One positive way of trying to change the minds of those who take the crucial decisions in nuclear weapons policy is to talk to them face to face. The Dialogue with Decision-Makers programme was set up some years ago by the Oxford Research Group, and has been continued by IPPNW Sweden and Dr Liz Waterston for Medact in association with other IPPNW affiliates.
This brings delegations of physicians, medical students and nuclear weapons and security experts together with government officials, military experts and policy makers in nuclear weapons states to discuss the medical consequences of nuclear war and proposals for disarmament. Dialogue meetings have been held in the UK, France, other European countries, India, Pakistan, North Korea, Russia, the United States and at Nato HQ in Brussels. In September 2004 the Chinese Government will receive its first visit.
