2020 Vision Campaign Progress Report 2009

8/14/2019 2020 Vision Campaign Progress Report 2009

1/32

Mayors or Peace 2020 Vision Campaign

Progress Report 2009

www.2020visioncampaign.org

An nu a l R ep o r t 200 8

Plans o r 2009
http://www.2020visioncampaign.org/http://www.2020visioncampaign.org/http://www.2020visioncampaign.org/http://www.2020visioncampaign.org/http://www.2020visioncampaign.org/


2/32


3/32

A al R p r 2008 Ma rs r P ac 2020 V s Campa g| 3

Dear Members, Colleagues, and Friends,

We are pleased to present the second Annual Report or the Mayors or Peace 2020 VisionCampaign. This has been a year o amazing growth, thanks in part to a new and increas-ingly popular campaign tool the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol (H-N Protocol).

Mayors Akiba and Dehaene, together with Board member Senator Vankrunkelsven intro-duced this protocol to the world almost a year ago in April 2008. Speaking at the NuclearNon-Proli eraton Commitee (NPT PrepCom) in Geneva, they announced to the assem-bled diplomats and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) representatives that Mayors

or Peace would be promoting a new, overarching approach to nuclear disarmament. Thissimple document eliminates the discrimination between nuclear haves and have-nots,immediately gets negotiations underway, and sets a time-bound ramework or results.Most importantly, it embodies a true, good- aith commitment to a nuclear-weaponree world, the only kind o commitment that can prevent the collapse o the non-proli erationregime.

The H-N Protocol was prepared by our team o advisors and approved by our ExecutiveCommittee. Thus, the entire Mayors or Peace con erence ormally supports it. However,to emphasize that individual mayors and other city o cials understand and support thisinitiative, we are collecting their signatures on a Cities Appeal. At the PrepCom in New York in May 2009, we expect to present this Cities Appeal supported by 1000 signatures.

Meanwhile, our membership drive continues unabated. In 2008, we recruited a remark-able 555 new members, close to two per day or the entire year. This success is due in largemeasure to the leadership o the International Secretariat in Ypres working with colleaguesaround the world. An especially notable development in our membership campaign hasbeen the emergence o Latin America.

This year has been disappointing in terms o undraising. Last year, we challenged the

more than 2000 members o Mayors or Peace to match the contributions o two cities:Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We are extremely grate ul to the 86 cities that have made con-tributions. However, as you will see in the nancial report on page 28, we have not comeclose to our goal. We cannot expand our campaign without an expansion o resources.Thus, we will be pressing this appeal and hope all members will respond quickly. Withone year le t to the 2010 NPT Review Con erence, we need your nancial as well as moralsupport. Now that we have 2,777 members, just a small contribution rom each city willprovide the resources we need or a success ul campaign.

Some members may be hesitating because they dont understand exactly what we intendto do with the unds we raise. The short answer to this can be ound on page 28, whichpresents our budget and action plan or next year. The longer answer can be ound inour Strategic Plan, which was approved by the Executive Committee meeting in Ypres inNovember 2008. The ull plan is too lengthy to be included in this report, but we will bemore than happy to send it to you on request.

This will be a crucial year, not just or Mayors or Peace and the 2020 Vision Campaign,but or the uture o the human amily. The H-N Protocol is slowly gaining acceptance atthe highest levels, with 19 nations already showing active interest. The abolition o nuclear weapons is receiving support rom power ul groups and individuals that were previously indi erent or even opposed to the idea. We, human beings, have never had a better op-portunity to liberate ourselves rom the threat o nuclear annihilation. To take advantageo this opportunity, we need to keep growing in numbers, but we need to grow as well incommitment and capacity.

The struggle against nuclear weapons is one we can and must win. Please make it one o your top priorities between now and the NPT Review Con erence o May 2010. Together we can make history and earn the gratitude o our grandchildren and their grandchildren.

PReFACeMessage from the Members of the General Meeting of Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign

Vice PresidentMr. Patrik VankrunkelsvenFormer-Mayor o Laakdaland Senator(Belgium)

Vice-PresidentMr. Roman GrebennikovMayor o Volgograd(Russia)

Execut ive O icia lMr. Khder KareemMayor o Halabja(Iraq)

Execut ive O icia lMr. Ivan KnezMayor o Biograd na Moru(Croatia)

Execut ive O icia lMr. Robert HarveyMayor o Waitakere

(New Zealand)

Execut ive O icia lMr. Josep Mayoral i AntigasMayor o Granollers, Spain

Execut ive O icia lMr. Luc DehaeneMayor o Ypres(Belgium)

PresidentDr. Tadatoshi AkibaMayor o Hiroshima(Japan)

Vice PresidentMr. Tomihisa TaueMayor o Nagasaki(Japan)

Vice PresidentMs. Catherine MargateMayor o Malako (France)

Vice-PresidentMs. Mavis SmithemanLord Mayor o Manchester(U.K.)

Vice PresidentMr. Stephan WeilMayor o Hannover(Germany)

Vice PresidentMr. Donald L. PlusquellicMayor o Akron (OH)(U.S.)

Vice PresidentMr. Leonardo DomeniciMayor o Florence(Italy)


4/32

4 | A al R p r 2008 Ma rs r P ac 2020 V s Campa g

Mayors for Peace was ormed in1982 a ter the mayors o Hiroshima andNagasaki appeared at the 2nd UN SpecialSession on Disarmament and called orcities to come together in solidarity orpeace and, speci cally, the abolition o nuclear weapons. However, we discoveredlast year that the history o Mayors orPeace must actually be traced back to 1955

when Mayor Giorgio La Pira o Florencebrought together the mayors o 55 CapitalCities to explore ways o working toward

a nuclear-weaponree world (NWFW).Though this meeting did not generatethe hoped- or city-level momentum, itdid introduce the revolutionary conceptthat cities should not merely sit back andaccept dangerous national or internationalpolicies.

Today, Mayors or Peace is an integral,leading orce in a growing city diplomacy movement seeking to correct the balanceo power between municipal and national

governments. National governments havethus ar proven largely incapable o ad-dressing the serious global problems now con ronting the human amily as a whole.Because they are in close communication

with and share the ates o their citizens,cities are stepping in to do what needs tobe done.

Around the world, cities have long beenthe primary caregivers or the poor, thesick, and the elderly. They have been

educating the children. Now, they areeven protecting the environment withtransport and building policies designedto meet CO2 targets ar more stringentthan those o their national governments.

Through Sister Cities International, citiesorm strong, riendly and cooperativerelationships across borders, o ten despitesigni cant animosity at the national level.

And through Mayors or Peace, cities havebeen raising awareness o and pressing orsolutions to the most urgent problem o all: the threat o nuclear weapons at a timeo increasing instability and escalatingviolence. Thus, cities are emerging as themost vital, civilizing orce on this planetand cities not national governments are

the most appropriate model or interna-tional relations.

In November 2003, when Mayors orPeace launched the Emergency Campaignto Ban Nuclear Weapons, we had 562members. By the 2005 NPT Review Con erence, the Emergency Campaignhad become the 2020 Vision Campaign,and our membership had reached 1000.In 2006, we launched our Good FaithChallenge and Cities Are Not Targets

(CANT) programs, and our membershipgrew to 1,553 be ore the end o the year.By March 2008, that gure had grown to2,170 cities in 127 countries and regions.In April we launched the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol (H-N Protocol), whichstimulated even more rapid growth. As o March 2, 2009, our membership stood at2,777. This growth is taking place becausethousands o concerned citizens and may-ors around the world recognize the crisis

we ace and the need or cities to play a

leading role.

In 2008, the 2020 Vision Campaign hastwo primary ocal points: CANT and theH-N Protocol. CANT began as a narrowly

targeted e ort to1) remind cities and their citizens that they are, in act, still targeted or annihilation2) in orm the nuclear-weapon states thatcities (and the International Court o

Justice) utterly reject the right o any nation to obliterate a city or any purpose

whatsoever. However, as we sought toprotect cities rom nuclear bombing, weencountered a widespread, intensi yingdesire to protect cities rom every sort o bombing.

An International Red Cross study oundthat the number one cause o civiliancasualties is the use o explosive orcein cities. Thus, our CANT project hasevolved into a more generalized e ort toprotect cities rom the scourge o war.The international community is show-ing genuine interest in outlawing not

just landmines and cluster bombs but allbombs in populated areas. While somenational governments still seem to view

the deaths o women, children and elderly as acceptable collateral damage in pursuito a dangerous terrorist, cities never al-low their police to mow down innocentbystanders in pursuit o a criminal. Theso-called war on terror is no excuse orkilling the innocent, driving them romtheir homes, and making their cities,towns or villages unlivable. Mayors orPeace is working with a broad coalition o NGOs and national government repre-sentatives to stop this barbarism.

In April 2008 at the NPT PrepCom inGeneva, Mayor Akiba announced theH-N Protocol. This protocol, along withCANT, is already proving to be a valuable

HiStoRy

Ypres, November 11, 2008.Mayors or Peace participated in the90th anniversary commemoration o the endo World War I.

Credit:Pierre Marchal, M P 2020 VC


5/32


General Con erence

All members o Mayors or Peace are eligible to participate in its GeneralCon erence. General Con erences are held every our years, and the next con-

erence will be held in Nagasaki August 8 to 10, this year. All major policies,actions and appointments must be approved by the General Con erence.

Executive Committee

The Mayors or Peace Executive Committee meets every two years. Thisbody deliberates and approves actions deemed too urgent to await the nextGeneral Con erence and other actions or policies too minor to require GeneralCon erence attention. In 2008, the Executive Committee was expanded to

include our additional members, raising the total number o cities on thecommittee to 16. The members are:

President City

Hiroshima, Japan

Vice President Cities

Nagasaki, JapanHannover, Germany Malako , FranceManchester, UK Muntinlupa, Philippines

Volgograd, Russia Akron, USChristchurch, New ZealandFlorence, Italy Laakdal, Belgium

Execut ive O icia ls

Ypres, BelgiumBiograd na Moru, CroatiaGranollers, SpainHalabja, Iraq

Waitakere, New Zealand

Executive O cials (appointed by President Akiba, welcomed in November2008 by the Executive Committee, may become vice presidents on approval o the General Con erence)

Hiroshima-Nagasaki Secretariat

The everyday administrative activities o Mayors or Peace, including Generaland Executive Con erences, are planned and implemented by the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Secretariat based in Hiroshima, working closely with the appropriatesta in Nagasaki and the International Secretariat in Ypres.

2020 Vision Campa ign Association

This element o our structure was created in 2007 by the Executive Con erenceand must be approved by the 2009 General Con erence. The Association isa non-pro t organization based in Ypres and incorporated under the laws o Belgium. Its purpose is to promote the 2020 Vision Campaign around the world.

StRuCtuRe

organizing tool at the grassroots level. A petition drive to support it has obtained over400,000 signatures, and several organizationsin Japan intend to gather millions o signa-tures on related petitions by the time o theReview Con erence in 2010. In the US andEurope, the emphasis has been on gettingsupport rom mayors and NGO leaders. OnMarch 21 over 560 mayors and local electedo cials have signed the Cities Appeal insupport o the H-N Protocol. Most impor-tantly, a small but growing group o nations

is showing interest in the protocol, increasingthe likelihood o its submission to and accept-ance by the 2010 NPT Review Con erence.

The H-N Protocol is vital to the campaignagainst nuclear weapons. First, i it or asimilar measure is approved at the Review Con erence, the international community

will have made a convincing commitmentto a NWFW, the kind o commitment now required to prevent rapid proli eration.Moreover, the H-N Protocol is a simple

document that nations will either supportor ail to support. Its mere presence on thetable will make crystal clear exactly whichnations are seeking a NWFW and whichones are blocking that e ort. I the 2010NPT Review Con erence ails to approvethe H-N Protocol or an equivalent measure,the protocol will keep the issue in the news,in public consciousness, and on the table. I the NPT Review Process proves inadequateto the task, the H-N Protocol will help usselect and utilize another. Whatever happens

in May 2010, Mayors or Peace will keep thepressure growing until the international com-munity is rmly committed to and proceed-ing toward the total elimination o all nuclear

weapons by 2020.


6/32


General Meeting

Every member o the Executive Con erenceo Mayors or Peace has a right to be amember o the Campaign association andparticipate in its membership meetings,known as General Meetings. GeneralMeetings must held once each year (tel-ephone or video con erencing acceptable).

Members General Meeting

Hiroshima, Japan Nagasaki, Japan

Hannover, Germany Malako , France Manchester, UK Volgograd, Russia Akron, US Florence, Italy Laakdal,Belgium Ypres, Belgium BiogradNa Moru, Croatia Granollers, Spain Halabja, Iraq Waitakere, New Zealand

It elects the Board o Directors, approvesgeneral plans, budgets and reports, andsets basic policy or the Association.The rst General Meeting was held inNovember 2007 during the Executive

Con erence in order to incorporate the Association by adopting and signing itsStatutes.

Board o Directors

Elected by the General Meeting, it caninclude NGO representatives as well ascity representatives. It must be at leastone member smaller than the GeneralMeeting. The November 2007 GeneralMeeting approved a slate o Board mem-bers with Mayor o Ypres as Chairman o the Board. The Board meets at least twiceannually and is responsible or monitor-ing and guiding implementation o the

general plan and budget approved by theGeneral Meeting. The Board had heldmeeting in May and November 2008. TheInternational Campaign Director is an exo cio member o the Board, and serves asits Secretary.

Daily Board

The November 2008 General Meeting ap-proved the establishment o a Daily Boardcapable o convening on short notice to

deal with Campaign Secretariat business.The Daily Board consists o the Chairmano the Board, the Association Treasurer,the International Campaign Director andthe Secretariat Director.

Mayors for Peace 2,777 member cities in 134 countries and regions

March 2, 2009

2020 Vision Campaign Association

General Conference of Mayors for Peace (one in our years in Hiroshima or Nagasaki)

Executive Conference(every two years)

President (1)Hiroshima, JapanVice President (10)Nagasaki, Japan Hannover,Germany Malakof,France Manchester,UK Muntinlupa,Philippines Volgograd,Russia Akron (OH),US Christchurch,New Zealand Florence,Italy Laakdal,BelgiumExecutive Ofcials (5)Ypres,Belgium Biograd na Moru,Croatia Granollers,Spain Halabja,Iraq Waitakere,New Zealand

Meeting of Board of Directors [Members]Chairman:Mayor o YpresMembers:Hiroshima, Akron, Florence, Laakdal,Malakof, Manchester

2020 Vision Campaign Association Secretariat

General Meeting (once a year)Hiroshima, Japan Nagasaki, Japan Hannover,Germany Malakof,France Manchester,UK Volgograd,Russia Akron,US Florence,Italy Laakdal,Belgium Ypres,Belgium Biogradna Moru,Croatia Granollers,Spain Halabja,

Iraq Waitakere,New Zealand

Campaign Sta

The current sta o the InternationalSecretariat (hired and red by the Board

o Directors) is responsible or implement-ing the decisions approved by the GeneralMeeting and Board o Directors o theMayors or Peace 2020 Vision Campaign

Association. They work closely with theHiroshima-Nagasaki Secretariat, butreport directly to the Board o Directors.

Relationship to Mayors or Peace

The 2020 Vision Campaign Associationhas been provisionally commissioned by the

Executive Con erence o Mayors or Peaceto manage the 2020 Vision Campaign. TheExecutive Con erence maintains overalldirection o the Campaign on behal o Mayors or Peace through it member-ship and participation in the AssociationsGeneral Meeting. The Campaign Secre-tariat (based in Ypres, as supervised by theBoard o Directors) is responsible or alltasks related directly to the campaign.The 2009 General Con erence provide themembership o Mayors or Peace with the

opportunity to express its satis action (orotherwise) with these lines o control andoverall Campaign direction.The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Secretariatconducts 2020 Vision Campaign andrecruitment activities in Japan as wellas continues to serve the non-campaignpolicies and tasks o Mayors or Peace, asdetermined by the Executive Con erenceand the General Con erence. Thesetasks include planning and implement-ing Executive Con erences and General

Con erences, and managing all ormalmatters associated with Mayors or Peacemembership registration.The two secretariats work jointly to recruitand communicate with members. They support each other, o ering and request-ing assistance as needed, but are not ina chain-o -command relationship. TheInternational Secretariat in Ypres reportsdirectly to the Chairman o the Boardis meant to cary out taks assigned to itby the Board and the General Meeting.

The Hiroshima Secretariat is directly answerable to the President o Mayors orPeace and is meant to carry out organiza-tional tasks assigned to it by the GeneralCon erence and the Executive Con erence.

Daily Board

Mayors for Peace Secretariat


7/32


inteRnAtionAL CAMPAiGn

In 2008, Mayors or Peace marked the 5th an-niversary o the 2020 Vision Campaign. With thismilestone approaching, it was essential to takestock o not only the progress achieved, but alsoo expectations not met. Mayors could take greatsatis action that they were no longer alone in talk-ing about a vision o a nuclear-weaponree world(NWFW). Elder statesmen o nuclear weaponsstates and their allies had made ar reaching state-ments on the importance o upholding the vision

o a NWFW. This was most welcome, but unlikeMayors or Peace, they did not mention any targetdate; indeed, the vision was o ten discussed as i itsattainment would take many generations.

Even more to the point, while Mayors or Peacecampaigned vigorously and its membership nearly quadrupled in hal a decade, governments hadmade no progress whatsoever on establishing anoverarching approach to achieving a NWFW. Theoriginal 2020 Vision envisioned a Nuclear WeaponConvention (NWC) being agreed and its imple-

mentation commencing by 2010. But with just twoyears le t, it was clear that the 2010 target couldonly be met i governments were challenged to actin more urgent and speci c terms. It was with thisin mind that Mayors or Peace, with the help o

experts and activists, developed the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol.

The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol (H-N Protocol)can be thought o as a bare-bones ramework agreement on achieving a NWFW. Unlike a ully articulated NWC, it simply de nes our generalaspects o nuclear disarmament and sets two targetsdates or their realization. The NPT is taken as the

oundation or these uture measures, and so the

target dates are linked the Treatys ve-year review cycle: adoption o the Protocol at 2010 Review Con erence; veri ed cessation o nuclear-weaponacquisitions and preparations or use by the 2015Review; and veri ed elimination o all nuclear-

weapons and related acquisition acilities by 2020.By agreeing to this basic course o action, the world

would have a decent chance o ridding itsel o nuclear weapons by the year 2020.

In 2009, the UN will declare 2010-2020 anInternational Decade or Disarmament. The over-

arching approach provided by the H-N Protocolis the way or the world to ensure that this is adecisive decade or nuclear disarmament. The H-NProtocol calls or negotiations to begin immedi-ately and continue without interruption until a

2008:

FRoM tHe 2020 ViSion to HiRoSHiMA-nAGASAki PRotoCoL

United Nations -Geneva,May 2008 - Mayorsor Peace partici-

pated in the 2nd NPTPrepCom at theUnited Nations.



8/32


more detailed Framework Agreement or a NWC isconcluded. As a gesture o good aith, the nuclear-

weapon states are called upon to immediately cease

acquiring and preparing or the use nuclear weaponson a unilateral-reciprocal basis, pending multilateralveri cation thereo (by 2015). Nuclear orces arealso to be placed in sa e and secure storage at theearliest possible date to guard against inadvertentuse or the t by terrorists.

Mayors or Peace is encouraging State Parties tothe NPT to make every good aith e ort to havethis H-N Protocol adopted by the 2010 Review Con erence. To that end, the H-N Protocol

was introduced in Geneva as part o the NGO

Presentation to the 2nd PrepCom in May 2008. And a urther meeting was held with the MiddlePowers Initiative to promote the H-N Protocol andlaunch the Cities Appeal in support o the HNP[speakers in photo caption]. Already in June 2008,the U.S. Con erence o Mayors endorsed the H-NProtocol at its Summer Meeting in Miami, Florida.(See US activities report) Mayors Akiba and Tauethen wrote to all members asking their assistancein getting the Cities Appeal signature drive o to a strong start. Further appeals to the mem-bership by Mayor Dehaene, Mr. Aaron Tovish,

Mayor Akiba and Mayor Taue in connection withthe Hiroshima-Nagasaki August Memorials, theInternational Day o Peace, and UN Disarmament

Week, and the New Year season respectively helped to boost the signature total to over 500 city

representatives by the end o 2009. During UNDisarmament Week, Mayor Akiba met with theUN General Assembly President, Father Miguel

dEscoto Brockmann to present an interim reporton the signature drive. It continues in 2009, withseveral national and regional e orts underway.

The backing o mayors or the H-N Protocol asdemonstrated by the Cities Appeal has been amajor asset when lobbying governments on achiev-ing a NWFW. As governments prepare or the nalPreparatory Committee meeting or the 2010 NPTReview Con erence, the 2020 Vision Campaign isserving as a catalyst to bring together countries topress the Review Con erence to take responsibility

or launching Nuclear Weapons Convention ne-gotiations. In Vienna, Mayor or Peace convened a working group o 19 countries rom all continentsto begin dra ting a possible decision by Review Con erence on this matter, with the H-N Protocolserving as an initial common point o re erence.

In April and May, this work will be pursued urtherin New York, with a view to submission to the 3rdPrepCom o a dra t Review Con erence decision.One o the main activities o the Mayors or Peacedelegation to the PrepCom will be the promotion

o this new governmental initiative or realizing the2020 Vision. This e ort will be given a boost by aresolution on the NPT which is now under con-sideration in the European Parliament that, amongother things, endorses the H-N Protocol.

United Nations- Geneva, April29, 2008 The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol is

ofcially presentedto all governmentsdelegates by Dr.Tadatoshi Akiba,Mayor o Hiroshimaand President o Mayors or Peace,Mr. Luc Dehaene,Mayor o Ypresand Senator Patrik Vankrunkelsven.



9/32


The rallying cry, Cities Are NotTargets! naturally resonates amongcity organizations. Indeed theUnited States Con erence o Mayorsand the United Cities and LocalGovernments took it up already in2007. It is, however, one thing todeclare that cities are not targets andquite another to get governmentsuni ormly to respect such a majorconstraint on the reedom o actiono their armed orces. This gap was

the topic o a seminar at the UnitedNation, co-sponsored by Mayorsor Peace and the Governments o

Mexico and Peru, October 26, 2008. A video message rom Mayor Akiba was played that set down the chal-lenge o moving rom the rally cry to a capacity to e ectively challengeviolations o the sanctity o cities.The panel eatured international legalexperts, and veterans o the campaign

or the Land Mines Convention, the

Cluster-Munitions Convention andor the International Criminal Court.Mr. Aaron Tovish spoke about na-tional associations o cities developinga capacity to collectively represent thenoncombatant rights o their citizensand pressing governments to includesuch representatives in delegations tonegotiations to strengthen interna-tional humanitarian law. The generalconclusion o the seminar was thatit would be a long but worthwhile

struggle to change the ace o modern war are.

In November, at a symposium inBrussels City Hall, representatives

o the city o Volgograd announcedthat they would help to coordinate aproject advisory group made up o cit-ies which had experienced the scourgeo war. In 1943, their city had beenconsumed in a restorm triggered by two days o relentless aerial bombing.Forty thousand civilians died in those

rst days o the Battle o Stalingrad(as Volgograd was then called). Inthe ollowing200 days almost threemillion soldiers died battling over

the charred, depopulated core o thecity and the still unctioning military production acilities on its outskirts.Hundred o cities have had similarexperiences, i not on quite such anepic scale.

In line with the Cities Are NotTargets (CANT) Project, the leadingbody o Mayors or Peace, acting onbehal o its 2635 member cities, hasissued a statement on the confict in

and around the Gaza Strip (as youcan see below). The disproportion-ate nature o the Israeli attack onthe densely populated Palestiniancities is singled out or the harshestcondemnation. Unleashing massiveexplosions in the heart o a city issimply intolerable -- no better thanterrorism.

The Gaza experience exposed theinability o Mayors or Peace or any

other cities organization to respondquickly and meaning ully to rapidmilitary developments. Mayors orPeace aims to work with other city as-sociations to recti y this shortcoming.

Credit:City o Volgograd

This picture o Stalingrad nowVolgograd during the SecondWorld War symbolizes the work ahead o Mayors or Peace.

Executive Con erence condemns bombardmento Gaza through CANTCities are not targets! Populated areas are not tar-gets! Anger at or ear o terrorists, unjust govern-ments, or warriors o any kind is no excuse or the

wanton slaughter o innocent noncombatants.

In August 2006, Mayors or Peace condemned boththe indiscriminate ring o thousands o rocketstoward populated areas in Israel by Hezbollah andthe disproportionate bombardment o populatedareas in Lebanon by Israeli armed orces.

Today, with Hamas ring only one tenth as many rockets as Hezbollah and with Israel concentrating

repower comparable to that used in Lebanon onan area ten times smaller, i.e. the Gaza Strip, even-handed criticism is no longer appropriate. Ourcondemnation o indiscriminate rocket re stands.

We call on Hamas to immediately halt all violentattacks. However, to simply condemn the dispro-portionate use o explosive orce is, under thesecircumstances, grossly inadequate. We are appalledby the Israeli Governments lack o humanity and

demand immediate international intervention.

We demand an immediate halt to all use o explo-sive orce in and rom the Gaza Strip; a guaranteeo immediate access or humanitarian aid to assistthe Palestinian civilian population; an internation-ally monitored cease re; and negotiations involv-ing all parties to begin as soon as the cease re hastaken e ect, as called or in UN Security CouncilResolution 1860. We are convinced that the search

or a political solution through dialogue and re-spect or human rights are the most e ective av-

enues towards peace.

Signed on January 15, 2009,by The Con erence o Mayors or Peace

CitieS ARe not tARGetS!: FRoM A RALLyinG CRy to A ReSPonSe CAPAbiLity


10/32


US Iraq Cameroon Israel Belgium Sri Lanka Italy Venezuela Spain Nicaragua Japan3 3 6 7 12 17 18 22 26 32 76

Netherlands USA Czech Republic Norway Italy Belgium Nicaragua Iraq Spain Japan13 17 19 21 23 36 39 51 66 176

Report 2008

For 2008, 2009 and 2010 there was aconsensus to recruit at least one new member a day. This should have broughtmembership up to 2385 members by thestart o 2009.

We did a lot better. With 555 new mem-bers during 2008, on December 1, 2008the Hiroshima secretariat announced thatmembership reached 2,536 members.This higher than expect gure was due to

membership being opened up in Japan tocities other than the two ounding cities,Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Japan has donean excellent job o catching up with coun-tries like Belgium, Germany and Italy.

Top 10 success stories or 2008

A ew other short stories provideinteresting pointers on success ulmembership recruitment. These storiesabout how some individuals took e ective

initiatives could be duplicated in any country or region. We saw high levels o activity in Spain (66) and Iraq (51). InSpain the Mayor o Granollers involvedthe Catalan association o Cities. In Iraq,the Mayor o Halabja invited many o his colleagues, or example during thecon erence marking the 20th anniversary o the chemical attack on Halabja. Theleadership demonstrated by the Mayors o Granollers (Spain) and Halabja (Iraq) wasacknowledged by an invitation to join the

Executive leadership o Mayors or Peace.

MeMbeRSHiP deVeLoPMent

Mayors for Peace, 1982, gr s a l sl l r s rs21 ars. o n v m r 2003 m m rsh p s a 562. th la ch

h 2020 V s campa g 2003 sp r p pl ar h rl , a

s r c a m ch m r rap gr h m m rsh p h las vars. i 2007, h 25 h a v rsar ar, h rga sa s h g al hav 2020 m m rs h s ar 2008, a g al h ch as ach v .

i j s v r r ars, h rga sa ha q a r pl s m m rsh p.i 2008 as als c c m m rsh p r cr m as apr r ac .

In Belgium, over 50% o all Mayors joined Mayors or Peace by the start o 2008. A new cross-party letter by theMayors o Bastogne, Brussels and Ypresresulted in a continued growth by theend o the year, now exceeding 56% o allMayors. The very high level o member-ship and activity resulted in politicalparties changing their nuclear security positions in avor o a more balanced ap-proach o non-proli eration and nucleardisarmament.

In Italy a cross-party letter signed by 5Italian Mayors and circulated by our Vice-President City o Florence through theItalian National Association o Cities andMunicipalities resulted in urther growthand presence o Mayors or Peace.

In Nicaragua the Minister o Transpor-tation and In rastructure helped us to re-cruit new cities a ter his visit to Hiroshimalast July 2008. This resulted in 71 new

Mayors joining Mayors or Peace as o March 2009.

In the Czech Republic it was the co-operation between Mayors or Peace andthe Czech League o Mayors against thedeployment o a US radar base (part o the so-called National Missile De ence)

which resulted in a stronger presence o Mayors or Peace in this part o Europe.

In the Netherlands it was especially the work o IKV/Pax Christi Netherlands which helped bring new members onboard.

First results 2009Mayors or Peace counts2,777 members on March 2, 2009

Also the rst quarter o 2009 has been agreat encouragement or all o us. In the

rst three months o 2009 we already wel-

comed 241 new members. In most casesthis continued growth was the result o initiatives taken in 2008, such as in Japan,Nicaragua, Spain, Italy and Belgium.

The growth o our membership inVenezuela is credited to a group o survivors o the atomic bomb, calledHibakusha, who traveled around the

world with Peace Boat to share their testi-mony and recruit Mayors.

We hope that these short stories will be anencouragement or you to take initiativestowards urther growth o Mayors orPeace.

New members 2008

Top 10membership recruitment

Top 10

r cr mrst quarter 2009


11/32


Africa2008 saw ew activities or Mayors or Peace in

A rica with only a slight increase in membership.The one real exception was Cameroon where theMayor o Fengo Tongo began helping with recruit-ment toward the end o the year, netting one new member in 2008 and 6 new members in the rstmonths o 2009.

ACtiVitieSA-bomb survivors ind support or Mayors or Peace during Global VoyagePeace Boat, a Japanese NGO, has been helping Mayors or Peace recruit mem-bers or several years now. In 2008, they organised a global voyage with a groupo A-bomb survivors rom Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Japanese cruise ship

traveled during 129 days to 23 port cities in 20 countries. During the voyage,the Peace Boat voyagers called on Mayors o the countries they visited to joinand support Mayors or Peace. As a result 27 cities joined Mayors or Peace,

while 25 cities signed the Cities Appeal in support o the Hiroshima-NagasakiProtocol. Through public testimonies held at each port o call, the Hibakusha shared their message with a broad audience, rom young children who do notknow the horrors o war, through to elderly people who are also victims o wars.Peace Boat is a Japan-based international non-governmental and non-proft or-ganization that works to promote peace, human rights, equal and sustainabledevelopment and respect or the environment. In o: www.peaceboat.org

Asia

Iraq (96 members)Mayors or Peace representative Pol DHuyvetterparticipated in a 3-day event From Genocideinto Peace at the invitation o the Governorate o Sulymanyah, the Mayor o Halabja and the RegionalGovernment o Kurdistan. All events took place

in the Region o Kurdistan, Iraq and marked the20th anniversary o the gas attacks on the city o Halabja. The gas attack on Halabja in March 1988killed around 5,000 civilians.Our presence at this con erence was the start i aclose co-operation with Halabja Mayor KareemKhder who was invited to join the ExecutiveCon erence o Mayors or Peace. Ongoing e ortsby Mayor Khder have resulted in a sharp increase o membership in Iraq with 51 new members in 2008.The nancial supports announced by MayorKareem Khder impressed many o his colleagues

during the General Meeting o the 2020 Visioncampaign in Ypres. The announced nancialcontributions coming rom a war torn country areheart elt by everybody. These are an encouragement

or everybody to dig deeper and show solidarity with the cities o Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Iran (13 members)Since 2006, the annual Peace tour o the Society

or Chemical Weapons Victims Support (SCWVS)

has included in their agenda the presentation o theMayors or Peace 2020 Vision Campaign to Iranianmayors. This tour visits Iranian towns along theborder with Iraq which were targeted by chemical

weapons during the 1980s.

Halabja, March2008 - MayorKhder Khareem in

Halabja marking the20th anniversarycommemoration o the gas attack.

Credit:Syunya Miizumoto, Peace Boat

Africa111 MEMBER S

Benin (2), Botswana (3), Burkina Faso (1),Burundi (1), Cameroon (9), Cape Verde (1), CtedIvoire (1), Egypt (1), Eritrea (1), Gambia (3),Ghana (1), Kenya (2), Lesotho (1), Liberia (1),Malawi (2), Mali (5), Mauritania (2), Mauritius (1),Morocco (1), Namibia (1), Nigeria (1), Rwanda (1),Senegal (2), Sierra Leone (1), Somaliland (1),Republic o South A rica (7), Tanzania (1), Togo (1),

Uganda (53), Zambia (3).

Credit:Pol DHuyvetter, M P 2020 VC
http://www.peaceboat.org/http://www.peaceboat.org/


12/32


to explain why several European countries havehundreds o members but Japan has only two, thedecision was made to allow Japanese cities to joinMayors or Peace. In response primarily to mailedinvitations, already 178 Japanese cities had joined by

the end o December 2008. In addition, more than170 cities have signed the Cities Appeal to expresstheir support or the H-N Protocol.

Another important project in Japan is the driveor signatures on a grassroots petition in support

o the CANT project and the H-N Protocol.This petition drive has been led primarily by the

Japanese consumer cooperative. However, severalhigh schools have taken this project on and havegathered thousands o signatures. Furthermore,Hiroshimas pro essional baseball team, the Carp,gave tremendous support to this e ort in August

by holding a paper crane night game. With over ahundred volunteers collecting signatures, and withannouncements between innings, this one eventbrought in over 3700 signatures. More impor-tantly, tens o thousands o viewers watching thegame on television heard about the campaign and

watched a ter the seventh inning as the ans in thestands li ted their placards and the entire stadiumturned Mayors- or-Peace green. Thanks to all o these e orts, we have gathered more than 400,000signatures, but we and our contacts are determinedto gather hundreds o thousands more.

In July, in conjunction with the G8 Summit atLake Toya, Hokkaido, Hiroshima sponsored an A-bomb exhibition in Sapporo, and Mayors orPeace made a strong appeal there asking Hokkaidocities to join. Then, the G8 Lower House SpeakersMeeting took place in Hiroshima September 1 and2, 2008. While giving Hiroshima an opportunity to tell its story to these world leaders, this meetingalso gave Mayor Akiba an opportunity to establishrelationships that have already proven bene cial toour campaign. This event con rmed our belie thatmost world leaders personally support the abolition

o nuclear weapons.

Asia447 MEMBERS

A ghanistan (1), Bangladesh (8), Bhutan (1),Cambodia (1), China (7), Cyprus (3), India (16),Indonesia (3), Iran (13), Iraq (96), Israel (5), Japan(178), Jordan (2), Lebanon (1), Malaysia (6),Mongolia (4), Nepal (5), Pakistan (12), Philippines(14), *The West Bank and Gaza Strip (Palestine)

(26), South Korea (2), Sri Lanka (20), Syria (2),Taiwan (2), Thailand (1), Turkey (10), *TurkishRepublic o Northern Cyprus (3), Vietnam (3),

Yemen (2).

In September 2008, the SCWVS and the TehranPeace Museum in collaboration with TehranMunicipality, or the rst time organized a bigceremony and a candlelit vigil to commemorate theInternational Day or Peace. During that ceremony,

the message o Mayor Akiba addressing the 2020Vision Campaign was read by one o the survivorso gas attacks.In April 2008, a SCWVS delegation visitedthe Mayors or Peace 2020 Vision CampaignSecretariat in Ypres. During the meeting con-tributions o Iranian mayors to the 2020 VisionCampaign were discussed, including a visit o a del-egation o Iranian mayors to Ypres or Hiroshima.The Director o Hiroshima Peace MemorialMuseum and the SCWVS agreed to have Joint

A-Bomb / C-Bomb exhibition in Tehran Peace

Museum in all 2009. This proposal is strongly sup-ported by Tehran Municipality.

Israel (5 members)In December 2008 membership recruitment startedone month a ter municipal elections. GreenpeaceIsrael sent most Israeli Mayors a letter rom theMayor o Hiroshima accompanied with a transla-tion in Hebrew. A joint letter rom Greenpeacecampaigner Sharon Dolev explained the campaign.

Un ortunately, this work was interrupted with theterrible events resulting rom the confict betweenHamas in Gaza and Israel. Still 7 new memberscame on board in 2009 including the Mayor o Dimona. Dimona is where Israel has its secretnuclear weapons acility. The ocus or 2009 will be

contacting Arab mayors and establishingcontacts with Israeli mayors who canhelp recruiting their colleagues.

Japan (178 members)This has been a revolutionary year

or Mayors or Peace in Japan. WhenMayors or Peace was rst ormed in1982, the decision was made to keep itan international organization. Thus,despite widespread support in Japan,the only two Japanese members wereHiroshima and Nagasaki, and the secre-tariat was based in Hiroshima. (Nagasakistill manages a separate Council o

Nuclear-Free Local Authorities or Japanese cities.)

This decision was taken to keep Mayors or Peacerom starting out with hundreds o Japanese citiesmaking it look like a Japanese organization.This year in June, a ter numerous requests romallies in Europe who were under increasing pressure

Mayor Akibagatheringsignatures underthe Cities Are NotTargets petition inHiroshima.

* indicates Regions


13/32


Belgium (323 members)Belgium remains today without doubt the country

with most Mayors or Peace members, supportersand activities. This success should be accounted toa strong leadership and systematic use o cross-party letters since 2005.Based on the satis ying results o the pilot projectconcerning undraising, the Executive Con erenceo Mayors or Peace approved the launch o a

worldwide appeal o voluntary contributions to

all its members. In 2008, Belgian cities remainedimportant nancial contributors in solidarity withthe cities o Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The regional secretariat o Mayors or Peace or Wallonia moved rom the city o Huy to Bastogne.Bastogne was on the ront line during the Battleo the Ardennes during the second World War.

Ypres and Brussels keep on track or the other tworegional secretariats where membership is now well-over 75% both in the Flemish and Brussels regions.In 2008, Belgian Mayors o Bastogne, Brussels and

Ypres launched a new cross-party letter. As a result36 new Belgian members joined the network. Inthe rst months o 2009, another 12 Mayors joinedthe network. With 335 members in March 2009,almost 57% o all Belgian Mayors have joined theorganisation.

The support or the H-N Protocol through theCities Appeal grew also well beyond the one hun-dred signatories and a parliamentary resolution insupport o the H-N Protocol was tabled by Senatorand Councilor Patrik Vankrunkelsven.

First steps were taken to develop a Belgian sectionor Mayors or Peace. A rst national Mayors orPeace meeting was held in the city hall o Brusselson November 12 in attendance o Mayor Tadatoshi

Akiba.

On November 10 the Mayor o Ypres hosted theBoard o Directors and General Meeting o the2020 Vision Campaign association in the City Hallo Ypres.

At the start o 2009, Mayors or Peace Belgium welcomed Ms. Ingrid Pira, Mayor o Mortsel, asthe President o Mayors or Peace Belgium.

Croatia (25 members)In April 2008, the city participated in the NPT

PrepCom & Mayors or Peace meetings at theUN in Geneva, Switzerland. Biograd has com-mitted nancial support to the organization. Thecity o Biograd na Moru became a member o theorganization in spring o 2008 and was the rst city to sign the Cities Appeal in support o the H-NProtocol.In autumn 2008, Mayor Ivan Knez was invited to

join the Executive Con erence and participated inthe Board o Directors and General Meeting o theassociation in Ypres, Belgium.Biograd na Moru is demonstrating examplary lead-

ership as they send E-mails and axes rom the City Hall o Biograd na Moru to all the Croatian cities(286), encouraging Croatian Mayors to supportthe Cities Appeal in support o the H-N Protocol.Signed appeals are con-stantly arriving.Biograd celebrated its

east day on January 15 2009, and AaronTovish, Executive

Advisor and internationCampaign Director

o Mayors or Peace,spoke at the estivitiesattended by over onethousand citizens.

Europe

European Parliament, Brussels, July 1, 2008 -Mayors or Peace 2020 Vision Campaign helpto launch a cross-party Appeal signed by wellover 70 Members o the European Parliament(MEP). The Appeal endorses the NuclearWeapons Convention or the prohibition o allnuclear weapons. The event marked the 40thanniversary o the NPT.

( rom le t to right) MayorTheo Kelchtermans , Belgium, MEPAngelika Beer (Greens/EFA, Germany),MEPAnnemie Neyts (Liberals, Belgium), MEPAna Gomes (Social Democrats, Portugal), MEPGirtsKristovskis (Union o Europe o Nations, Latvia), Ms.Adriana Bolanos , Charg dAfaires o theEmbassy o Costa Rica, and MEPFrieda Brepoels (Christian Democrats, Belgium).

Credit:Caroline Dossche, Greenpeace Belgium

Brussels,November 10,2008 - The Presidento Mayors or Peace

was in Belgiumto promote theHiroshima-NagasakiProtocol during a

our days visit. Thetour brought MayorAkiba to Bastogne,Ypres, Kortrijk, Gentand Brussels. In thepicture Mayor Akibaas the key-notespeaker during an

academic sessionin the FlemishParliament inBrussels.



14/32


Today preparations are being made in Biogradna Moru or a Hiroshima Crane statue which

will be placed on the water ront near the City Hall. Elementary school children are preparing athousand cranes or Hiroshima. This mani esta-

tion is planned or the end o April 2009 with theparticipation o the President o Croatia, Mr. StipeMesi. Other Executive cities o Mayors or Peacehave been invited. The event is expected to attractthe main national TV networks and, there ore, agrowing number o Croatian cities to the Mayors

or Peace.

Czech Republic (28 members)In 2008 Mayors or Peace attracted 19 new

members in Czech Republic. This is linked to thesolidarity demonstrated by Mayors or Peace orthe campaign o the Czech League against the radarbase, a US project part o National Missile De enseand the Star Wars project.

During the year the Czech League o Mayors andthe Czech NGO Nonviolence movement workedclosely together to prevent the US Missile De ense/Star Wars rom being expanded into the CzechRepublic.

Two thirds o Czech population continue to opposethe Star Wars project and more than 140 000 peo-ple have signed the on-line petition against the USradar. One o the most signi cant actions to thisrespect was the 21day hunger strike o Jan Bednarand Jan Tam.

On February 18, 2009, orty Czech Mayorstraveled to Brussels to meet with members o theEuropean Parliament and the Belgian Senate. Thisevent received support with a video message romthe President o Mayors or Peace, Mr. Tadatoshi

Akiba, and the presence o Ms. Ingrid Pira, thePresident o Mayors or Peace Belgium and SenatorPatrik Vankrunkelsven.

On March, the Czech Government dropped itse ort to rati y the radar base agreement with theUnited States, due to united opposition to theagreement in the Czech Senate. Opinion polls hadconsistently shown that the radar plan never hadthe support o the Czech people. Mayors or Peacecongratulates the Czech League o Mayors or theirrole in this victory or democracy.

Denmark (13 members)

In 2008, six new mem-bers joined. CaecilieBuhmann rom DanishPhysicians Against

Nuclear Weapons(DLMK/danishIPPNW) explained theobstacles to be over-come: We encounteredgreat di culties becauseo a law which prohibitsDanish mayors rom ex-pressing themselves o -cially on matters relatedto international a airs.Nevertheless in 2007 we persuaded Copenhagen to

join Mayors or Peace and a number o other citiesollowed.In November, the Danish Pugwash Grouporganised a success ul high-level symposiumin the Danish Parliament, including presenta-tions by Hans Blix, Alyn Ware (PNND) and PolDHuyvetter or Mayors or Peace.They also nominated Mayor Akiba or the 2009Nobel Peace Prize.

France (98 members)14 new members were welcomed during 2008.Cities are not targetswas introduced and pro-moted during speeches while member cities addressthe subject o elimination o nuclear weaponsyear-round through local activities such as publiclectures and projects with schools.

Most the members o the Association Franaisedes Communes, Dpartements et Rgions pour laPaix(AFCDRP) organized events on September 21to mark the International Day o Peace.

A growing number o French NGOs are gettinginvolved in the promotion o the 2020 VisionCampaign, such as Le Mouvement de la Paix,Monde sans Guerre and Abolition 2000 France.

Copenhagen,November17, 2008 - PolDHuyvetterpromoted theHiroshima-NagasakiProtocol duringa Symposium onstrengthening theNon-Proli erationTreaty in theDanish Parliament.Other speakersincluded HansBlix, John Avery,Danish MP HolgerK. Nielsen and HansKristensen.

Credit:Pugwash Denmark

On January 29,2009 the BelgianSenate approved a resolution calling uponthe Belgian govern-

ment to support theHiroshima-NagasakiProtocol in the rame-

work o the NPT. TheBelgian Senators callon their government toput the H-N Protocolon the internationalagenda. The initiative

or the resolution wastaken by Mr. Patrik

Vankrunkelsven,

Senator and ormerMayor. The resolu-tion (number 4-1111)

was adopted with anoverwhelming majority o 39 votes, with 8abstentions.

Belgian SenatesupportsHiroshima-NagasakiProtocol

Contact the Inter-national CampaignSecretariat i you

want to receive a

copy o the resolutionor consideration inanother Parliamentary

Assembly.


15/32


In 2008 our international campaign sta was in-vited to make presentations about the 2020 VisionCampaign in Lille, Marseille, Paris and Saintes.

In 2009 the AFCDRP expects a ast increase o

new members o Mayors or Peace, amongst otherby having each member city recruit at least twonew members.

Opposition to nuclear disarmament is still very vivid in France, which is one o the ve nuclear-

weapon states recognized by the NPT. The launcho a AFCDRP campaign to sign the Cities Appealin support o the H-N Protocol is expected to beendorsed by a hundred French mayors. Details willbe decided by AFCDRP at the general assembly in

April 2009.

Germany (313 members)Germany welcomed 10 new members in 2008.Our uture - nuclear weaponree was the mottoo the 2008 campaign initiated jointly by theAtomwa en Abscha en (Abolish nuclear weap-ons) network o German peace groups and Mayors

or Peace. Mayors rom our ederal states also took part in a week o action at Bchel in August, whichincluded encircling the German air orce base

where the last remaining US nuclear weapons arestored in this country.

On November 14, theBerlin City Parliament(Abgeordnetenhaus) wasthe venue or the 2008German Mayors orPeace general meeting.

Among the highlights was the speech by theMayor o Hiroshima,

Dr. Akiba, who hadincluded the con erencein his tour o Europe. Inthe closing declaration,Mayors reiterated their

demand that the Federal Government implement withdrawal o all nuclear weapons rom Germany and end its participation in all NATO nuclear

weapons activities.

The meeting also o ered a orum to exchangein ormation and views between towns and cities,

and proposals or uture activities. As an exampleo the promotion o regional cooperation, a report was presented on the campaign in Her ord county (North Rhine-Westphalia), where the ollowing ex-hibition Hiroshima-Nagasaki was shown in schools

in eight cities: Gedenken, Mahnung, Bedrohung(Hiroshima-Nagasaki: Memorial, Warning,Threat). A regional Mayors or Peace meeting washeld in January 2009 in Kirchheim unter Teck inBaden-Wrttemberg and another is planned or

Chemnitz in Saxony, in Autumn. A cross-party letter rom the Lord Mayors o Mr. Eberhard David (Biele eld), Mr. Stephan

Weil (Hannover) and Mr. Dr. Eckart Wrzner(Heidelberg) was sent to all German Mayors orPeace member towns and cities, calling on themto ollow the example o the letters signatories by

nancially supporting the 2020 Vision Campaign.The authors o the letter hope or a positiveresponse despite the recent nancial problems a -

ecting almost all local authorities as a consequence

o the world nancial and economic crisis. Anincrease in members support or the H-N Protocolis also expected.On the initiative o Hannover, the Niedersch-sischer Stdtetag, the representative body o townsand cities in the ourth-largest Federal State by areaand population, has called or support or the H-NProtocol in its newsletter.

The priority in 2009 will be to increase joint e ortsin all these matters. At the annual meeting, planned

or late autumn in Hannover, there will be reports

rom the 7th General Con erence o Mayors orPeace in Nagasaki and, it is hoped, on urtherprogress and successes in pursuing our commonaims.The Cities o Stuttgart and Schwbisch Gmnd(Schwaebisch Gmuend) participated in the delega-tion o Mayors or Peace to the NPT PrepComin Geneva. The Mayor o Schwbisch Gmndreported about the Mutlangen Mani esto de-manding the multiateralization o the INF Treaty (Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty) andother disarmament steps in the line o the 2020

vision.

Hungary (3 members)In 2008, we welcomed 2 new member cities.For 2009, we are hope ul to increase the pres-ence o Mayors or Peace in this country throughour support or the World March or Peace andNonviolence, a project rom World Without Wars.Mayors will be invited to join Mayors or Peaceand sign the Cities Appeal in support o the H-N

Protocol.

Buechel, August2008 - GermanMayors or Peacewith youth at themain gate o NATOairbase. An esti-mated 20 US nuclearweapons are stored

at Buechel andcould be sharedwith Germany inwartime.

Credit: Wol gang Schlupp-Hauck


16/32


Ireland (3 members)Historically, the Republic o Ireland has alwaystaken a rm stance against nuclear weapons.Mayors or Peace intends or this strong nationalconsensus to be refected in the engagement o Irishlocal authorities in the 2020 Vision Campaign inthe near uture.

Jennie Corbett, an Irish European Voluntary Service (EVS) volunteer at the InternationalCampaign Secretariat in Ypres, is increasing e ortsto develop the presence and activities o Mayors

or Peace in her home-country during her one yearproject.In 2008, membership in Ireland stood at three andsignatories to the Cities Appeal at zero. In 2009, weplan to see a sharp increase in support and awarenesso the 2020 Vision Campaign in the Republic o Ireland. In close cooperation with the Nuclear FreeLocal Authorities (NFLA), a ocused Irish Campaigninitiative has already been launched and the rstIrish signatures to the Cities Appeal in support o theH-N Protocol have been welcomed.On March 13, 2009, two representatives rom the

2020 Vision Campaign were invited to speak at theNFLA All-Ireland Forum in Dundalk. There theIrish initiative was kick-started, with the Mayors

or Peace message receiving a particularly warmreception. A cross-party letter initiative is also un-derway that aims to gain membership and support

or the H-N Protocol in the 111 non-member localauthorities in Ireland.

Italy (281 members) With 23 new members in 2008 and 18 in theinitial months o 2009 Italy has almost crossed the300 threshold. It is expected that soon over 300member cities and provinces, with dozens actively contributing to the 2020 Vision Campaign.On March 27 2008, the Italian Campaign A Future Without Nuclear Weapons delivered tothe President o the Chamber o Deputies (ItalianLower House) the signatures collected by over 50civil society organizations submitting dra t legisla-

tion to have the country declared nuclear weaponree.The Mayors o Ghedi and Aviano were the rst tosign, and all the signatures (in the end over 80,000)

were certi ed by an elected city or province o cial.It was a campaign that strengthened the collabora-tion between Mayors, City Councillors and activ-ists or the abolition o nuclear weapons, with theactive collaboration o Italian Mayors or Peace andsupporters o the 2020 Vision Campaign.

In 2008, Hiroshima/Nagasaki commemorations

were organised in Vicenza, Ghedi and Aviano. USnuclear weapons are stored at the air- orce bases o Aviano and Ghedi.Mayors, elected city o cials and civil society repre-sentatives continue to work together to increase themembership and activities o Mayors or Peace insupport o the 2020 Vision Campaign.

Dundolk, March13, 2009 -

During a meeting o the all Ireland NFLA(Nuclear Free LocalAuthorities) Mayors

or Peace wereinvited to presentthe 2020 VisionCampaign. On thepicture, Irish CityCouncilors signing

the Cities Appealin support o theHiroshima-NagasakiProtocol.

At the 2008 PrepCom inGeneva, the City o Florencegave a presentation on its ormer

mayor, Pro essor Giorgio La Pira, whose vision o a worldree o nuclear weapons and

o cities diplomacy is com-

Firenze Mayor La Piraprophet o Mayors or Peace

( rom le t to right, back)Cllr John McArdle , Newry and Mourne District Council;Stephen J Cooper , N & M District Council; JohnFarrell , N & M Distrcit Council;Sean Morris Secretary NFLA( rom le t to right, ront) Cllr John Connor , Roscommon County Council; CllrMichael Carr , N & M DistrictCouncil and Co chair NFLA All Ireland Forum; CllrCaroline Burrell , Bray Town Council; CllrMark Dearey ,Dundalk Town Council and Co-chair NFLA All Ireland Forum

Credit:Jennie Corbett, M P 2020 VC

pletely in the spirit o todaysMayors or Peace. Mayor Akiba has called Mayor La Pira the

prophet o Mayors or Peace.This has suggested another in-novation: the introduction o a Mayors or Peace Prize, named


17/32


The 2009 Hiroshima/Nagasaki commemorationsin Italy are being organized with the Mayor o

Aviano and will be dovetailed to allow or audio orvideo con erence links with the Mayors or PeaceGeneral Assembly in Nagasaki.

In 2009, the Italian members o A Future WithoutNuclear Weapons, o which Mayors or PeaceItaly is a main pillar, are planning to organizea Con erence on the Vision o a World Free o Nuclear Weapons in the Chamber o Deputies(Lower House o Italian Parliament).The Coordinamento Nazionale Enti Locali per laPace e i Diritti Umani supports the 2020 VisionCampaign. This Italian coordination with over700 Italian local governments work or peace andhuman rights. To stress the importance o 2020

Vision Campaign in their overall strategy, theCoordinamento appointed the Mayor o Aviano asVice-President.The small town o Coccaglio (near Ghedi) isdonating space to establish a Museum, which willhost materials rom the Hiroshima Peace CultureFoundation.

Luxembourg (54 members)During 2008 we welcomed 10 new members.This was the result o an invitation by Mr. PaulHelminger, the Mayor o Luxembourg City, to allhis colleagues to welcome Dr. Akiba Tadatoshi,the President o Mayors or Peace and Mayor o Hiroshima in Luxembourg.On November 7, 2008, Friddensinitiativ, a civilsociety organization, organised a national event insupport o the Mayors or Peace campaign. Duringa public debate a balanced approach o the NPT

and the role o Luxembourg a NATO memberstate - was discussed by the NGO representativesand representatives o Mayors or Peace, includingthe Vice-President City o Volgograd.The next day, Luxembourg Mayor Helminger wel-comed Mayor Akiba Tadatoshi during an Academicevent at City Hall. The event was attended by 30 Mayors representing the di erent regions andpolitical parties. During the event, Mr. Helminger,also a member o the Luxembourg national parlia-ment, called his colleagues to join e orts in supporto the proposed H-N Protocol.

The Mayors or Peace events were very well coveredby all Luxembourg national press, including televi-sion, radio and newspapers.In 2009, Mayors plan to meet in order to com-memorate the bombing o Hiroshima and to mark their commitment toimplementing the NPT.

Luxembourg,November 10,2008 -A group picturewith Mayor PaulHelminger andMayor Akiba hereposing with almost40 Mayors romLuxembourg. Theevent was the starto a tour o events

in Luxembourg,Belgium andGermany to pro-mote the 2020Vision.


Assisi, January 17, 2009 - Hundreds o local authorities and hundreds o as-sociations gathered during a peace rally tostop the massacre in Gaza.

Credit:Floriana, Tavola della Pace

a ter Mayor La Pira.The City o Florence will beresponsible or the organization

o this award or cities that areespecially active in promotingthe ideals that we all share.


18/32


Netherlands(47 members)

Mayors or Peace welcomed 13new Dutch members in 2008in the run up to the Mayors orPeace event in The Hague. In

June 2008, a national event orMayors or Peace was organisedby IPPNW Netherlands and IKV Pax Christi, in co-operation withthe Association o NetherlandsMunicipalities (VNG).During this meeting, the Mayoro Uden (Volkel) gave a speech

about the dangers related to thestorage o US nuclear weaponson the territory o her mu-nicipality. Also, a list o practicalsuggestions was dra ted or uturere erence.Mayors or Peace organized a

workshop on Cities Are NotTargets at the First InternationalCon erence on City Diplomacy organized by the UCLG (UnitedCities & Local Governments).

Presentations were made by theVice President o the Province o Milan, the Mayor o Granollers,Spain, and the City Manager o Malakov, France.Dutch Mayors have a pre erence

or work in the elds o aware-ness-raising and peace education,and they propose to use the UNsupported International Day

or Peace, September 21, as oneo the main annually recurrent

moments to ask attention or theneed to make true progress innuclear disarmament.IKV Pax Christi started dra tinga report on nuclear weapons in2008. Former prime minister,Mr. Ruud Lubbers, was oneo the advisers to the workinggroup that wrote the report. The

Mayors o Amsterdam, Utrecht and Uden (Volkel)signed the appeal incorporated in the report. Thereport was presented in February 2009.

IKV Pax Christi, IPPNW Netherlands and VNGare stepping up to organise, together, a more activeand comprehensive support or the Dutch Mayors

or Peace.

Portugal (16 members)In 2008, the Mayor o Ovar participated in theMayoral delegation during the NPT PrepCom at

the UN in Geneva. Juliana Santos, a new EVS volunteer rom Portugalat the International Secretariat in Ypres, is the new coordinator or the Portuguese network during hersix month project.She dra ted a cross-party letter or an initial groupo Portuguese mayors representing the di erentpolitical parties. Once the respective logos andsignatures are collected, the letter will be spread toall Portuguese Mayors to support the H-N Protocoland join the network.

Russia (14 members)International relations o cer Ms. ElenaVasilevskaya rom the Vice-President City o Volgograd (previously Stalingrad) was appointedby Mayor Akiba as the new Russian Coordinatoro the Mayors or Peace 2020 Vision Campaign.This will acilitate e orts to increase membershipand nancial and political support or the globalelimination o all nuclear weapons by 2020.In 2008, Volgograd received delegations rom the

International Peace Con erence or Peace in theFuture rom Hiroshima ( or young people) - andheld the Hiroshima Carp event collecting sig-natures or the abolition o the nuclear weaponby 2020. Signatures have been collected amongyoungsters o Volgograd and guests o the city.

During the Battle o Stalingrad, the Lord Mayoresso Coventry organized aide supplies or the peopleo Stalingrad, with the supplies they sent a solidar-ity tablecloth with the embroidered signatureso lending gures o Coventry. For the upcom-

ing 65th anniversary o that event, a StalingradTablecloth was developed and bears names o therepresentatives o the international community throughout the world in appreciation o the con-tribution o Volgograd and Coventry to the victory over ascism in the World War II and to the causeo world peace. The Executive Cities led by Mayor

Akiba le t their signatures during the GeneralMeeting in Ypres, Belgium, in November. Neveragain, wrote Mayor Akiba.

The year o 2009 will mark the 65th anniversary

o the unique riendship which emerged rom theravages o World War II between the Russian city o Stalingrad and the British Coventry. Stalingradand Coventry became sister cities at the heat o the

Ms. ElenaVasilevskaya,the new Russiancoordinator o

the Mayors orPeace 2020 VisionCampaign and hertablecloth.

Credit:City o Volgograd


19/32


World War II starting the International Twinningmovement.

Every year Volgograd holds a Peace Bell ceremony on August 6, with the Peace Bell donated by Hiroshima, another o its sister cities.

In 2009, Volgograd plans to recruit new mem-bers and to sharply increase support or the H-NProtocol by Russian member cities.

Spain (147 members) We welcomed 66 new members in 2008 and in the

rst months o 2009, another 26 members wereregistered.

In April 2008, the City o Granollers participatedin the mayoral delegation o the NPT PrepComat the UN in Geneva, as they were preparing

or the commemoration o the bombardment o Granollers and requested an active involvement

with Mayors or Peace.

On May 31, Luc Dehaene, Mayor o Ypres, PolDHuyvetter and Jaira Valenzuela took part inthe Commemoration o the Bombardment o Granollers 70 years ago. In 1938, in just oneminute, 224 civilians died as the Italian air- orcereleased 30 explosive bombs and 10 incendiary bombs on the City o Granollers in support o the

ascists troops o General Franco. Our presenceduring this commemoration was the start o anintense co-operation.

Soon, e orts were stepped up by the City o Granollers to increase the presence o supporto Spanish Mayors. The Mayor o Granollers, aspresident o Asociacin Catalana de Municipios

(ACM), introduced Mayors or Peace 2020 VisionCampaign to the members o that Association.

The excellent leadership demonstrated by theMayor o Granollers was acknowledged in autumn2008 when Mayor Akiba appointed Granollers as anew Executive City.

The overall growth o Mayors or Peace activi-ties in Spain could not have happened withoutthe increased capacity to communicate directly inSpanish at the international o ce in Ypres. Here

we need to thank Jaira Valenzuela who workedor a 12 month period with an EVS project. JairaValenzuela, a pro essional translator, helped us tocommunicate in Spanish with Mayors throughoutSpain and Latin-America. She has also translatedthe campaign website.

Greenpeace Spain continued to play an importantrole. In 2008, they developed an in ormative leafetto in orm Mayors about the Mayors or Peace 2020Vision Campaign.

Switzerland (17 members) We welcomed 6 new members in Switzerland in2008. Most o these new memberships were inresponse to a letter circulated jointly by the Mayorso Geneva and Lausanne. Both these cities setstrong examples by their generous contributions to

Granollers, June 2008 - Mr. Josep MayoralAntigas, the Mayor o Granollers (le t)and Mr. Josep Poblet Tous, the Mayor o Vila-seca, signing a cross-party membershiprecruitment and a undraising letter. Thismarked the start o important growth andsuccess o Mayors or Peace in Spain.


Geneva, April28, 2008 TheCity o Genevarolled out the redcarpet or Mayors

or Peace duringthe NPT PrepCom insupport o the 2020Vision Campaign.Here some o thedelegates during areception o ered byCity Hall.

( rom le t to right) MayorWolfgang Leidig , MayorLuc Dehaene , MayorTadatoshi Akiba , InternationalCampaign Manager Aaron Tovish , Geneva Deputy Mayor Pierre Maudet , Chairman o NPT 2nd PrepComUkrainian Ambassador Yuri Yelchenko and Eros Crucollini , President o Firenze City Council



20/32


Mayors or Peace laments the sudden pass-ing o ormer Lord Mayor o Manchesterand nuclear disarmament activist Bill Risby on February 16, 2009. Mr. Risby was one

o Manchesters longest serving councillorsand one o the ounders o the Nuclear FreeMovement. Cllr. Risby proposed the resolutionat Manchester City Council on the 6, November1980 that declared Manchester as the worldsfrst municipal nuclear ree zone.In 2003, it was under Risbys commitment andleadership in Manchester that the ExecutiveCon erence o Mayors or Peace cra ted andlaunched the 2020 Vision Campaign, theEmergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons,that has led to a fve - old increase in member-

ship o the network.Cllr. Risby has also represented Manchester atMayors or Peace delegations at the 2005 NPTCon erence in New York. He was the currentNuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) Chair.In November 2007, Bill Risby representedthe City o Manchester at the meeting o theExecutive Cities in Florence, where the Mayors

or Peace 2020 Vision Campaign was ormally established. We also had the pleasure to have BillRisby with us during our latest meeting o theBoard o Directors and the General meeting o

the 2020 Vision Campaign Association at YpresCity Hall, Belgium in November 2008. We will all miss Cllr. Risby or his vision and his

riendship.

the 2020 Vision Campaign. Geneva also providedmeeting space or the rst Campaign AssociationBoard meeting, to which they were welcomed toparticipate.

Geneva also hosted the mayoral delegation to theNPT PrepCom meeting in May 2008. MayorPatrice Mugny welcomed the delegation to Genevaat one o the delegations events in the Palais desNations. The City Hall opened its doors to thedelegation and diplomats with a marvelous recep-tion in the Palais Renard. The Chairman o thePreparatory Committee, the Ukrainian Ambassadorto Vienna, was among the many guests.

UK (49 members)In 2008 our new members were welcomed in theUK. 2008 was a quiet year or Mayors or Peace in

the UK as important changes were implementedin our partner organisation, Nuclear Free Local Authorities.

Remarkable in 2008 is the support o Mr. Boris Johnson, the new Mayor o London, or the H-NProtocol. Mayor Johnson, member o the conserva-tive party, is the rst Mayor o a Capital City o a Nuclear Weapon State who has registered hissupport or the H-N Protocol by signing the Cities

Appeal.

In 2009, the Mayors or Peace UK Working Groupbegan meeting again a ter a one year break. Themeeting group has mapped out a plan o action orthe months ahead, which will see e orts directedtowards undraising and encouraging a deeperengagement o UK member Mayors in the work o Mayors or Peace.

A UK delegation will be sent to the NPT PrepCommeeting in New York in May and will also belobbying the UKs Ambassador to the meeting tochallenge the contradictory position held by the

UK government in stating its support or non-proli eration initiatives whilst at the same timeundertaking work to renew its own weapons o mass destruction.

Europe1603 MEMBERS

Albania (1), Andorra (2), Austria (28), Belarus (1),Belgium (323), Bosnia and Herzegovina (2),Bulgaria (4), Croatia (25), Czech Republic (28),Denmark (13), Estonia (4), Finland (2), France(98), Georgia (1), Germany (313), Greece (5),Hungary (3), Ireland (3), Italy (281), Kazakhstan(4), Kyrgyz (1), Latvia (1), Lithuania (2),Luxembourg (54), Malta (1), Moldova (1),Netherlands (47), Norway (83), Poland (6),

Portugal (16), Romania (4), Russia (14), Serbia (3),Slovakia (1), Slovenia (2), Spain (147), Sweden (5),Switzerland (17), Tajikistan (2), Ukraine (3),United Kingdom (49), Uzbekistan (3)

Bill Risby, oundero Nuclear Free LocalAuthorit ies, sadly dies



21/32


Latin America

At the start o 2008, Latin America and theCaribbean was the continent with the lowestmembership o Mayors or Peace. Strange whenyou realize that the worlds rst Nuclear WeaponFree Zone was established by the 1967 Treaty o Tlatelolco.

For the rst time in its 26 years history, Mayors orPeace started to develop visibility and activities inLatin America and the Caribbean. Membership hasmore than doubled since the start o January 2008.

At the start o 2009, Pol DHuyvetter, Executive Advisor and Director o the InternationalCampaign Secretariat, traveled to South-America.He represented Mayors or Peace during theForum o Local Authorities, a Forum withinthe World Social Forum (Belem, Brazil). A terthe Forum, he traveled in Brazil and visited thecapitals o Uruguay, Chile, and Argentina tomeet with mayors and NGO representatives. Ms.Magaly Madrid, a Peruvian volunteer, has assistedoutreach in Latin-America and the Caribbean. Ineach city, the Mayors or Peace representative met

with Mundo sin Guerras (World without Wars)activists.

Argentine (7 members)On February 19 and 20, 2009 Pol DHuyvetter hadseveral meetings with City & NGO representativesin Buenos Aires to discuss organisational develop-ment o Mayors or Peace. The support o Buenos

Aires or the H-N Protocol is under consideration while there are plans to contact Mayors through-out Argentine to involve them in the 2020 VisionCampaign.

Brazil (7 members) Activities o Mayors or Peace in Brazil have beentraditionally low, although Rio de Janeiro was oneo the earliest signatories o the Cities Appeal insupport o the H-N Protocol.

The presence o Mayors or Peace in Brazil isconsidered by many as very important. The South-

American regional power was preparing a nuclear weapons test during the military dictatorship (80s).

Some judge Brazil to have the capacity to acquirenuclear weapons in airly short order. Elements o the Brazilian establishment want to keep the optionopen to develop a nuclear weapons program. The

act that the Brazilian civilian nuclear program iscontrolled by the Brazilian De ense department,does not instill great con dence.

During a meeting on February 27, 2009, withMr. Walter Feldman o the City o So Paulo, it

was agreed with Pol DHuyvetter and Ms. Magaly Madrid to develop a cross-party initiative with Rio

de Janeiro, Curitiba and Belo Horizonte to involveBrazilian local authorities in the 2020 VisionCampaign.

So Paulo, February 27, 2009 -The So Paulo Secretary o Sports andrespected Member o Parliament, Mr. WalterFeldman (center), and Mr. Flavio Goldman,

rom the So Paulo international relationsdepartment (right) meeting with 2020 Visioncampaign representatives, Ms. MagalyMadrid (le t) and Pol DHuyvetter. Amongstothers plans, it was discussed to contactall 5,600 Brazilian Mayors in support o theelimination o all nuclear weapons by 2020.

Credit:M P 2020 VC


22/32


another 32 members joined the network, bringingtotal membership to 72 members. The remarkablegrowth o membership ollows an invitation toNicaraguan Mayors by Mr. Saul Arana Castellon,the Nicaraguan Ambassador in Japan, a ter ameeting with Dr. Tadatoshi Akiba on August 6,2008, in Hiroshima. This illustrates once again theimportance o individuals taking action to promotea nuclear-weaponree world.

Montevideo, February 12, 2009 -Mr. Ricardo Ehrlich, the Mayor o Montevideo warmly welcomed the 2020Vision Campaign during a meeting in thecapital o Uruguay.

Chile (4 members)The Chilean President Michel Bachelet has taken avery strong position in support o the World March

or Peace and Non-Violence which will end inChile in January 2010. The Chilean representativeso Mundo sin Guerras, the organizers o the WorldMarch, were very receptive to increase the supporto local authorities towards a nuclearweapon- ree

world by 2020. During a meeting on February 17,2009, the Mayor o Santiago, Mr. Pablo Zalaquett,

pledged to table membership and support or the2020 Vision campaign to the City Council.

Nicaragua (40 members)Nicaragua counted just one member at the begin-ning o 2008. Thirty-nine new members joinedin 2008, while in the rst two months o 2009

Uruguay (1 member)Mr. Ricardo Ehrlich, the Mayor o Montevideo,

welcomed the 2020 Vision Campaign during ameeting with Pol DHuyvetter in the capital o Uruguay on February 12, 2009. During this meet-ing the Mayor agreed to invite his 18 colleagues inUruguay to join Mayors or Peace.Mr. Ehrlich, as co-president o the UCCI (Uninde Ciudades Capitales Iberoamericanas) also

wants to invite all capital cities o Latin America

and Iberia Peninsula to support the 2020 VisionCampaign. The Mayor o Montevideo presides overthe UCCI together with the Mayor o Madrid.Furthermore, Mr. Ehrlich wants to invite the mem-bers o Mercociudades to join. Mercociudades is anetwork o cities o the Mercosur region: Argentine,Bolivia, Brazil, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuelaand Uruguay. Mercosur and Mercociudades has itsheadquarters in Montevideo,

( rom le t to right) Dr.Xavier Miranda , Mr. MayorRicardo Ehrlich, Pol DHuyvetter and DaianaFerraro , international relations or Montevideo and advisor Mercociudades.

Credit:M P 2020 Vision campaign

Belem, January 31, 2009 The FAL (Foro de Autoridades Locales) network meeting duringthe World Social Forum in the northeast o Brazil welcomed and endorsed the Mayors or Peace 2020 Vision Campaign. Approximately 400 participants

rom Local Authorities rom around the worldparticipated in the con erence. A large majority o representatives were rom Latin America. On thesecond day o the FAL con erence Pol DHuyvettermade a presentation during a Commission onDecentralized Co-operation, Solidarity andPeace. The Mayors or Peace introduced text or

the fnal declaration o the FAL meeting in Belem,called the Compromiso de Belem. In their fnaldeclaration FAL declared FAL explicitly supportsthe 2020 Vision Campaign of the Mayors for Peace

FAL network endorses 2020 Vision duringannual international meeting in Belem, Brazil



23/32


Venezuela (2 members)Venezuala did not have any members be ore 2008.Two cities joined in 2008. But this was only atimid start as another 22 local authorities joinedMayors or Peace in the rst two months o 2009.On November 25, the Peace Boat, a Japanese basededucational project based on a cruise ship, visitedthe port o La Guaira. This was the start o a serieso activities including cultural exchange and study programmes. (See more about the Peace Boat page

11, Asian section)

In recent years, Venezuela has been promoting theree medical care and literacy education or the

poor as part o its Bolivarian Revolution. A network o over 250 mayors supporting this policy intheir municipalities, called Asociacin Bolivarianade Alcaldes de Venezuela (Bolivar Mayors

Association o Venezuela) were the driving orce

Latin America andCaribbean

87 MEMBERS

Argentine (7), Bolivia (2), Brazil (7), Chile(4), Costa Rica (3), Cuba (2), Dominica (1),Dominican Republic (2), Ecuador (2), Greenland

(1), Guyana (1), Haiti (2), Honduras (1), Jamaica(1), Mexico (3), Nicaragua (40), Paraguay (1),Peru (2), Trinidad and Tobago (2), Uruguay (1),Venezuela (2).

behind organising this peace ceremony and the callor Venezuelan mayors to join Mayors or Peace,

led by the Mayor o Caracas, Mr. Freddy Bernal.

The many new signatories to Mayors or Peace inVenezuela during Peace Boats visit are a sign o thisstrong will or peace, in the words o a participatingHibakusha that the winds o nuclear abolition willblow rom Latin America to the world.

which lobbies the international community to renounceweapons of mass destruction. We call on local authoritiesto join Mayors for Peace and support the Hiroshima- Nagasaki Protocol to eliminate nuclear weapons by 2020. We also call on nation states and armed groups tocease considering cities as military objectives:Cities arenot Targets!

This Forum o Local Authorities was ounded duringthe frst World Social Forum in Porto Alegre in 2001.The World Social Forum was created as an alternativesummit or the World Economic Forum in Davos.

This year over 100.000 people participated in the World Social Forum in Brazil.

FAL members on http://redfal.org/miembros

Caracas, November 26, 2008 -The city o Caracas (the capital o Venezuela) organised a peace ceremony un-der the banner o Aiming or a world ree o nuclear weapons at the municipal theater.A delegation o Hibakusha, survivors o theA-bomb and Peace Boat participants, joinedthe thirteen mayors rom cities aroundVenezuela. The mayors ofcially joinedMayors or Peace. The mayor o Caracas re-ceived the delegation o Hibakusha as hon-oured visitors, and through them bestowedupon Mayors or Peace the Citys highesthonour: the medal o Juan Cisco de Leon.

Credit:Peace Boat


24/32


North America

Canada (70 members)During 2008, we welcomed seven new Canadianmembers. There were many Mayors or Peacerelated activities in Canada during that year. Theseinclude 60 people at August 6 Commemorationincluding Mayor Atchison, organised by Saskatoon

Peace Coalition and the United Nations Association o Canada-Saskatoon.

In Vancouver, British Columbia, Mayor SamSullivan declared August 6th the o cial VancouverHiroshima Day. The event was co-organised withCity Councilor Suzanne Anton and David Laskey o Veterans Against Nuclear Arms.In Hamilton, Ontario, Mayor Fred Eisenbergeracknowledged Hamiltons continued support andmembership in Mayors or Peace at the 2008Gandhi Peace Festival.

In Toronto, Ontario, the Hiroshima Day Coalitionorganized an exhibition o photographs and paint-ings by Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors o the

A-bomb in Toronto City Hall. In a special messagevideotaped in Hiroshima, Mayor Tadatoshi Akibaasked Toronto Mayor David Miller to sign the Cities

Appeal in support o the H-N Protocol.In Ottawa, a coalition o civil society groupsunder the Ottawa Peace Assembly organized theHiroshima and Nagasaki Commemoration events.On August 9, at the gathering, a letter o greeting

rom Mayor Akiba to the people o Ottawa wasread out.In September, Montreal City Council authorizedMayor Tremblay to sign the Cities Appeal in sup-port o the H-N Protocol.

USA (131 members)Mayors or Peace increased membership with sev-enteen new cities in the USA. However, the mostsigni cant result during 2008 is without doubtthe adoption by the US Con erence o Mayors o a Resolution in support o the H-N Protocol. (see

seperate box, page 25)

In January 2008, Mayor Donald Plusquellic(Akron, Ohio), Vice President o Mayors or Peaceand ormer President o the U.S. Con erenceo Mayors (USCM), spoke to the USCMInternational A airs Committee at its annual win-ter meeting in Washington DC. Mayor Plusquellicupdated the Committee on Mayors or Peace andreported on the decisions taken at the rst meetingo the 2020 Vision Campaign Association held inFlorence, Italy, in November 2007.

Mayor Plusquellic also introduced JacquelineCabasso, Mayors or Peace North AmericanCoordinator or the 2020 Vision Campaign, to theUSCM.

In March, Ms. Cabasso, took part in a panelpresentation on municipal diplomacy at the

winter meeting o the National League o Cities, in Washington DC. The panel was organized by theInstitute or Policy Studies Cities or Peace project,

which is building a network o local elected o cialsin the USA. Other panelists included city council

members rom Chicago and Seattle, Washington.Mayors or Peace is continuing to develop acollaborative relationship with Cities or Peace.

August was declared Nuclear-Free Future Monthby United or Peace and Justice, the largest anti-

Ypres, November11, 2008

Mayor TadatoshiAkiba and MayorThomas OGradyduring the memo-rial or the 90thanniversary o theend o the First WorldWar. Mayor OGradyrepresented USMayors or Peaceduring the General

Meeting andBoard o Directorso the 2020Vision CampaignAssociation.

Credit: Pierre Marchal, M P 2020 VC,


25/32


war coalition in the United States. In support o this e ort, Mayors or Peace member Mayor BobKiss issued a proclamation citing the accomplish-ments o Mayors or Peace and declaring August6, as Nuclear Disarmament Day in the City o Burlington. The proclamation asked all citizens topause and refect on ways in our li etime to bringabout world peace and the abolition o nuclear

weapons.

The City Hall o Oakland, Cali ornia, hosted atwo-week exhibition o a graphic poster display, en-

titled Witness to History: Conveying the Tragedy o Hiroshima and Nagasaki. At the opening recep-tion, attended by a number o local elected o cials,the Deputy Mayor presented a ormal Mayors

US Con erence o Mayors suppor ts the H

Date post:	30-May-2018
Category:	Documents
Upload:	mayors-for-peace
View:	252 times
Download:	0 times

2020 Vision Campaign Progress Report 2009

Documents