The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) holds its 37th Annual General Meeting and its quarterly Steering Committee meeting in Manchester on Friday 1st December. The meetings will consider all the major nuclear policy and renewable policy developments in the UK and Ireland it interacts in.
Amongst the reports it will be considering are its views on national changes to nuclear emergency planning and transports, radioactive waste concerns with potential radioactive mud from a proposed Hinkley Point C reactor off a site close to Cardiff Bay, the moves to develop renewable energy support schemes in Ireland and further cooperation with the Cities for a Nuclear Free Europe network.
It will also hold a joint afternoon seminar with the UK and Ireland Mayors for Peace Chapter to consider the core issues around nuclear weapons and promoting peace in local communities. (1)
2017 has been a momentous year for our wider network given the decision of the Nobel Peace Committee to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the International Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). NFLA is a member of ICAN’s international coalition and is delighted to share in this award. NFLA also works closely with the Mayors for Peace, a strategic partner with ICAN. The Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will be amongst a local government delegation that will attend next week’s ceremony in Oslo City Hall on December 10th.
The joint seminar will consider this matter and look at the following issues:
- Elizabeth Minor, Advisor to Article 36 and part of the ICAN UK Steering Group, will outline the implications of ICAN winning the Nobel Peace Prize and what benefit it can bring to the long-term campaign to abolish nuclear weapons.
- Dr Nick Ritchie, Lecturer in International Relations at York University, will consider the state of play with the nuclear weapons issue in the UK and Ireland, and look at the deep financial problems with the Trident replacement programme.
- Nick Taylor, Chief Executive of the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation (based at the Warrington Peace Centre) will talk about its work to support Manchester after the 22nd May terrorist attack and look at ways to prevent violent extremism through education. The Foundation is a core supporter of the Greater Manchester ‘#We Stand Together’ programme.
- Sean Morris, NFLA Secretary and UK & Ireland Mayors for Peace Chapter Secretary, will outline the expanding remit of Mayors for Peace to promote peace at the local level as it cooperates with NFLA and ICAN for a nuclear weapons free world.
NFLA Chair Councillor Ernie Galsworthy said:
“This joint seminar with the Mayors for Peace Chapter allows both organisations to warmly welcome ICAN’s Nobel Peace Prize. I am delighted that the long-running campaign to abolish nuclear weapons has been duly supported by the Nobel Peace Committee, and the important role played by civil society and local government has also been acknowledged. NFLA was established in 1980 to campaign for the same aims as ICAN and the agreement of the International Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations is a huge step forward. Now the next major effort is to get nuclear weapon states like the UK to acknowledge their responsibility for delivering multilateral nuclear disarmament now, not in some long and distant future. I am also pleased we are looking at the broader peace agenda to consider how we can bring our communities together, particularly after such terrible incidents as took place in Manchester and London and across the world. Local government plays a vital role in such activity and I hope Mayors for Peace can assist in this role throughout the coming year.”
Ends – for more information please contact Sean Morris, NFLA Secretary, on 0161 234 3244.
Notes for editors:
(1) UK and Ireland NFLA and Mayors for Peace Joint Seminar, Friday 1st December, 1.30pm – 3.30pm. The LEAF Centre, 113 – 115 Portland Street, Manchester, M1 6DX
An uncertain world, a positive future?
Moving NFLA and Mayors for Peace forward to support initiatives for a nuclear weapons free and more peaceful world
Speakers:
- Councillor Eddy Newman, Lord Mayor of Manchester and Vice President of Mayors for Peace – Building a Culture of Peace in Manchester
- Elizabeth Minor, Advisor to Article 36 and member of ICAN UK Steering Group – The Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty and winning the Nobel Peace Prize
- Dr Nick Ritchie, Lecturer on International Security, York University – The Trident replacement debate and how do we build multilateral disarmament with a political establishment so attached to nuclear weapons?
- Nick Taylor, Chief Executive, The Tim Parry & Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation – Dealing with the after-effects of the Manchester terrorist attack, assisting those affected by it and how do we prevent violent extremism through education? Introducing the Greater Manchester #We Stand Together campaign.
- Sean Morris, NFLA and Mayors for Peace Chapter Secretary – the future work of the Mayors for Peace 2017 – 2020