Res. No. 1123
Resolution commemorating the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 2005 and Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 2005, and calling upon Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to sign a Mayoral Statement supporting the commencement of negotiations on the elimination of nuclear weapons, and further calling upon the United States Congress and President George W. Bush to support the immediate commencement of such negotiations.
By Council Members Perkins, Barron, James, Liu, Rivera, Sanders Jr., Seabrook and Vann
Whereas, August 6 and August 9, 2005, commemorate the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan during World War II; and
Whereas, The bombings destroyed the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and according to some estimates, had killed or injured approximately 200,000 people, with thousands more eventually dying due to radiation-linked ailments; and
Whereas, The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki marked the first time that nuclear weapons were used in combat, and ushered in the nuclear age that led to the cold war; and
Whereas, The world is currently threatened by the proliferation of nuclear weapons and the outbreak of nuclear war as more nations seek ways to develop their nuclear technology; and
Whereas, Article 6 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which has been signed by 189 nations including the United States, mandates that “each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to [the] cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament;” and
Whereas, The United States has refused to honor its agreement under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and is, on the contrary, working to develop new, more usable nuclear weapons that can be used as conventional weapons on the battlefield; and
Whereas, The Mayors for Peace Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons, led by the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, has launched an international campaign which calls for negotiations to eliminate nuclear weapons to begin immediately and conclude by 2010, with the goal of having global nuclear disarmament fully implemented by 2020; and
Whereas, Abolition Now has initiated a global campaign centered on encouraging Mayors from around the world to endorse the plans put forth by The Mayors for Peace Emergency Campaign to Ban Nuclear Weapons; and
Whereas, On June 28, 2004, The United States Conference of Mayors passed a Resolution supporting the commencement of negotiations on the elimination of nuclear weapons and has urged members to sign a Mayoral Statement in support of such negotiations; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York commemorates the 60th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima, Japan on August 6, 2005 and Nagasaki, Japan on August 9, 2005; and, be it further
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg to sign a Mayoral Statement supporting the commencement of negotiations on the elimination of nuclear weapons; and, be it further
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the United States Congress and President George W. Bush to support the immediate commencement of such negotiations.
LS#3272
RA
7/19/2005
h:/word/resolutions/perkins/ls#3272