Nobel Women's Initiative

As the world marks the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Nobel Laureate Mairead Maguire repeated calls this week for global nuclear disarmament and the creation of a nuclear free Middle East. 

The Middle East continues to be one of the world's most politically volatile regions. In his 2010 Nobel acceptance speech, President Obama warned of the dangers of an arms race in the region, saying that "those who seek peace cannot stand idly by as nations arm themselves for nuclear war."

On August 1, the Convention on Cluster Munitions will enter into force, banning the use, production, and trade of cluster bombs under international law. It is the most significant legal instrument for disarmament since the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty campaigned for by Nobel Laureate Jody Williams. 

The ban will require State Parties to declare and destroy stockpiles of cluster munitions within eight years, clear land contaminated by the bombs within 10 years, and provide comprehensive support to the survivors of cluster munitions, their families and communities. 

More than two-thirds of US senators have signed a letter calling on President Barack Obama to develop a plan to join the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty.  The treaty bans the production, transfer, and use of anti-personnel landmines.

The Senate letter, which was sent to the White House last week, expressed "strong support" for an ongoing administration review of the Mine Ban Treaty that is expected to conclude before the fall.  "We are confident that through a thorough, deliberative review, the Administration can identify any obstacles to joining the Convention and develop a plan to overcome them as soon as possible," it said.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York is now in its final weeks of negotiations. As participants review the draft proposals on disarmament, safeguards and nuclear energy – the outcome of these deliberations is still far from clear. Nobel Laureate Jody Williams explains how a nuclear free world is possible and why world leaders must seize this opportunity to ban nuclear weapons once and for all.

Nobel laureate Jody Williams renewed the call for global nuclear disarmament on Friday while speaking in New York at this month's 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Williams called upon state parties to capitalize on the progress made by the United States and Russia, who signed an arms reduction agreement in Prague this April. Calling it the "Promise of Prague," she hoped the pact would be a turning point, paving the way for an international treaty to abolish nuclear weapons. 

"It is time for all governments to come together - with the support of civil society around the world - to chart our course to a nuclear free future by beginning the negotiation of a comprehensive treaty banning the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of nuclear weapons. Now. Not in years or decades. Now," said Williams. 

Read the full statement by Jody Williams to the 2010 NPT Review Conference, United Nations, New York.

Mairead Maguire and Jody Williams participated in a blockade of Aldermaston Weapons Establishment (AWE) in the UK on February 15.  All 8 gates allowing access for staff and materials were blocked for 3 hours, stopping work and raising awareness of the illegality of the work performed inside AWE.  The blockade called for the UK to stop the expansion of AWE and the development of a new generation of nuclear weapons.

The Los Angeles Times today published an Opinion Editorial written by Nobel Laureate Jody Williams, condemning the recent decision of the United States not to sign on to the international Mine Ban Treaty.  This on day three of the Cartagena Summit on a Mine-Free World being held in Colombia.

The Cartagena Summit, running from November 29th-December 4th, is the second five-year review conference of the Mine Ban Treaty, and is aimed at evaluating progress made and identifying actions required to fully realize the vision of a mine-free world.

Williams calls the continuation of the Bush-era policy on landmines "shameful."

Read the Op Ed.

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In the wake of US President Obama's call at the UN Security Council for greater commitment by nations towards disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, a group of 17 Nobel Laureates today issued a call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

The group-which includes Archbishop Desmond Tutu, His Holiness The Dalai Lama, F.W. de Klerk, Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire and John Hume-is calling for a comprehensive international ban on nuclear weapons.