Archived News

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December 14, 2010
By Ira Helfand/John O. Pastore: Don't let Kyl and his cohorts kill New START treaty. Read the op-ed in the Providence Journal.

December 7, 2010
Government of Canada adopts motion on nuclear disarmament. Read the letter sent by PGS (IPPNW's Canadian affiliate) to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

November 29-December 3, 2010
Signatories Meeting to the Mine Ban Treaty
Geneva, Switzerland
IPPNW serves on the International Campaign to Ban Land Mines (ICBL) Advisory Board. IPPNW co-president, Dr. Robert Mtonga, attended to assess challenges in the universalization and full implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty.

November 26-28, 2010
IPPNW German Doctors-in-training Weekend Retreat
Dransfeld, Germany
Organized by young doctors for other doctors-in-training, the focus of the retreat is to meet and exchange experiences on how to balance work life, family, life and other committments. For the program (in German) please see ippnw-ddorf.de/JungeIPPNW/programm.html

November 12-14, 2010
An IPPNW delegation joined six Nobel Peace Laureates and 12 other organizational Nobel winners at the 1th World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates, in Hiroshima, Japan. Editorial from Asahi Shimbun (Japanese Daily newspaper), presentations were made by panelists IPPNW Co-president, Dr. Vappu Taipale and Board Chair, Dr. Bjorn Hilt. For the program and additional photos, please see nobelforpeace-summits.org

November 12, 2010
Joint statement from Medact (IPPNW UK) and AMFPGN (IPPNW France) on the recent unprecedented 50-year military agreement between the British and French governments to share nuclear test facilities. 

November 10, 2010
Greek Medical Association for the Protection of the Environment and Against Nuclear and Biochemical Threat (IPPNW Greece), Medact (IPPNW UK) and AMFPGN (IPPNW France) participated in the the day of action to ban depleted uranium. Read the report by the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons that deals with the legacy of war and the consequences of some of the weapons used.

November 8, 2010
IPPNW, the International Association of Lawyers Against Nuclear Arms (IALANA) and the International Peace Bureau (IPB) received the John and Chara Haas Award for International Peace and Social Justice, at the Nuclear Futures Conference in Philadelphia. The award recognises the organizations’ work to establish the illegality of nuclear weapons, and for the drafting and successful promotion of a Nuclear Weapons Convention.

October 19, 2010
"Is There a Nuclear Revival in the United States?" PSR Program Director Michele Boyd's new paper (pdf) poses that exact question and finds that construction may be started on a few heavily-subsidized reactors. However, even these subsidized reactor projects may fail due to rapidly rising reactor costs, decreasing renewable costs, reduced electricity demand, low natural gas prices, and the large U.S. efficiency potential.

September 21-24, 2010
IPPNW activists and staff from the US, Zambia, Kenya, Uganda and Nigeria brought the medical perspective to the 10th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Safety Promotion, “Safety 2010” held in London. This year's theme at the Safety 2010 conference was Safe and Equitable Communities, chosen to reflect the disproportionate burden from almost all types injuries that fall on poorer communities throught the world. IPPNW presented 12 posters and presentations on a range of topics.

September 18, 2010
Activists from IPPNW-Germany added their voices to the tens of thousands who demonstrated in Berlin, Germany. Demonstrators rallied to apply continued pressure to the German government to uphold the deadline of phasing out nuclear power by 2020.

August 25-30, 2010
IPPNW World Congress attended by 900 physicians, medical students, and public health advocates. Speeches and select videos from the plenary sessions and workshops are now online.

August 26, 2010
IPPNW Congress statement

August 14-24, 2010
33 Medical students biked 250+miles to promote awareness for a nuclear weapons-free Europe. Medical students and young doctors from two dozen countries held public "Target X" demonstrations, spoke with the media and local politicians to promote awareness.

August 6, 2010
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, US Ambassador John Roos and representatives of the UK and France attended the Memorial Ceremony at Hiroshima Peace Park. Read the Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Declarations and the appeal made by H.E. Ban Ki-Moon at the Peace Park.

August 6, 2010
The grassroots ‘Million Pleas’ campaign, initiated in Australia, was launched to mark the 65th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. Organisers want to give millions of people around the world the chance to voice their support for nuclear disarmament by uploading their image and personal plea at www.millionpleas.com. Ambassadors of the campaign include South Africa’s Nobel Peace laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Jody Williams and Australian former Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser.

July 27, 2010
IPPNW elected to serve on the Steering Board of the Control Arms Campaign.

July 26 - August 1, 2010
The Georgian-Ukranian-Russian Summer School Project was held in Batumi, Georgia. The GUR Summer School's focus was to create a forum for medical students and young physicians from Russia, Georgia, Ukraine,
Azerbaijan and from European countries to discuss the medical, social, and environmental impact of nuclear weapons. Workshops were also held on peace in the region and protection of the countries` independence.

June 14 - 18, 2010
IPPNW members raised the public health message at the 4th Biennial Meeting of States of the United Nations Programme of Action on Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons (BMS). See additional pictures and read the official AFP conference report.

June 5, 2010
ICAN Australia has launched a new short film to mark Nuclear Abolition Day. The "Who by Fire" video is a retelling of the legend of Prometheus set against an iconic Melbourne landmark, Harold Freedman's "Legend of Fire" mural located in Australia's second largest city.

June 4, 2010
Review of the NPT by IPPNW program director, John Loretz

June 3-4, 2010
AFP coordinator, Maria Valenti chaired the second day of the WHO Violence Prevention Alliance (VPA) Annual Meeting in Rome, and helped facilitate the formation of project groups to address specific goals of a new VPA 5-year workplan.

May 10-16, 2010
Indian Institute for Peace, Disarmament & Environmental Protection (IIPDEP) led by Drs. Balkrishna and Nalini Kurvey highlighted a health message and urgent need for arms control at a series of six events throughout India as part of worldwide activities for the Global Week of Action against Gun Violence.

April 30, 2010
Japanese affiliate urges NPT review to take stronger steps toward abolition

April 27, 2010
Joint IPPNW/PSR statement on the Obama administration's opposition to the removal of US nuclear weapons stored in NATO countries.

April 8, 2010
The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), signed April 8 by President Obama and Russian President Medvedev. Read PSR's statement on START and article in the Tampa Bay Online by Ira Helfand, Lynn Ringenberg and Donald Mellman.

April 5, 2010
In late March, IPPNW published a major new briefing paper on the global climate and health effects of nuclear war. Zero is the only option, produced for the 2010 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, draws extensively from the work of climate scientists at Rutgers University and the University of Colorado at Boulder, including Alan Robock, O. B. Toon, Michael Mills, and their colleagues, who have documented the climate effects of regional nuclear war.

March 26, 2010
IPPNW's UK affiliate, Medact summarizes why nuclear power is not the answer in the UK or anywhere.

March 11, 2010
There have been reports of renewed ethno-religious violence in Nigeria recently and in the latest incident more than 500 people were reported killed. Unfortunately this is not a new phenomenon. A Journal of Public Health Policy (JPHP) paper in 2007 investigated gun violence in Nigeria and identified that there was a link between small arms injuries and communal riots between Christians and Muslims.

March 10, 2010
Let's seize the opportunity for Nuclear Abolition - ICAN launches multiple grassroots lobbying tools prior to the NPT review. Please mark your calendars; June 5th is Global Abolition Day and ICAN activists are encouraged to organize an action with the key words of NWC to highlight the movement's rally for a Nuclear Weapons Convention.

March 6, 2010
Dr. Perkins of PSR/LA responds to New York Times article “New Think and Old Weapons.” Dr. Perkins calls upon lessons from three decades of PSR leadership to discuss the opportunities presented if a limited purpose of deterrence is adhered to in the nuclear posture review:

March 2, 2010
Early bird registration opened for the 19th IPPNW World Congress; hosted and organized by PSR/IPPNW Switzerland.

January 28, 2010
Somerville Community Access Television has chosen the 1/2 hour television roundtable video, "Getting to a Nuclear Weapons-Free World," as one of three nominations for a "Best of 2009" award in the Informational category.

January 21, 2010
The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched TEACH-VIP, which includes free, online lessons covering violence, unintentional injury and disability.

January 17, 2010
Report of the 2009 Nobel Peace Laureates Summit by Tova Fuller of PSR. For the full text, go to the IPPNW medical student website.

January 15, 2010
Doomsday clock moved back one minute. The Board of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists have declared that their "Doomsday Clock" is now set at 6 minutes to midnight, recognizing international efforts to reduce the two threats of nuclear weapons and climate change. For the full text, go to TurnBacktheClock.