2023 World Conference against A and H Bombs
International Meeting -- Session 3Margaret Engel
Peace Action New York StateU.S.A.
A nuclear weapon-free, peaceful and just world – Solidarity and actions ofcivil society
My name is Margaret Engel and I am the Student and Campaigns
Coordinator at Peace Action New York State. It is an honor to stand before theattendees here in Hiroshima at the World Conference Against A and H Bombs,
alongside this inspiring international group of peace advocates. I want to thank theWorld Conference Organizing Committee and Gensuikyo for organizing thisconference year after year. They have worked tirelessly to provide a space forhibakusha to continue to tell their stories and for organizers of all ages, genderidentities, ethnicities, and backgrounds to come together in the face of a militarizedworld stage. With everything happening in the world, it’s so important and timely to
be talking about the dangers of nuclear weapons— this month, we remember the78th anniversary of the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing, infecting,and displacing millions. Many of our community chapters during this time hold inperson and virtual commemorations in honor of the hibakusha as they call for anuclear-free world in the wake of such a devastating moment in history. 78 years
later, we still have not been liberated from the nuclear age, as nuclear weapons arestockpiled and brandished in times of political turmoil and used as a threatening
currency on the global stage. It is crucial now more than ever to recognize ourcapacity for change as members of civil society. Together we must demand policies
from our government bodies that do not simply reform the dangerous stockpiling
activities of nuclear states such as the U.S., but lead us down the path of total
nuclear abolition before it is too late.
I represent Peace Action New York State, the New York affiliate of Peace
Action, the largest grassroots peace network in the United States. Our origins lie inthe birth of the nuclear disarmament movement as the National Committee for aSane Nuclear Policy in the 1950s (SANE for short). Powerful voices were utilized inAmerican media to spread SANE’s message about the importance of government
regulation on nuclear weapons and early efforts in our movement led to the passingof the Limited Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. Peace Action’s origins also lie in the nuclear
Freeze movement of the 1980s, during which rallies, demonstrations, and meetings
with representatives were held by a grassroots confederation of anti-nuclear groups1across America, calling on the US and Soviet Union to halt the testing, production,and deployment of nuclear weapons. I am proud to stand here today, representing
Peace Action New York State, and being able to share with you theaccomplishments of my predecessors. But there is still so much more work to bedone.
One of our greatest assets in our Peace Action community is our student
organizing program. Our student organizers are passionate, resilient individuals
who take action on campus and in their communities. Our 15 campus chaptershost webinars with experts in their fields, participate in lobby meetings with theirelected representatives, take to the streets in protests and rallies, and facilitate
dialogue on campus surrounding a number of different peace and justice issues.
Our students work on a range of peace and social justice issues, including climatechange, racial justice, indigenous rights, and nuclear proliferation. We encourage
student organizers to engage with their chapters in relevant peace discussions,
ranging from nuclear policy in the U.S. to the war in Ukraine. One of our chapters
this year organized a peace summit on their campus, where the student body andlocal peace advocates were able to meet and collaborate on future actions
together. Although I often find it frustrating and unfair for older generations to callupon youth advocates to take on the responsibility of ensuring a safer, nuclear-freetomorrow without working to build intergenerational trust, I also think it is true that itis never too soon for students to start developing their skills in organizing andutilizing their talents to spark change in the community they live in. It is throughthese efforts that we can reach the future we envision of a nuclear-free, equitableworld.
I bring up the historical achievements of Peace Action’s campaigns inprevious decades because there is still something to learn from the organizers ofthe past. People say that history repeats itself, often when they are speaking about
the brutalities of war and the rise and fall of nationalism, authoritarianism, and otherpolitical threats. But the same saying can be applied to methodology when it comesto organizing for peace. Civil society, whether in Japan, the United States, orelsewhere, has the power to create change. In the US, Peace Action played acritical role in engaging the public to urge many potentially swing Senate voters tosupport the Iran Nuclear Deal in 2015. In 2017, Peace Action New York State wasable to celebrate with community partners the adoption of the Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was made possible by the tireless efforts ofhibakusha and other dedicated anti-nuclear civil society groups across the world,
frustrated by the lack of progress or action from the nuclear-armed states.
Grassroots organizations of all kinds have garnered support and funding throughcollaborative efforts. With this mutual support and the sharing of resources,2

organizations like Peace Action have continued to lobby for concrete change innuclear policy with our local representatives year after year. We have taken to thestreets in Manhattan, Washington, D.C., and across the country demanding action
from our government. We lift up the voices of our student organizers andencourage their passion for disarmament. We work together even in the face of
uncompromising, destabilizing nuclear policy in the United States, such as aplanned $1.2 trillion for nuclear weapons over the next thirty years.
Despite the United States being a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty, my country continues to pour money into nuclear weapons research andstockpiling. This year, the Department of Energy has spent over $264 billion onplans for a new Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) carrying nuclear warheads.
The longstanding myth of nuclear deterrence serving as a valid geopolitical tactic
persists in U.S. foreign policy regardless of which party holds executive power, andPeace Action New York State continues to work on debunking this myth andmaking it clear that the only way we are safe from the threat of nuclear weapons is
if we abolish them altogether.
Several bills have been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and
Senate over the last several years to help lessen the threat of nuclear war. Many ofthese bills call for a reallocation of funding from nuclear weapons assembly andmaintenance towards combating another global threat: climate change. TheNuclear Weapons Abolition and Economic Conversion Act, also called “Warheadsto Windmills”, is a bill that seeks to convert nuclear weapons industry resources
and personnel to purposes relating to addressing the climate crisis. The Hastening
Arms Limitation Talks Act, also known as HALT, seeks to increase criticalnonproliferation measures to reduce nuclear risks at politically dangerous times.
H.Res.77, also called the Back from the Brink resolution, is a bill that calls on thePresident to embrace the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of
Nuclear Weapons and make nuclear disarmament the centerpiece of U.S. national
security policy. It also calls on the United States to lead a global effort to move theworld back from the nuclear brink and to prevent nuclear war. Grassroots
organizations like Peace Action New York State have worked to lobby for
nonproliferation bills each year. We continue to call for action from ourrepresentatives in signing the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Peace Action New York has also been busy this summer helping to promoteand organize local actions. The Golden Rule, a peace boat which originally set sailto stop nuclear testing in the Pacific and was later restored by Veterans for Peace
to continue on its anti-nuclear mission, has been sailing across Upstate New Yorkin support of the TPNW. As Christopher Nolan’s new film Oppenheimer premiers,
3community partners across the state have organized public discussions about thelegacy of J. Robert Oppenheimer's work on the atomic bomb, and how we canwork to prevent nuclear war today. The Move the Money Campaign is a coalition of60 New York-based organizations that have worked for years on New York City
Council legislation that would move significant funds away from the military budget
in order to fund social services, and to hold in-depth public hearings on the basic
human needs of City residents that are unmet because of government
appropriations for the Pentagon. Since the Union of Concerned Scientists andPhysicians for Social Responsibility came together to establish the Back from theBrink Campaign, the coalition has made great strides in spreading awarenessabout the threat of nuclear weapons stockpiling and encouraging real politicalchange. It is these international joint actions that help us achieve our goals andensure a brighter future for the next generation of activists.
The TPNW is a hallmark agreement that has seen tremendous success in
reducing the global nuclear arsenal and garnering attention to the issue ofdisarmament around the world. With 92 signatories and 68 parties, the TPNW isthe best, globally applicable prohibition of nuclear weapons of its time. According tothe International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, close to half of theworld’s countries will soon be counted as either parties or signatories. However, wecan only gain traction with the TPNW if civil society continues to take action andkeep the fight against nuclear weapons alive in their own countries. At the United
Nations Headquarters in November, the states parties will meet for a second timeto discuss global disarmament strategies and hear from and collaborate withmembers of civil society. Last year at the first meeting, the states-parties produced
an ambitious 50-point action plan and several decisions designed to implement the2017 agreement. It also adopted a political statement that aims, in part, to reinforce
norms against nuclear weapons use and threat of use. It will be crucial to holdthese leaders accountable for these decisions. Peace Action New York State islooking forward to meeting with other organizations during that time and working
together in joint international action to improve our organizing strategies. Not only
will the second meeting at the UN be a great opportunity for the states parties tomeet, but it will also be great for peace activists to come together. It is so important
to hear the voices and learn the names of our colleagues in this global community
who share the same passion and drive for change. In New York, we can lift eachother up, celebrate one another’s successes, brainstorm ideas for the future, andcollaborate on international projects. We have the power to bring an end to thenuclear age and create a safer, sustainable, and just future by working together. I
sincerely hope to see many of you at the UN in the fall. Thank you very much.

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