Abolition 2000, at its Annual Assembly in New York on May 5, 2019, established a new working group on Peace, climate protection, nuclear abolition and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to: a) build cooperation between the constituencies working on these issues, and b) promote a Global Week for peace, climate protection, SDGs and nuclear abolition from Sep 21-27.
The working group was proposed by Anselmo Lee, one of the main organisers of the PeoyongChang Global Peace Forum (PGPF), which was held in February 2019 on the first anniversary of the Korean Olympic Peace initiative. The PGPF adopted a Five-Point Action Plan which recommended the establishment of a Global Week for Peace, SDGS and Nuclear Disarmament. See the PGPF 2019 Outcome Document which includes the Five-Point Action Plan.
Participants at the PyeongChang Global Peace Forum highlight the relationship between peace, human rights, nuclear disarmament and the abolition of war
Global Week for peace, climate protection, SDGs and nuclear abolition
The week September 21-27 already includes the separate events:
- Sep 21: UN International Day for Peace;
- Sep 23: UN Climate Summit;
- Sep 24-25: Summit on SDGs;
- Sep 26: International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
The idea of bringing the days together in a Global Week for peace, climate protection, SDGs and nuclear abolition, would help to reinforce the connections between these issues and would mean that anyone organising an event for any one of these issues during the week, could also use the event to promote the other issues/days/events.
UN Charter (Article 26) recognises the connection between disarmament and sustainable development. Article 26 requires the UN to facilitate disarmament ‘in order to promote the establishment and maintenance of international peace and security with the least diversion for armaments of the world’s human and economic resources.’
More recently the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development recognizes that there can be no sustainable development without peace, and no peace without sustainable development. In addition, Securing our Common Future: An Agenda for Disarmament, the disarmament agenda released in 2018 by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, outlines the links between disarmament and many of the SDGs.
Despite this, the global SDG communities and the peace and disarmament communities are generally separate with very little cooperation between them. The goal of this working group is to build such cooperation thus enhancing the issues.
Working group meets President of the UN General Assembly
Members of the Abolition 2000 working group meet with Maria Espinosa, President of the UN General Assembly
Following the Abolition 2000 AGM, members of the working group met with Maria Espinosa, President of the UN General Assembly, to present this proposal to her.
Ms Espinosa expressed her full support for the proposal and indicated that she would include mention of the connection between these issues in her relevant public statements. However, her term as President of the UNGA finishes in early September, so it will be important to also discuss this with the incoming President of the UNGA.
For more information, including to join the working group, please see Peace, disarmament and SDGs: Global week of action Sep 21 – 27.