Endorsing a Future Free of Nuclear Weapons

Building a culture of nonviolence includes addressing threats to humanity at all levels, including the existence of nuclear weapons. On January 22, the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force and Pace e Bene has joined the Faith Communities Concerned about Nuclear Weapons in celebrating this milestone and endorsing the Joint Interfaith Statement on the Entry into Force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We share the content of this statement below.

Joint Interfaith Statement on the Entry into Force of the Treaty on  the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons 

22 January 2021 

As a wide coalition of faith-based communities from around the world, we speak with one voice  to reject the existential threat to humanity that nuclear weapons pose. We wholeheartedly  welcome the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the  first international treaty to comprehensively ban nuclear weapons. The Treaty addresses the  disproportionate impact of nuclear weapons on women and indigenous peoples and the  importance of victim assistance and healing environmental harms in a groundbreaking way. We  congratulate, celebrate and appreciate the countries that have ratified and signed this important  Treaty, as well as all who have worked for nuclear disarmament and abolition for many decades. 

As people of faith, we believe that the possession, development and threat to use nuclear  weapons is immoral. There are no safe hands for these weapons. The accidental or deliberate  detonation of a nuclear weapon would cause severe, long-lasting and far-reaching harm on all  aspects of our lives and our environment throughout the world. Further, these technologies are  part of structures and systems that bring about great suffering and destruction. We commit,  therefore, to the ethical and strategic necessity of working together for economic and social  justice, right relationship with the Earth, and accountability and restoration where there is  violence and harm. We rejoice at the possibilities of a new world that this Treaty ushers in. At a  time when the world desperately needs fresh hope, the TPNW inspires us to continue to work to  fully eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons, and to create conditions for peace, justice, and  well-being. 

We recognize the legacy of the global hibakusha, survivors whose courage and perseverance serve as our inspiration, guidance, and moral foundation in the quest for a world free from  nuclear weapons. This quest will continue until all nuclear weapons are eliminated from our  planet. We invite everyone, especially those in communities of faith, to join us in this work for  peace, justice, and respect for life—against which nuclear weapons stand in complete  opposition—in ways that are meaningful and authentic to your traditions and how you are  inspired to participate. We urge all States to join the growing community of States which have  rejected nuclear weapons and to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear  Weapons, or work toward that end by joining the First Meeting of the States Parties planned to  take place this year. 

At this historic moment, we must act decisively to strengthen the power of the TPNW upon its  entry into force, and to work for peace, cooperation, and common security.