Crimestoppers will report nuclear plans to commit crimes against humanity at Reading Police Station on 8th February at 12.00 noon

NEWS RELEASE

6^th February 2014

ActionAWE: 0845-4588-367

Angie Zelter 0745-658-8943

or [email protected]

Concerned citizens will converge on Reading Police Station on Saturday 8 February to report on crimes being committed at the Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) nuclear bomb factories in Aldermaston and Burghfield, Berkshire. In conjunction with Action AWE (Atomic Weapons Eradication), they will call on the police to arrest government and AWE officials responsible for nuclear warhead production and deployment, which facilitate preparations to use nuclear weapons, contrary to International Humanitarian Law.

“Nuclear weapons are subject to the same legal restraints as any form of weapon,” said George Farebrother, chair of the World Court Project (UK). “In view of their massive, indiscriminate effects, any use of nuclear weapons would be a war crime and crime against humanity. By continuing to make and modernise nuclear weapons, the UK is violating the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Making and deploying Trident is materially preparing to use nuclear weapons, contrary to International Humanitarian Law. People need to report these crimes and insist that our elected government complies fully with international law.”

Angie Zelter from Knighton, Wales, one of Action AWE’s coordinators, said “Firing British nuclear weapons would have catastrophic humanitarian consequences that would cause suffering well beyond any so-called ‘target’ area and affecting unborn generations. Using nuclear weapons would be a war crime, a crime against humanity and a crime against peace – the most serious crimes known to humanity. We, the public, cannot allow our government, officials or armed forces to continue to make and deploy weapons intended for mass murder. They must not be treated as above the law or allowed to continue hiding behind an outdated ‘Queen’s Prerogative’.”

For radio or tv interviews, photos and further updates contact:

Angie Zelter 0745-658-8943.

See also: www.actionawe.org, where further photos and information will be posted.

ENDS

Notes to editors:

1. Action AWE (Atomic Weapons Eradication) was launched in February 2013 as a grassroots peace campaign of autonomous groups taking nonviolent action to halt nuclear warhead production at AWE Aldermaston and Burghfield and to urge the government and AWE to fully implement Britain’s disarmament obligations and join multilateral efforts to ban nuclear weapons worldwide.
2. On 13-14 February, governments will be meeting in Nayarit, Mexico, for the Second Intergovernmental Conference on the Humanitarian Impacts of Nuclear Weapons. The UK and some of the other nuclear-armed states boycotted the First Intergovernmental Conference on the Humanitarian Impacts of Nuclear Weapons, hosted in Oslo on 4-5 March by the Norwegian Government, which was attended by 127 governments as well as civil society and international humanitarian organisations such as the Red Cross.
3. 125 governments co-sponsored a statement at the 2013 UN First Committee that noted, among other things, that “the catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons affect not only governments, but each and every citizen of our interconnected world. They have deep implications for human survival; for our environment; for socio-economic development; for our economies; and for the health of future generations. For these reasons, we firmly believe that awareness of the catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons must underpin all approaches and efforts towards nuclear disarmament.”
4. The 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has 190 states parties, including the UK. Article VI of the NPT enshrines the obligation “to pursue negotiations in good faith… on nuclear disarmament”. The consensus final document of the 2010 Review Conference of NPT states parties stated: “its deep concern at the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and reaffirms the need for all States at all times to comply with applicable international law, including international humanitarian law.” [Source: 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, NPT/CONF.2010/50 Volume I, Part I.] Consensus decisions of NPT Review Conferences become incorporated into international legal obligations.

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