Just months after the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the relentless pursuit of a global ban on nuclear weapons by peace activists across the world will shortly come to fruition.
On 22 January 2021 a global Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will come into effect.
Federation congratulates the International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) for its successful campaign to secure the ratification of the required 50 countries to trigger a global ban.
The Australian Education Union (AEU) is an affiliated partner organisation of ICAN. In October 2018 the AEU Federal Executive passed the following motion:
“The AEU Federal Executive has voted to support the campaign for Australia to join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The AEU is proud to support ICAN and efforts to create a world free of nuclear weapons and the threat they pose to humanity. We call on the Australian Government to sign and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”
To its great shame the Morrison government has joined nuclear weapons countries including the US, Britain and Russia in refusing to sign up to the treaty, citing among other reasons, that to do so would be “inconsistent with our US alliance obligations”.
At the final meeting of the Federation’s Peace Environment and International Issues Special Interest Group for 2020, members showed their support for ICAN’s ongoing campaign to push the Australian government to also become a signatory by participating in the online “Entry into Force” social media campaign.
Addressing the SIG meeting, Federation President Angelo Gavrielatos said: “The struggle for peace has always been high on our agenda. This is informed by the regrettable reality that every war is a war against children.”
Federation encourages members to visit ICAN’s website for more details on how to support their ongoing campaign to free the world of nuclear weapons.