Today is the first day of the 2017 Global Days of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS). Civil society organisations around the world will take action over the next two weeks to reduce military spending in order to help fund social and environmental needs, including the Sustainable Development Goals.
Abolition 2000 members are encouraged to ‘Move the Nuclear Weapons Money‘, a campaign of GDAMS to highlight the $100 billion global nuclear weapons budget, and ‘move the nuclear weapons money’ to better purposes.
Here are four actions you can take.
1. Nuclear divestment – governments, cities, universities, churches…
Most governments and cities, and many churches and universities, have investment funds. Ask your government to join Lichtenstein, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland who have adopted policies or legislation to divest public funds from nuclear weapons corporations. Ask your city to join Cambridge (USA) and other cities that have divested their city funds from nuclear weapons corporations. Check if your university and church are investing in nuclear weapons.
For more information see Move the Nuclear Weapons Money: A handbook for civil society and legislators’.
2. Support a ban on financing nuclear weapons production
The United Nations has started negotiations on a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons. Building on the Working Paper by PAX to the Open Ended Working Group on nuclear disarmament in 2016, UNFOLD ZERO, PNND and the Basel Peace Office are now also proposing that the treaty include a prohibition on financing nuclear weapons – including investments in nuclear weapons corporations. PAX continues to be the main global resource on these issues.
Encourage your government to support the proposal that the ban treaty prohibit the financing of companies involved with nuclear weapons production.
3. Cut nukes, not…
What do you think the $100 billion nuclear weapons budget should be spent on? Using the hash-tag #movethemoney post your thoughts on twitter, facebook, instagram etc… using the phrase ‘Cut nukes not…’
4. Joint statement of legislators and religious leaders
UNFOLD ZERO partners with Mayors for Peace, Religions for Peace and Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament on this joint statement for a nuclear-weapon-free world. The statement highlights the $100 billion annual nuclear weapons budget, and the need to re-direct these funds to ‘reverse climate change, eliminate poverty and address other social and economic needs.’
Invite your parliamentarian, religious leader and or mayor to endorse the statement.
The statement will be presented to the UN Secretary-General and circulated to all UN members later this year to support UN initiatives for nuclear abolition.
