base in the United Kingdom housing 96 nuclear missiles, and commence a 19-year protest which results in the removal of the missiles and the closure of the base.
6. 1982: The biggest demonstration on earth to that date takes place in New York, with one million people gathering to support of the second United Nations Special Session on Disarmament and to express opposition to nuclear weapons.
7. 1984: Jo Vallentine is elected to the Australian Senate as a candidate for the Nuclear Disarmament Party, becoming the first and only person in the world to be voted into office on the single issue of nuclear disarmament.
8. 1984: New Zealand becomes the first ever single-nation nuclear-free zone, with the Labour government implementing a nuclear prohibition policy despite considerable opposition from its Western allies.
9. 1985: The International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War win the Nobel Peace Prize for raising awareness of the catastrophic consequences of nuclear warfare and for generating opposition to nuclear weapons.
10. 1991: The Cold War ends, marking the beginning of an era of reduced reliance on nuclear weapons, with Russia and the United States substantially reducing the size of their nuclear arsenals.
11. 1991: South Africa completes the process of dismantling all of its nuclear weapons, making it the only nation in the world to have developed nuclear weapons and then voluntarily given them up.
12. 1995: Civil society organizations from across the globe join forces to create Abolition 2000, a network which shifts the world's focus from nuclear arms control to nuclear weapons abolition.
13. 1996: The International Court of Justice—the highest court in the world-holds that there exists an obligation under international law to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to complete nuclear disarmament.
14. 1996: The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty—an international treaty banning all nuclear explosions in all environments, whether for military or civilian purposes-opens for signature.
15. 2007: The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons is launched throughout the world with the aim of generating a groundswell of popular support for a treaty that would ban nuclear weapons.