SAMPLE PROCLAMATION
Sample Proclamation Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons
September 26, 2023
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Whereas, today there are approximately 12,500 nuclear weapons on the planet a small fraction of which if detonated could kill billions of people and effectively end human civilization; and
Whereas, many nuclear experts say that the risk of nuclear war is greater today than it has been since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis or perhaps ever; and
Whereas, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres said in 2022 “humanity is just one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation”; and
Whereas, in 2022, the leaders of the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom affirmed that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought and affirmed their countries mutual obligation under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty “to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament”; and
Whereas, in January 2021, the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) entered into force which prohibits nations from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, transferring, possessing, stockpiling, using or threatening to use nuclear weapons, or allowing nuclear weapons to be stationed on their territory. As of September, 2023, 92 countries have signed the treaty and 68 have ratified it; and
Whereas, there is a growing public call and demand for the abolition of nuclear weapons internationally and within the United States spearheaded by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and Back from the Brink: Bringing Communities Together to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (BftB) respectively; and
Whereas, 71 municipalities and counties within the United States have passed resolutions calling on the United States to lead a global effort among all nuclear weapons states to negotiate a verifiable, timebound agreement to eliminate all of their nuclear weapons and adopt policies to reduce nuclear risks; and
Whereas, the United States Conference of Mayors, the nonpartisan association of America’s big cities, adopted a resolution at its 91st annual meeting in June 2023 urging Congress to pass the “Embracing the Goals and Provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Resolution;” and
Whereas, today the United States spends some $6 million every hour of every day to produce and maintain the U.S. nuclear weapons arsenal, tax dollars that could be spent confronting real economic and security challenges within communities, such as poverty, gun violence, and access to affordable housing and healthcare; and
Now Therefore, I [NAME AND TITLE OF OFFICIAL] on behalf the people of [NAME OF MUNICIPALITY] celebrate the 10th anniversary of the United Nations International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons; urge President Biden to adopt policies to reduce the risks of nuclear war and to pursue a verifiable, timebound agreement with all nuclear weapons states to eliminate their arsenals and call on all members of the [NAME OF STATE] congressional delegation to take leadership in working to prevent nuclear war and abolish nuclear weapons.