Faith Communities Issue Interfaith Statement Calling for Progress toward the Elimination of Nuclear

On May 1, a diverse group of faith-based organizations and individuals committed to a nuclear-weapon-free world presented a joint statement at the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The statement was read by Emily Welty of World Council of Churches (WCC) on behalf of the group, “Faith Communities Concerned about Nuclear Weapons,” during the session for statements from civil society.

The statement has been endorsed by 53 groups and individuals of Christian, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist affiliations. Recognizing that there are core prohibitions common to both the NPT and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), such as those against the transfer of nuclear weapons, against assisting other states in acquiring nuclear weapons, that can be supported regardless of a state’s position on the TPNW, it urges all States parties to the NPT to engage in constructive dialogue toward strengthening such prohibitions as a concrete and practical step in fulfilling the obligation of all States parties to the NPT to pursue nuclear disarmament.

The statement reads: “We share and value the basic human right to live in a world free from the fear of total destruction, in an environment free from contamination. The indiscriminate and destructive capacity of nuclear weapons makes them wholly incompatible with our faith traditions and requires our consistent advocacy for their total and complete elimination.”

This is the eleventh statement of its kind since April 2014. To date, the group has issued interfaith statements on the occasion of international conferences on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, the NPT PrepCom, UN General Assembly and the UN conference that negotiated the TPNW.

The statement and signatories can viewed here.