1979-02 Document 29 RESOLUTION ON DISARMAMENT WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES Conference

CONSEIL OECUMENIQUE DES EGLISES

WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES

Conference on Faith, Science, and the Future

July 12-24, 1979 Cambridge, Massachusetts

Document #29 RESOLUTION ON DISARMAMENT

SCIENCE FOR PEACE

We, scientists, engineers, theologians and members of Christians churches from all parts of the world, except China, participants in the WCC Conference on Faith, Science and the Future, now meeting at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, acknowledge with penitence the part played by science in the development of weapons of mass destruction and the failure of the churches to oppose it, and now plead with the nations of the world for the reduction and eventual abolition of such weapons.

WHEREAS:

The arsenals of tens of thousands of nuclear weapons already constitute a grave peril to humankind;

Sharp changes by the superpowers towards a counterforce strategy are so destabilizing that sober scientists estimate a nuclear holocaust is probable before the end of the century;

There is widespread ignorance of the horrible experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the even greater implications of limited or global nuclear war with current and projected nuclear weapons;

We are profoundly disturbed by the willingness of some scientists, engineers and corporations, with the backing of governments, to pursue profit and prestige in weapons development at the risk of an unparalleled destruction of human life;

The waste of the increasingly scarce materials and energy resources of the world on the instruments of war means further deprivation of the poor whom we are commanded to serve;

We grieve that so many of the most able scientists, especially the young ones, are seduced away from the nobler aspirations of science into the unwitting service of mutual destruction;

In a time of radical re-adjustment of the world economy the intolerable burden of the nuclear arms race creates worldwide economic problems;

AND BECAUSE WE BELIEVE:

That God made us all creation;

That He requires us to seek peace, justice and freedom, creating a world where none need fear and every life is sacred;

That with His grace no work pf faith, hope and love need seem too hard for those who trust Him;

WE NOW CALL UPON:

All member communions of the WCC and all sister churches sending official observers, and through them each individual church and congregation;

Our fellow religionists and believers in other cultures, whether Hindu, Jewish, Buddhist, or Moslem, and our Marxist colleagues;

The science and engineering community, especially those engaged in research and development, together with professional scientific associations and trade unions;

The governments of all nations and especially the Nuclear Powers;

All concerned citizens of the world;

TO EMBARK IMMEDIATELY ON THE FOLLOWING TAKS:

To support and implement the WCC Programme on Disarmament and against Militarism and the Arms Race, and give special emphasis to issues related to military technology and its conversion to peaceful uses;

To welcome and give practical support to the initiatives by the UN and its special agencies on disarmament, which affirm the right of all nations to participate in the effort to solve these global problems;

To press for the full implementation of SALT II, to work without delay for the reduction of nuclear weapons through SALT III, and to complete at long last a Comprehensive Test Ban, all of which are urgent and necessary steps in making the Non-Proliferation Treaty effective;

To stop the development and production of new forms and systems of nuclear weapons;

While welcoming the exchange of scientific and technical information made possible through the Pugwash Conferences, other international scientific conferences, and the SALT process, to press for further exchanges of information as a means of reducing international mistrust;

To educate and raise the consciousness of every constituency to the realities of nuclear war in such a way that people cease to avoid it as issue too big to handle; in particular we recommend the formation of local study groups on the dangers of nuclear war and approaches to disarmament;

To use every available means to restore confidence in the sisterhood and brotherhood of all, to remove fear and suspicion, to appose hate – mongering and militarism, and to undo the policies of any with a vested interest in war;

To prepare local and national programmes for the conversion to civilian use of laboratories and factories related to military research and production, and to provide for the retaining and re-employment of those who work in them;

To resolve never again to allow science and technology to threaten the destruction of human life, and to accept the God-given task using SCIENCE FOR PEACE.