Scotland Campaign Launch 16 November

2015-11-02 W van der Zeijden Action, News

Companies that manufacture nuclear weapons, like Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems, depend on investments by banks and other financial institutions. And the Royal Bank of Scotland is the largest investor in nuclear weapons in the UK. But they are not the only investors in weapons of mass destruction. Many pension funds, including those of our public institutions, also invest in them. Anyone with a bank account or a pension may be unwittingly and unwillingly tangled up in this intricate and insidious web. But that also gives us the power to demand divestment and remove support from companies that profit from nuclear madness.Nuclear weapons are the only weapons of mass destruction not yet explicitly prohibited by an international treaty. This may soon change: 121 countries have recently pledged to “fill the legal gap” with respect to the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons, as an urgent humanitarian imperative. A new ban treaty, which could be negotiated in the near future even without the participation of nuclear-armed states such as theUK, could include a prohibition on the financing of nuclear weapon production, maintenance and modernisation. This could have a profound effect on UK policy and practice on nuclear weapons, which the panel will discuss.

Chair: Brian Larkin, Coordinator of Edinburgh Peace and Justice Centre

Speakers:

Wilbert van der Zeijden and Maaike Beenes, co-authors of the Don’t Bank on the Bomb report from Pax (Netherlands).
Rebecca Sharkey ICAN UK – Campaigner on the growing global movement to ban nuclear weapons.
Speaker from Medact on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons.
Speaker from Edinburgh University People & Planet on the ongoing campaign to hold the University to a higher standard of ethical divestment.
Campaign Against the Arms Trade Speaker.

WHEN – Monday, 16 November 2015. Tea, coffee and cake from 7pm. Speakers 7:15 – 8pm. Q&A / Discussion. Planning for future campaigning 8:30 – 9pm.

WHERE – City of Edinburgh Methodist Church, 25 Nicolson Square Edinburgh EH8 9BX GB – View Map.

Please book a place on Eventbrite so we have an idea of numbers for catering:

Please share the event on Facebook and twitter.

November 2, 2015