To: Land of the Irish
WCRP - These folks have an extensive website with an interesting mailing address - 777 UNITED NATIONS PLAZA, New York 10017, NY.
To: Telit Likitis
Thanks. From their webpage:
Disarmament and Security
"Today, more than a decade into the post-Cold War era, the greatest threats to humanity's survival remain the same ones we have faced for three generations: easy access to the tools of warfare, and the stockpiling and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Though the United States and Russia today aim fewer nuclear warheads at each other than at any time in a half century, new threats continue to emerge. Smaller nations are developing their own arsenals and are purchasing technology from the larger powers. International gun-running enables guerilla forces and terrorists to easily obtain machine guns, grenades, rocket launchers, and bomb-making materials. And the prospect of a missile defense system threatens to weaken international compliance with existing arms-control treaties and spark a new arms race."
"Throughout its 30-year history, Religions for Peace has worked toward the limiting and eventual elimination of nuclear weapons. Recognizing that common security is the key to establishing a worldwide culture of peace, Religions for Peace assists religious communities of every faith in expressing the universal values of co-existence and common survival -- condemning policies that perpetuate the building of weapons, and envisioning a world free from the threat of nuclear annihilation."
"Nuclear Proliferation & Weapons of Mass Destruction: In recent years new nations have shown signs of developing nuclear capabilities, and longtime antagonists India and Pakistan carried out nuclear tests. Meanwhile, the events of September 11, 2001, raised fears that terrorists with access to chemical and biological weapons might wreak havoc with entire populations. For three decades Religions for Peace has worked collaboratively with numerous organizations to strengthen international arms control measures and to encourage all nations to take concrete steps toward the elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. Most recently, Religions for Peace co-sponsored a symposium at UN headquarters in 2000 that reviewed the status of the international Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)."
"Missile Defense: Religions for Peace's Standing Commission on Disarmament distributed a statement to dozens of world leaders during the spring of 2001, urging the United States and other nations to exercise the utmost caution in developing a missile defense system that could destabilize the current international arms control regime. In particular, the statement urged leaders to safeguard the tenets of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty in their responses to the experimentation toward and potential deployment of a missile defense system."
"Small Arms: Portable firearms - assault rifles, grenade launchers, and the like - are the most commonly used weapons in warfare today. More than a half-billion of these weapons are currently in use outside of government control, and are blamed for more than 500,000 deaths each year. Religions for Peace recently joined a coalition of organizations in calling on world governments to curb international gun-running, and works with religious communities to reduce the availability of such weapons through voluntary collection programs and sensitization campaigns."
"Religions for Peace has long served as a leader among international NGOs on disarmament issues. The organization is a key participant in major United Nations initiatives, monitoring discussions and exploring the role religions can play in helping to shape coherent arguments for disarmament on moral, ethical and spiritual grounds. Religions for Peace also works with the NGO Committee on Disarmament, coordinating a wide range of informal NGO activities and acting as a communications channel between concerned groups, governments and U.N.-related bodies."
"Religions for Peace is a founder and Publication Committee member of the Disarmament Times, the only independent newspaper devoted exclusively to accurate, objective reporting on arms control and disarmament activities in the United Nations context. The paper reaches a worldwide readership of policy makers, researchers, students, organizations and concerned individuals."
"Religions for Peace also is a member of the Reference Group of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), sharing responsibility for the network's management, governance, and program objectives. IANSA encourages community-based programs that educate citizens about the dangers of small arms; promotes peaceful resolution of conflict among religious communities; and promotes a culture of peace, solidarity and non-violence."
First they'll take our guns; then they'll take our rosaries.
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