IPPNW's Goals for 2007 Set Out in Five-Point Plan
Board approves global abolition program and expanded small arms campaign for coming year
At its meeting in Helsinki, Finland on September 7, 2006, the IPPNW Board approved a 5-point program intended to unite affiliates and physician activists around a common set of activities toward the abolition of nuclear weapons, the prevention of war, and the prevention of small arms violence.
The following is an outline of the federation's 2007 program as endorsed by the Board. Watch for details and reports on specific projects in the weeks and months ahead.
- International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)
IPPNW's medical message about the consequences of nuclear war and the necessity of a Nuclear Weapons Convention that can make abolition a political reality will be in the forefront of a multi-year global campaign to educate the public and policymakers about the urgency of the contemporary nuclear threat. Near-term campaigning opportunities will include advocating for cancellation of the Trident replacement in the UK and removal of US tactical nuclear weapons from Europe. IPPNW will also join with other NGOs to seek a new advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on whether the nuclear weapon states are complying with their disarmament obligations under the non-Proliferation Treaty.
- International Conference on Nuclear Proliferation and Health
IPPNW will organize a major medical conference in London, in October 2007. The goals of the conference will be to reassert the centrality of the medical message regarding nuclear weapons and IPPNW's role as the messenger; to persuade the media to examine the contemporary nuclear threat from a medical and public health perspective; and to reconnect the larger medical community to the issues of nuclear weapons and nuclear war prevention. In the year leading up to the conference, IPPNW will produce a new research study on health aspects of both vertical and horizontal proliferation, taking a close look at the weapons and policies of the existing nuclear weapon states, new and potential nuclear weapon states, and the danger of nuclear terrorism.
- Aiming For Prevention
IPPNW's program on small arms violence offers a crucial public health perspective on the deaths and injuries attributable to small arms and light weapons worldwide. "One Bullet Stories," which put a human face on the consequences of small arms violence, are the cornerstone of a program built around research, education, policy design and development, and care and rehabilitation of victims. While the Aiming For Prevention program will maintain its emphasis on the regions of Latin America, Africa, and South Asia in 2007, we will promote increased involvement by affiliates and physician activists in the Global North.
- Global Health Alerts/Letter Writing campaigns
This new public education tool organized around the message "War is bad for your health" will comprise two-to-three alerts each year on a particular aspect of war and health. Each alert will come with a set of materials that affiliates can use as the basis for presentations, lectures, workshops, and media campaigns. A special feature of the program will be 3-4 e-mail/Web-based letter-writing campaigns around high priority IPPNW issues.
- Medical Student Development
Since medical students not only represent the future of the international physicians movement, but are already making some of the most effective contributions to current programs and campaigns, IPPNW will make a high-priority investment in the student movement at every level‹programmatic, financial, and leadership development‹and will support student participation in every aspect of the federation's work.
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