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04/04/2014 | News | Statements
Global Day of Action on Military Spending – Cut the Nukes!
April 4, 2014 by IPB
On the Global Day of Action on Military Spending (April 14) call on governments and parliaments to cut the funding for Nukes!
Approximately US$100 billion per year is spent on nuclear weapons and their delivery systems (See Global Zero: The cost of nukes). These resources are sorely needed for education, health, job creation, environmental protection (including preventing climate change) and supporting sustainable development. Nuclear weapons spending thus impacts negatively on all countries and the world as a whole – not only the ones with nuclear weapons programs.
What would you choose to spend the nuclear weapons budget on? Make your choice at Cut Nukes not…
Non-nuclear countries:
- Urge your governments and parliaments to call on the nuclear weapons countries to reduce nuclear weapons spending and redirect this funding towards sustainable development. An example is the resolution adopted in the Bangladesh Parliament introduced by PNND Co-President Saber Chowdhury, on 5 April 2010 (anniversary of President Obama’s Prague Speech), noting that “that the $100 billion spent annually on nuclear weapons should be channelled instead towards meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals as well as the urgent climate change adaption funding needs of the most vulnerable countries.”
- Call on your governments and parliaments to divest public funds from any nuclear weapons corporations as New Zealand and Norway did a few years ago (See Nuclear Divestment), and Switzerland has done more recently with the Federal Act on War Materials;
- Encourage friends and colleagues to ‘Don’t bank on the Bomb’.
Nuclear armed countries:
- Encourage your parliamentarians to cut the budgets for nuclear weapons. Examples:
o USA: Get your congressperson to support the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures (SANE Act), introduced into the Senate by PNND Co-President Ed Markey, co-sponsored by Senator Jeff Merkley. Companion legislation has been introduced in the House by Representative Earl Blumenauer;
o UK – Encourage your parliamentarian to support the Early Day Motion on cost of the Trident replacement (£25billion) calling on the government to scrap such plans.
The background to the Smarter Approach to Nuclear Expenditures (SANE) Act introduced into the US Senate by Senator Ed Markey, Co-President of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament can be found at Senator Ed Markey introduces the SANE Act during the PNND Assembly.
Other background on nuclear weapons spending:
- Global Zero report on nuclear weapons spending
- Opportunity Costs: Military Spending and the UN Development Agenda, IPB 2012 Report
- Nuclear weapons: at what cost?, Ben Cramer, published by IPB 2009
- Arms Down Campaign: In 2009, over 20 million youth endorsed the Religions for Peace Arms Down Campaign statement, calling for a ban on nuclear weapons and redirection of 10% of the world’s military budget (a little bit more than the nuclear weapons budget) to meeting UN Millennium Development Goals.
