Secretary-General Launches Multiplatform Campaign to Promote Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
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| Department of Public Information • News and Media Division • New York |
Secretary-General launches multiplatform campaign to promote
nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today launched the “WMD-WeMustDisarm” multiplatform campaign, beginning the 100-day countdown to the International Day of Peace. The Day, commemorated annually on 21 September, this year focuses on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
Joining the Secretary-General in promoting the campaign are:
-- United Nations Messenger of Peace and Academy Award-winning actor and producer Michael Douglas, who has championed the cause of disarmament for the United Nations since 1998; and
-- Rainn Wilson, featured actor in the United States television comedy, The Office, who has more than 800,000 followers on Twitter.
Over the next 100 days leading up to 21 September, they, along with the Secretary-General, will raise awareness of the costs and dangers of nuclear weapons by issuing a daily message, via Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, e-mail and radio, urging the world to disarm.
The Secretary-General is taking the lead by issuing the first 10 “tweets” of the campaign. His first tweet today read: “WeMustDisarm because nukes threaten mankind. Let’s get rid of them 4 good-UN SecGen Ban Ki-moon.”
In his message to mark the 100-day countdown to the International Day of Peace, the Secretary-General said, “As we observe the International Day of Peace with world leaders gathered in New York for the sixty-fourth Session of the United Nations General Assembly, I will proclaim one strong, simple message: We Must Disarm!”
The International Day of Peace was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981 for “commemorating and strengthening the ideals of peace within and among all nations and people”. Twenty years later, the General Assembly decided that 21 September would be observed annually as a “day of global ceasefire and non-violence” and invited all Member States, organizations and individuals to commemorate the day, including through education and public awareness, and to cooperate with the United Nations in the establishment of a global ceasefire.
Useful Links
WMD-WeMustDisarm on Twitter
WMD-WeMustDisarm cause on Facebook
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/298538/61588950?m=6949f328
WMD-WeMustDisarm on MySpace
Secretary-General’s 100-day message
www.un.org/sg/peacedaymessage2009.shtml
Secretary-General’s 5 point nuclear disarmament proposal
www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/sg5point.shtml
United Nations Disarmament Affairs
www.un.org/disarmament/index.shtml
United Nations on nuclear weapons
www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/index.shtml
United Nations on Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/CTBT.shtml
Map of nuclear weapon-free zones
www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/images/NWFZ_Map_small.gif
United Nations on Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty
www.un.org/disarmament/WMD/Nuclear/NPT.shtml
United Nations Disarmament Education website
www.un.org/disarmament/education/index.html
Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education
http://cyberschoolbus.un.org/dnp/
For more information and media queries, please contact Jim Landale, tel.: 1 212 963 3423, e-mail: landale@un.org; or Melanie Nolte, tel.: 1 917 367 0262, e-mail: nolte@un.org, of the Department of Public Information’s Peace and Security Section.
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For information media • not an official record
