Final conclusions

"A Comprehensive Approach towards nuclear disarmament"
Conference organized by Abolition 2000 Europe, ISIS Europe, Mayors for Peace, Olof Palme International
Center and Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament.

European Parliament April 19th 2007 Brussels
During this conference we explored the possibilities and opportunities for the EU to become increasingly involved in promoting non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. This conference was very timely in the run-up to the next Non-Proliferation
Treaty PrepCom from April 30 to May 11 2007.

High-resolution pictures of the conference can be found on
http://fme.sincerethought.org/gallery/v/2007/EP

On Thursday April 19th, European Parliament members from across the political spectrum joined with disarmament experts, political leaders and civil society representatives in a conference "A Comprehensive approach towards nuclear disarmament".

The organizers and participants paid tribute to the work and life-time achievements of the Mayor of Nagasaki, Mr. Iccho Itoh and co-founder of nuclear abolition campaigner Janet Bloomfield. Mayor Icho, vice-president of the Mayors for Peace and Chair of the Japanese association of Mayors for Peace, was brutally assassinated April 18th 2007 in his hometown of Nagasaki, the second city to have experienced the nuclear blast. Janet Bloomfield, co-founder of Atomic Mirror and a leader in Abolition 2000 global network to abolish nuclear arms, died unexpectedly the previous week.

Proposals which gained general support include:

- That the European Parliament become more actively involved and have a
balanced approach on the issue of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear
disarmament and refer to the resolutions adopted by the European Parliament and
the recommendations of the Blix report of the Weapons of Mass Destruction
Commission.

- To be credible partners to encourage non-proliferation the EU is encouraged
to work on the withdrawal of US nuclear weapons deployed in Belgium, Britain,
Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey. The EU is also encouraged to
urge Britain and France to comply with the NPT Art VI disarmament obligations.

- Parliamentarians, including members of the Parliamentary Network for
Nuclear Disarmament, act within the NATO Parliamentary Assembly to promote
change in NATO nuclear policies and practices.

- The European Parliament liaise more with European governments to promote
nuclear disarmament and to encourage the establisment of Nuclear Weapon Free
Zones in Europe as a stepping stone towards global nuclear abolition. These
could include a Central European NWFZ and a Northern Europe Arctic NWFZ.

- Members of the European Parliament are encouraged to collaborate with mayors
on such initiatives as the Mayors and Parliamentarians joint statement for a
nuclear weapons free world, and also on promoting Mayors for Peace and the
Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament to mayors and parliamentarians
respectively.

- NGOs and parliamentarians pledged support for the achievement of a nuclear
weapons convention (a global treaty for the abolition of nuclear weapons) and
for initiatives such as the 2020 Vision Campaign of the Mayors for Peace which
aims to rid the world of nuclear weapons by 2020. Special attention is given
to the current membership drive of the Mayors for Peace which aims to count 2020
members for its 25th anniversary on June 24th 2007.

- The EU is encouraged to provide funding for peace education as awareness on
the dangers of nuclear weapons and further proliferation is very low.

- Parliamentarians, mayors and NGOS are encouraged to promote the op-ed in the
Wall Street Journal on 4 January 2007 by Henry Kissinger, George Shultz,
William Perry and Sam Nunn calling for a world free of nuclear weapons. European
leaders are requested to break the silence and follow the wise call by these
former conservative US leaders.

Finally the organizers of the Conference welcome the establishment today of a
cross-party section of the Parliamentary Network for Nuclear Disarmament in
the European Parliament. The PNND EP section welcomes the Co-chair Angelika Beer
(Greens) and Vice-chairs Ana Gomes (PSE), Annemie Neyts (ALDE), Andre Brie
(GUE) and Girts Kristovskis (UEN).