9.11.07

Kravet om Irak-kommission skal ind i valgkampen

----- Original meddelelse -----

Hermed følger den udtalelse, der nu udsendes til Ritzau og aviser i

forbindelse med valgkampen. Den kan ligeledes lægges på hjemmesiden.

Med venlig hilsen

Bent Christensen

Udtalelse fra Danmarks Fredsråds bestyrelse:

Kravet om Irak-kommission skal ind i valgkampen

Borgerkrigen i Irak fortsætter og synes udsigtsløs. Danmark har med sin

deltagelse i invasionen et medansvar for denne udvikling.

Danmarks Fredsråd foreslår, at en kommission både undersøger

beslutningsprocessen bag Danmarks deltagelse, Irak-krigens lovlighed, og

hvorvidt koalitionsstyrkerne har begået tortur eller andre overgreb.

Den sidste tids begivenheder, hvor lejesoldater dræber civile irakere og

ikke kan retsforfølges, er eksempler på forhold, der er uacceptable, og

som Danmark ikke kan ignorere.

8. november 2007

Bent Christensen, formand

Lave Broch, næstformand

PRESS COMMUNIQUE

IPB on Iran situation -~ a question of justice, law and survival

Geneva, Nov. 7. Last week six major powers agreed to draft a third UN

Security Council resolution on sanctions against Iran over its nuclear

programme. Officials from the US, Russia, China, France, Britain and

Germany will meet on 19 November to assess UN and EU reports. Meanwhile,

there are continuing rumours and warlike gestures, threatening strikes

against Iran, and this against the background of revived international

tensions and a re-launching of the arms race.~ These developments are

causing grave concern around the world.

Yes, we must prevent new countries acquiring nuclear weapons. To reach

that goal, states that already possess nuclear weapons themselves must

renounce their claim that these weapons are indispensable for their

security, and commit themselves to making real progress towards nuclear

disarmament, as they are legally bound to do by international treaties.

This is a matter of justice and respect for international law. It is also

a question of the survival of humanity, since weapons always end up being

used.

In the case of Iran, the heavy-handed attitude demonstrated by the US and

some of its allies like the UK and France, risks pushing the world into a

spiral of horror. The negotiations that have recently had some positive

results should be the only option; they have shown their effectiveness in

the North Korean case. Also, the Iranian people must be convinced that

they are safe from attack, contrary to what the partisans of the clash of

civilizations and those who favour a confrontation at any price might say.

The whole region of the Middle East must commit itself to disarmament. The

end of the occupation of Iraq, and the resolution of the

Israel-Palestinian conflict, will help to ease the tensions felt by the

peoples of this region who have suffered so much from war.

The IPB, conscious that humankind has reached a critical point in relation

to nuclear proliferation, appeals to the peoples of the world to act now

to relaunch the disarmament process. Not only is the survival of mankind

at stake;~ disarmament could free up enormous resources that could be used

to respond to the challenges of development, the environment, education

and health - the essential building blocks of sustainable peace.

From: (Mr) Colin Archer, Secretary-General

PRESS COMMUNIQUE

PEACE BUREAU TO AWARD MACBRIDE PRIZE TO SRI LANKAN DIPLOMAT

CEREMONY TO BE HELD AT BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA, NOV. 11, 2007

Geneva, 8 Nov. 2007. The International Peace Bureau announced today that

it will award the organisation's annual Peace Prize to Jayantha Dhanapala,

a highly-respected Sri Lankan diplomat, who has devoted his career to

disarmament and global justice. The award will be made during the

international seminar entitled Books or Bombs? Sustainable Disarmament for

Sustainable Disarmament, to held in collaboration with the Institute of

Peace Studies at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina from Nov. 11-12.

AWARD DATE: Sunday 11 Nov, 2007

TIME:10.00 am – programme available on request

ACCESS TO THE CEREMONY:contact IPS at: (+20) 03-483-9999. or email: [

mailto:mohamed.moustafa@bibalex.org ]mohamed.moustafa@bibalex.org[

mailto:mohamed.moustafa@bibalex.org ] or rania.emara@bibalex.org

Media Interviews available on request.

Jayantha Dhanapala

Like Sean MacBride (see below), Amb. Dhanapala is a remarkable figure on

the world stage. His diplomatic career has been a distinguished one. After

his studies, he rose high in the ranks of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, so

that by 1995 he was Sri Lankan Ambassador to the USA. He had by then

already seen postings in London, Beijing, and New Delhi. He was also

Ambassador at the UN Office in Geneva, and became Director of UNIDIR, the

UN's Disarmament Research Institute.

Dhanapala has made disarmament his special field of expertise, and he had

the honour of presiding over the historic 1995 NPT Review and Extension

Conference - and managed to find an ingenious solution acceptable to all

when most observers felt the Conference was deadlocked. He was UN

Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs from 1998 to 2003,and the

development of the Department under his leadership has been much

applauded. His profound dedication to the cause of disarmament is widely

appreciated, as is his genuine support for civil society efforts.

Amb. Dhanapala has not neglected the challenging situation in his own

country, and during a difficult period was the Special Adviser to the

Prime Minister, charged with handling the delicate negotiations with the

Tamil Tigers. In 2006 he was Sri Lanka's candidate for the position of UN

Secretary-General.Dhanapala remains actively involved in several

international bodies and is a member of various expert bodies, for example

the recent Blix Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction and in 1996 the

Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons< /FONT>. He has

also just been elected President of the Pugwash conferences on Science and

World Affairs.

Personal website: [ http://www.jayanthadhanapala.com

]www.jayanthadhanapala.com

About the Prize

Every year the IPB awards a special prize to a person or organisation that

has done outstanding work for peace, disarmament and/or human rights.

These were the principal concerns of Sean MacBride, the distinguished

Irish statesman who was Chairman of IPB from 1968-74 and President from

1974-1985. MacBride began his career as a fighter against British colonial

rule, studied law and rose to high office in the independent Irish

Republic. He was a winner of the Lenin Peace Prize, and also the Nobel

Peace Prize (1974) – awarded for his wide-ranging work, which included

roles such as co-founder of Amnesty International, Secretary-General of

the International Commission of Jurists, and UN Commissioner for Namibia.~

While at IPB he launched the Bradford Proposals on World Disarmament,which

laid the ground for the first UN Special Session on Disarmament, held in

1978. He also launched the MacBride Appeal against Nuclear Weapons, which

gathered the names of over 11,000 international lawyers from all parts of

the world, many of them at the very highest level. This effort paved the

way for the World Court Project on nuclear weapons, in which IPB played a

major role. This resulted in the historic 1996 Advisory Opinion of the

International Court of Justice on the Use and Threat of Nuclear Weapons.

MacBride died in 1988, but the Prize was not established until 1992, IPB's

centenary year.

The award is decided by the IPB Steering Committee. IPB members are

welcome to make suggestions and provide background documentation on

potential candidates. The Prize is a non-monetary one, consisting of a

medal cast by a well-known Irish craftsman.

About the IPB

The International Peace Bureau is dedicated to the vision of a World

Without War. We are a Nobel Peace Laureate (1910) and over the years 13 of

our officers have been recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize. Our 280 member

organisations in 70 countries, and individual members, form a global

network bringing together expertise and campaigning experience in a common

cause. Our current main programme centres on Sustainable Disarmament for

Sustainable Development. We welcome your participation.

MacBride Prize Winners, 1992-2006

Mayors for Peace

Awarded in Helsinki to Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima; and in

Nagasaki to Iccho Itoh,Mayor Nagasaki (who was subsequently murdered).

No award made

Leadersof the Geneva Initiative on the Middle East.

Nihon Hidankyo, the Japanese hibakusha or survivors of the A bomb attacks

on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.~ They have devoted the rest of their

lives to the elimination of nuclear weapons.

Barbara Lee, only member of US Congress to vote against the war on

Afghanistan.

Rosalie Bertell, Canada-based public health advocate, scientist, author –

who has put her professional skills at the service of victims of nuclear

and other disasters.

Praful Bidwai and Achin Vanaik, Indian journalists who have been at the

forefront of the international campaign against the nuclearisation of

South Asia.~ The IPB salutes their persistence, commitment and scholarly

attention to detail which have earned their work wide acclaim.

Barbara Gladysch, Mothers for Peace, Germany, as a tribute to her

outstanding and long-lasting commitment, both to disarmament and to

practical solidarity with victims of war and disaster.

John Hume, a member of the European Parliament for consistently advocating

non-violent solutions in Northern Ireland. Subsequently awarded Nobel

Peace Prize.

The Seeds of Hope group, UK for disarming a Hawk aircraft bound for

Indonesia.

Selim Beslagic, Mayor of Tuzla, Bosnia, a key proponent of a multi-ethnic

solution to the Bosnian crisis.

The Committee of Soldiers' Mothers of Russia, foremost among Russian

citizens' groups opposing the war in Chechnya.

Mordechai Vanunu, Israel, a former nuclear technician, sentenced to 18

years solitary confinement for revealing details of Israel's nuclear

arsenal.

Hilda Lini, Vanuatu, a former health minister who played a key role in the

WHO's decision to approve a request to the World Court on the legal status

of nuclear weapons.

Michael D Higgins, Ireland, a human rights lawyer, member of Parliament,

Labour Party President and Spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and a former

Minister for Arts, Culture & the Gaeltacht.

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