Historic Nuclear Weapons Ban Meeting in Rwanda

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Our members and partners in the Great Lakes region of Africa have enthusiastically taken up the challenge of promoting the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons. Following our recent advocacy training on nuclear disarmament, the Association des Jeunes de Saint Charles Lwanga (AJECL, a youth organisation that promotes sustainable peace in Rwanda) and the Episcopal Commission for Justice and Peace (CEJP) organised a high-level meeting for church and political leaders to promote nuclear disarmament. A variety of government ministries, policymakers and authorities, the national army, and justice and peace commissions of the Catholic Church were represented.

This is an important step toward the signing and ratification of the TPNW and building a world free of nuclear weapons. The treaty entered into force one year ago (22 January 2021) and makes nuclear weapons illegal under international law, along with nuclear weapons related activities. Pax Christi international is a member of ICAN, the 2017 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.