The Nuclear Weapons Group (NWG) represents the longest standing aspect of Medact’s work to address war, armed violence and conflict as global threats to health.
The NWG is Medact’s main link with International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985, and to which Medact is the UK affiliate.
In recent years the NWG has been mobilising around the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), also a Nobel Peace Prize recipient, and the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
The TPNW was successfully negotiated at the United Nations General Assembly in July 2017 and during this process, a NWG member spoke on the “Public Health Implications of Trident” at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
Following the adoption of the TPNW and in preparation for the 22nd IPPNW World Congress which was held in York in September 2017, it published its latest report, ‘A Safer World: Treating Britain’s harmful dependence on nuclear weapons’.
Among other activities, in early 2019 the NWG submitted evidence to the House of Lords International Relations Committee Inquiry into Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament and to the House of Commons Defence Select Committee Inquiry into the US INF Treaty withdrawal.
In January 2021 the TPNW entered into force. Following this an action pack in support of the ICAN Cities Appeal has been produced.You can check out the campaign map and the resources that have been created to help you lobby your local council.
Medact is and remains the core of the medical peace movement in the UK. By joining the group, you can play an important part in our historic mission to create a safer, fairer, better world free from the threat of nuclear weapons.