“A world in which nuclear weapons are eliminated… is possible.”

-Ottawa (September 24, 2009)

In the wake of US President Obama’s call at the UN Security Council for great commitment by nations towards disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons a group of 17 Nobel Laureates today issued a call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

The group —which includes Archbishop Desmond Tutu, His Holiness The Dalai Lama, F.W. de Klerk, Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire and John Hume—is calling for a comprehensive international ban on nuclear weapons.

The call notes that “nuclear weapons are indiscriminate and thus already illegal under international humanitarian law”. The Laureates are calling for a plan for “safe disarmament under effective international control”.

Read the complete statement here.

For more information, or to arrange an interview with one of the signatories to the statement, please contact:

Rachel Vincent

Nobel Women’s Initiative

613-276-9030