MAPW congratulates and celebrates with ICAN the award of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize to this outstanding campaign which is achieving so much towards our goal of a nuclear weapons free world. The award will be presented in Oslo on Sunday, 10 December, very late evening (not so late for our friends and colleagues in WA!). There will be celebrations in Melbourne, the birthplace of ICANi (10 Dec), Perth (10 Dec) and Canberra (13 Dec).
ICANi was founded by MAPW Australia just over a decade ago. It was conceived in the mind of former IPPNWi Co-President, Malaysian retired obstetrician Dr Ron McCoy, who, in the wake of the 2005 NPT Review Conference that failed to progress nuclear disarmament, said “We need an international campaign to abolish nuclear weapons”. And so we created one. The message regarding the health and humanitarian impacts of any nuclear weapons use has been pivotal in the successful negotiation this year of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and its adoption by the UN on 7 July.
A good strong contingent from MAPW and ICAN Australia, including MAPW’s immediate past president Dr Margie Beavis, will be in Oslo for the award ceremony and all the associated media, cultural and other events. Watch out for familiar names and faces! We are proud of all of them, and particularly recognise the herculean efforts on the global stage of MAPW past president and ICANi founding chair Associate Professor Tilman Ruff, and of MAPW past president and ICANi global campaigner the late Dr Bill Williams.
A sincere thank you to all of you for helping make this happen. The award is not to individuals but to all of us. We’ve huge challenges ahead, but the recognition by the Nobel Committee of what has been achieved gives great heart as we redouble our efforts.
For a nuclear weapons free world
Dr Sue Wareham
MAPW President