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I am initiating this blog at the U.N. as a delegate for PSR/IPPNW at the '2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. The purpose is to chronicle this experience and share it with the many individuals who nurture and share my efforts. Their support sustains me and I thank them.
Overview 2010 Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Conference
2010 NPT Review Conference
Followers
Blog Archive
About Me
- robert dodge
- I am committed to the idea that an individual can and must make a difference in the world. Nuclear weapons abolition, non-violent conflict mediation and global sustainability are my primary areas of focus.
Significant efforts among many
-Physicians for Social Responsibility - www.psr.org
-International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War www.ippnw.org
-Beyond War - www.beyondwar.org
-Global Zero - www.globalzero.org
-International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons www.icanw.org
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation - www.napf.org
Nuclear Threat Initiative - www.nti.org
Campaign for a Nuclear Weapons Free World - www.nuclearweaponsfree.org
Mayors for Peace "Vision 2020 Campaign" - www.2020visioncampaign.org
Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions - www.c-p-r.net
Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament - www.PNND.org
Inter-Parliamentary Union - www.IPU.org
NPT Review Conference piece in Ventura Star on day of departure
Ventura doctor heading to U.N. nuclear conference
By Anne Kallas
Friday, April 30, 2010
Capping more than 30 years of dedication to nuclear disarmament, Ventura physician Robert Dodge has been selected as one of two Californians to serve on the U.S. Delegation to the U.N. Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 2010 Review Conference, which starts Monday in New York City.
Dodge is going as a delegate of Physicians for Social Responsibility and its American affiliate of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985 for its work on the risks and health effects of nuclear explosions. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will lead the U.S. delegation.
Dodge, a family physician and a founder of the Ventura-based Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions, will attend the first week of the month-long conference on the United Nations non-proliferation treaty, which is reviewed every five years.
He described it as “the cornerstone treaty on nuclear weapons, control and disarmament. There are other treaties, such as START, etc., but this is the cornerstone with 190 signatory nations.”
The conference will look at the treaty’s three pillars: that nuclear states not give nuclear materials to non-nuclear states; that all states agree to negotiations for disarmament; and that all agree to recognize the right of any nation to develop nuclear power, said Dodge, adding that he has personal reservations about the last pillar.
Martha Arguello, executive director of Physicians for Social Responsibility in Los Angeles, said Dodge was the best choice to attend the conference.
“He is an exemplary example of a physician who understands healing happens outside of the clinical setting, as well as an incredible ambassador, educating people about dangers of nuclear war. For us, he is the ideal person because he understands prevention is our only option,” Arguello said.
Dodge said he is paying his own way to attend the conference, where he hopes to speak with delegates from the United States and other countries about the dangers that nuclear stockpiles pose. He said the United Nations asked for non-government groups to provide input during this review, and while he won’t be making any official presentations, he will be working behind the scenes for nuclear disarmament.
Dodge said he became involved in nuclear disarmament and peace issues as a young man, and his commitment was cemented after the birth of his first child, David, in 1982.
“I am doing this from the standpoint basically both as a physician and as somebody who came out of the ’60s and ’70s with a sense of making a better world,” Dodge said. “It is our responsibility as parents to speak out on one of the most catastrophic threats to mankind.”
© 2010 Scripps Newspaper Group — Online
Bob,
ReplyDeleteThank you for representing us and telling us the story as it unfolds!
In friendship,
Kris
love you joanie
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