World Churches Call for Nuclear Weapons Disarmament & Israel Recognition

The World Council of Churches (WCC) Executive Committee, has this week has called for the government in Iran to sign a moratorium on its uranium enrichment programmes, as well as recognising the state of Israel, and to unite its efforts with the international initiatives against terrorism.

|PIC1|The WCC Executive Committee is meeting at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute outside Geneva from 16-19 May 2006, in what is its first session since its election at the Council's 9th Assembly in Brazil earlier this year.

The committee also called for other countries to contribute more openly to global security.

In a statement to the government of Iran, the committee asked it to “fully comply and cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Security Council directives and requests”.

The statement went on to affirm that a “verifiable moratorium on all Iranian uranium enrichment and reprocessing efforts” is immediately required.

The committee highlighted the country’s record of “clandestine nuclear research” and its “failure” to accomplish IAEA requirements, for which it has “lost the confidence of many in the international community”.

|TOP|It was also noted that the calling for a moratorium was an “extraordinary” requirement that Iran must accept in order to regain “international trust”, but which “does not deny in principle Iran's right to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes”.

Also criticised was the “hateful and irresponsible statements” which have at times been made “by the Iranian leadership against the Jewish people and the state of Israel”.

The WCC statement stated: “Iran's acceptance and recognition of the state of Israel within the borders of 1967, and Iran's support for efforts by the international community to put an end to violence against unarmed and innocent civilians for political or religious aims,” are among “commitments” needed “to begin to address broader security concerns”.

In relation to this, the Executive Committee told that it rejected any “military solution” to the problems, and requested that a “multilateral diplomatic” approach should be adopted to solve Iran’s nuclear issues.

|AD|The committee said that the solution should include “strengthening the IAEA capacity for inspections”.

The USA was also noted in the WCC statement, and were asked to honour its “negative security assurance” given in 1995 by the five nuclear weapon states signatories of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

In 1995, the five states vowed “never to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against any non-nuclear weapon state signatory to the NPT”.

The WCC statement underlined that “other states are also in serious violation of their non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament obligations”.

In particular, the five nuclear weapons states signatories to the NPT (US, UK, France, Russia and China) which have not implemented agreed disarmament steps have been called by the WCC Executive Committee to “accelerate their efforts toward verifiable and irreversible reductions and ultimate elimination of their nuclear arsenals”.

Also, India, Israel and Pakistan, which have remained outside the Treaty, and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, which has withdrawn, were called to join or rejoin the Treaty as verifiable non-nuclear weapon states, by the WCC.