When a city becomes a battleground, everything generations of mayors and citizens have worked so hard to build is destroyed. When international stability is said to depend on mutual assured destruction, the hostages – cities – are in grave danger.

Mayors for Peace is the leading international organization devoted to protecting cities from the scourge of war and mass destruction.  Our 2020 Vision Campaign aims to establish a nuclear-weapon-free world by the year 2020.

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Three-quarters of all nations support UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s proposal for a treaty to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons, according to a study released today by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Of the 146 nations to have declared their willingness to negotiate a new global disarmament pact, four maintain nuclear stockpiles: China, India, Pakistan and North Korea.

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It has been an objective of Mayors for Peace from the days of its founding to see nuclear weapon testing prohibited. On December 8th, the world took a step closer to that goal when the Indonesian Parliament ratified the Comprehensive (nuclear) Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

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Caracas (Venezuela), December 3rd 2011 - Leaders from 33 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean formally established the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) as the new leading regional bloc. The newly formed group that intends to be the leading regional bloc called for nuclear disarmament in one of its declarations, which includes preparing joint positions for the 2015 NPT Review Conference and a call for the convening of a high-level conference “to identify ways and methods to eliminate nuclear weapons as soon as possible” with a view to establishing a time-bound framework to “prohibit the development, production, acquisition, testing, stockpiling, transfer, use or threat of use, and also stipulate their destruction.”

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Geneva, Switzerland, 26th November 2011 -- On behalf of its more than 5000 city-members, Mayors for Peace welcomes the Red Cross & Red Crescent Movement resolution “Working towards the elimination of nuclear weapons”.

Aaron Tovish, International Director of the 2020 Vision Campaign of Mayors for Peace said: “The resolution is crystal clear that it is the responsibility of all states to ensure that there are no more Hiroshimas or Nagasakis.”

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Granollers (Spain), November 10th 2011 - Sixteen delegations of Mayors for Peace leading cities and associations of local governments met for three days in the Spanish city of Granollers. The summit meetings included the annual General Meeting of the 2020 Vision Campaign, the Board of Directors and the bi-annual Executive Conference of Mayors for Peace.

The final resolution of the summit reaffirmed the goal of Mayors for Peace to protect cities from the threat of nuclear mass destruction and approved an action plan to eliminate all nuclear weapons by 2020. Great concern was expressed that, in a time of global economic crisis, Nuclear Weapons States plan to spend 1 trillion US$ on nuclear weapons in the next decade, while local governments are forced to make deep cuts in vital services with the Millennium Development Goals falling farther and farther behind.

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Granollers (Spain), 9th November 2011 - The results of a survey conducted with member-cities in Latin America and the Caribbean were presented during the Executive Conference of Mayors for Peace in Granollers. In a presentation made by Mr. Claudio Maffei, Mayor of Porto Feliz (SP, Brazil) and vice-president of FNP, and Pol Heanna, International Development Director, the Latin American perspective was explored on topics concerning the 2020 Vision Campaign and their perceived local security threats.

The results of the survey confirmed the importance of Article 1 of the Covenant of Mayors for Peace. With the perceived distant threat of nuclear weapons for the nuclear weapon free region, Latin American local governments are faced on a daily bases with some other ''vital problems for the human race such as starvation and poverty, the plight of refugees, human rights abuses, and environmental degradation'' mentioned in the first article of the Covenant of Mayors for Peace.   

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Foz de Iguacu, October 18th 2011 - The Brazilian National Front of Mayors (FNP) officially joined the leadership of Mayors for Peace during their General Meeting in Foz de Iguacu (Parana). João Coser, the Mayor of Vitoria (ES) and President of FNP co-signed on Op-ed in Folha de Sao Paulo asking President Dilma to take leadership to organize the Special Disarmament Conference as proposed by Mayors for Peace.

The Op-ed, the main article on page 3,  announced publicly that ''believing in the importance of their involvement in global issues, the FNP will officially become part of the leadership of Mayors for Peace during the meeting that begins today [October 17th] in Foz de Iguacu. Let us all endorse the words of President Rousseff to "redouble our efforts towards general and complete nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control", and reminding the international community that cities can no longer be considered targets.''.

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Bern (Switzerland), October 16th 2011 - Mayor Guy Morin of Basel, Switzerland, a Leading Mayor of the 2020 Vision Campaign gave a keynote speech at a conference organized by Parliamentarians for Nuclear nonproliferation and Disarmament (PNND).  Campaign Director, Aaron Tovish, attend the PNND Annual Assembly to discussion future cooperation in the context of the 2020 Vision Campaign.  The meetings took place in Bern, Switzerland, in conjunction with the International Parliamentary Union’s annual conference.  Like Mayors for Peace and United Cities and Local Governments, thanks to PNND the IPU has endorsed the UN Secretary-General’s Five Point Plan, including negotiations of a nuclear weapons convention.

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Mayors for Peace has welcomed Mayor Kang as a new member of Mayors for Peace.  Mayor Kang is still in jail for his non-violent civil disobedience against the construction of a new huge naval base. Mayors can now express their support here by sending this statement.  Thank you for taking action!

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Astana (Kazakhstan), 10^th-14^th October 2011 - A delegation from Mayors for Peace leadership - Nagasaki and Ypres- joined the International Forum for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World in Astana. A warm welcome and four days of very interesting meetings, discussions and visits were on the agenda.

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Santa Barbara (California), October 9th 2011 - The past Mayors for Peace President and former Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba received the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s Distinguished Peace Leadership Award in Santa Barbara, California. Shigeko Sasamori, a survivor of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima received the World Citizenship Award on behalf of all Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha). The awards were presented during the Foundation’s 28^th Annual Evening for Peace, “From Hiroshima to Hope.”

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Buenos Aires, September 21st 2011 - Mayors for Peace signed an agreement of cooperation with IC-Argentina at the end of the Latin American Security Conference in the Argentinian capital. IC-Argentina, the operational organizer of many conferences for local governments in the region, is a private consulting firm working with local governments throughout Latin America.

In the agreement signed today Mayors for Peace recognizes the valuable contribution of IC-Argentina during the Week of Latin American Municipalities in Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata in October 2010. Mayors for Peace is very thankful for the support offered by IC-Argentina towards the 66th Hiroshima commemoration on August 6th 2011.

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Participating in events marking the UN’s International Day of Peace, Mayors, 2020 Vision Campaigners, and staff spread the good news that the Mayors for Peace network has surpassed the 5000-members mark. 

Word was first released in Hiroshima by the President of Mayors for Peace, Mayor Kazumi Matsui, “"We hope that international moves to seek to eliminate nuclear weapons will gain further momentum.  We will make efforts to draw more cities to speedily achieve a treaty to ban nuclear weapons." 

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Buenos Aires, September 21st 2011 - Julio Pereyra, Mayor of Florencio Varela & President of FAM (Federation of Argentinian Municipalities) has joined the leadership of Mayors for Peace. FAM is instrumental to increase our presence and activities in Argentina.

Mayors for Peace participated the past couple of days in a Latin American conference organized by FAM and FLACMA on citizens security issues in Buenos Aires. During the conference 8 Mayors joined Mayors for Peace.

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Montes de Oro, Costa Rica, September 17 2011 - An excellent meeting to develop Mayors for Peace in Costa Rica was held today with Mr. Alvaro Jimenez Cruz, Mayor of Montes de Oro & President of the Association of Mayors of Costa Rica .

The meeting was convened in Montes de Oro by Dr.Edine von Herold, ex-Senator of Costa Rica and pediatrician. We were joined by Carlos Manuel Vicente Castro, Ex-Member of Parliament and ex-Minister of Costa Rica, Naara Keyla Reyes Nunez, volunteer MfP Costa Rica and Enrique Tovar, journalist and writer.

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Managua, Nicaragua, September 16th 2011 - Today an extraordinary general assembly of AMUNIC, the Nicaragua Association of Local Governments, adopted a declaration in support of the 2020 Vision Campaign of Mayors for Peace. Nicaragua is the only country in the world where 100% of all 153 Nicaraguan  Mayors have joined Mayors for Peace.

The General meeting of the Nicaraguan Mayors has decided to promote actively Mayors for Peace through the partner Associations of Local Governments in  Central America and through FLACMA, the Federation of local governments for Latin America and the Caribbean.. AMUNIC also decided to establish Mayors for Peace through a national and possible also regional office of MfP in Managua.

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Mexico City, September 13^th 2011 – The past couple of days new developments were discussed to establish Mayor for Peace in Mexico. Meetings involving the international relations department of the City of Mexico, AALMAC (Association of Local Authorities of Mexico), OPANAL, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mexican ICLEI branch office.

During the meetings it was recognized that Mexico City the first Executive City of Mayors for Peace in Latin America, is challenged to promote the 2020 Vision Campaign as the nuclear threat is perceived very distant in the Global South. This while Mexico and the Global South in general, encounters many other security challenges such as poverty, the proliferation of small arms and narco traffic.

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Ypres, September 7th 2011 - We are very happy to announce that the Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign Association has appointed Mr. Benedict Winnubst as and Mr. Bert Sweerts as 2020 Vision Campaigners in the Netherlands, Ms Micaela Mezzadra as a 2020 Vision Campaigner in Argentina and Ms Bibiana Ángel González as a 2020 Vision Campaigner in Colombia and Argentina.

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Hiroshima, September 1st 2011 - Mayors for Peace announced today that 108 new members officially joined the network during August raising the total membership to 5,000 member cities. However municipal mergers deduced 16 members, resulting in a net count of 4,984. 

Amongst the new members we welcome Bangkok. With the capital of Thailand Mayors for Peace now has 106 of the world capitals amongst its members. The network also welcomes Mr. Kang Dong-Kyun, the Mayor of Gangjeong, South-Korea in its network. Mayor Kang signed the Mayors for Peace membership registration-form while in prison. He has been imprisoned for leading non-violent resistance to the construction of a naval base near his town on Jeju Island.

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BREAKING NEWS - being updated

Jeju Island (South Korea), August 28th 2011 - Today Mr. Kang Dong-Kyun, Mayor of Gangjeong, signed the Mayors for Peace membership registration-form while in police custody. Mayor Kang joined Mayors for Peace during a visit of the village committee chairman Mr. Go Gwon-Il. Mayor Kang has been on the forefront of non-violent protests against plans to establish a new naval base in his village. Mayor Kang was arrested on August 24th. On Monday Mayor Kang is to be transferred to Jeju prison. Jeju Island means Peace Island. The new member of Mayors for Peace appeals to international solidarity: ''I want to embody the spirit of Jeju as the Peace Island during the struggle''. If not a mayor, Mr Kang is a farmer who groves tangerines.

You can send messages of support to Jeju Prison.

Mayor Kang Dong-Kyun (No. 621)
Jeju Prison, 161 Ora-2dong, Jeju City, Jeju Special Island, 690-162, South Korea 

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Hiroshima & Nagasaki, August 9th 2011 - This year both the Hiroshima and the Nagasaki Peace Declarations mark a shift in the position of the two A-bombed cities towards nuclear energy. The policy shift comes in the middle of the Fukushima nuclear crisis that continues to haunt Japan and the world.

Both Mayor Matsui and Mayor Taue renewed their call to work towards establishing a world free of nuclear weapons by 2020. Government representatives from 68 countries attended the Hiroshima peace ceremony. This year a U.S. representative attended the Nagasaki peace ceremony for the first time. The U.S. bomb ''Little Boy'' killed 140,000 people in 1945 alone in Hiroshima. Three days later ''Fat Man'' killed 80,000 people in Nagasaki.

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Lima, Peru, August 6th 2011 - Over one hundred people marched through streets of La Victoria to commemorate the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. La Victoria joined Mayors for Peace last month. 

The City Hall of La Victoria hosted the event called “A Thousand Cranes for Peace” organized by the Women Network of Local Authorities of the Lima and Callao region (MUALIC) together with Mayors for Peace.

The movement was led by the Mayor of La Victoria, Mr. Alberto Sánchez Aizcorbe, who launched white balloons to the sky as an expression of peace from Peru to the world.

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Tokyo, August 4 2011 - Nagasaki Mayor Taue, Vice-President of Mayors for Peace, met with Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto today where he promoted  a nuclear weapon-free zone covering Japan and the two Koreas.

Nagasaki Mayor calls on the Japanese government to work toward the creation of a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Northeast Asian region. Mayor Taue submitted signatures of 103 Japanese municipality heads in support of this proposal to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo. The request was also signed by the Mayor Kazumi Matsui of Hiroshima.

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Hiroshima, August 1st 2011 - As Mayors for Peace announced that 89 new members officially joined the network during July, many new registration-forms continued to reach the Hiroshima headquarters bringing the organization close to its 5,000 goal.

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Washington DC, 29th of July 2011 - The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) has for the first time sent a recruitment letter on behalf of Mayors for Peace to its full membership of nearly 1,200 mayors of cities with populations over 30,000. 

The letter,  mailed by Tom Cochran, USCM CEO and Executive Director, was signed by Mayor Donald Plusquellic of Akron Ohio, a Mayors for Peace Vice-President and USCM Past President, Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland California, new Chair of the USCM International Affairs Committee, and 13 additional Mayors for Peace members from across the country.  

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On August 6^th Belgian Mayors for Peace member cities join efforts with Abolition 2000 to commemorate the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings in nine Belgian cities. A moment of reflection, a day when everybody should take the time to stand still and remember what happened 66 years ago. It is a sign of solidarity, and a big ‘never again’!

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Paranaguá (Brazil), July 4th 2011 - Mayors for Peace and the Brazilian Association of Hibakusha were invited for the commemorations of the 363 anniversary of the city of Paranaguá (PR), in Brazil. Paranaguá is the third largest port city in Brazil. Today Mr. José Baka Filho, Mayor of Paranaguá, hosted a special event to celebrate their membership to Mayors for Peace with the opening of a public exhibition of the A-Bomb. The Mayor of Paranaguá successfully invited other Mayors from coastal cities of the state of Parana to join Mayors for Peace. The events were all well attended and received very positive media coverage.

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Hiroshima, July 1st 2011 - Mayors for Peace announced today that 71 new member cities have joined during the month of May 2011. The network of local governments now counts 4,803 member cities in 151 countries. With the new members Japan now tops 1,000 members. Also Mayor Alson Kelen from the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands is amongst the new members. The Bikini Atoll is still suffering of the terrible consequences of the March 1st 1954 'Bravo' US atomic explosion.

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Buenos Aires, June 30th 2011 - The FAM (Federation of Argentinian Municipalities) has invited all its members to join Mayors for Peace before the upcoming Hiroshima commemoration of August 6th. FAM was instrumental to receive the support of Mr. Hector Timerman, the Minister of Foreign Affairs from Argentina, who noted in a letter on March 9th to the Mayor of Hiroshima that Argentina will participate in a Special Disarmament Conference as proposed by Mayors for Peace.

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Baltimore, June 20th 2011 - The US Conference of Mayors today unanimously adopted a resolution calling on President Obama to work with the leaders of the other nuclear weapon states to implement the United Nations Secretary-General's 5-point plan to negotiate the elimination of nuclear weapons, by the year 2020, as urged by Mayors for Peace.

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Question: Is it possible to push Mayors for Peace membership over the 5000 threshold by August 6^th?  The answer from the 2020 Vision Campaign Board of Directors June 9^th meeting: YES!  A major motivation is the desire to provide media coverage of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki commemoration with an additional news hook.  The message to the world will be “Cities are not targets!  Abolish nuclear weapons!”

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Brasilia, June 16th 2011 - Mayors for Peace published the first newsletter for Brazil aiming to bring its activities and information closer to Brazilian Mayors. The publication was produced with the FNP (Frente Nacional de Prefeitos) and ABM (Associação Brasileira de Municípios), two major associations of local governments in Brazil. The first publication reports the developments achieved so far in Brazil, as well as other relevant events about the international network. The FNP gathers the almost 200 largest cities of Brazil, while ABM brings together almost 3,500 smaller Brazilian municipalities.

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The Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign Association has appointed Mr. Jorge Núñez Alba as a 2020 Vision Campaigner in Mexico and Mr. Samil Yaciner as a 2020 Vision Campaigner in Turkey.

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Bogota, May 20^th, 2011 - Today Mayors for Peace signed an agreement of co-operation with the Federacion Colombiana de Municipios (FCM). FCM commits to support the 2020 Vision Campaign, while Mayors for Peace commits to promote the work of the Colombian network of Municipalities for Peace, a network part of the FCM.

The agreement was celebrated at the headquarters of the FCM in Bogota during a moving signing ceremony with the staff of the association. The ceremony was reported on the national television of Colombia.

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Lima (Peru), May 19th 2011 - Mayors for Peace signed an agreement of co-operation with the Federación de Municipios Libres de Perú (FEMULP) during their VI National Meeting of Municipalities on May 18th in Lima, Peru. On the following day FEMULP organized several events at City halls near the capital, while there was also a meeting with representatives at the City Hall of Lima where progress was made for Peru's capital to join Mayors for Peace.

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UNITED NATIONS, Geneva, May 17th 2011 - Mayors for Peace warns diplomats about the catastrophic climatological and humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, according to latest scientific evidence, during a one-day seminar in Geneva.

On 17 May, Mayors for Peace hosted a seminar entitled “Ecological and Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Warfare” in Geneva, Switzerland, for government delegates to the UN’s Conference on Disarmament. 

Presentations by leading scientists highlighted the alarming evidence for catastrophic consequences of even limited nuclear warfare on the climate, food production, human nutrition, and global security. Discussion emphasised the need for research to further elaborate the extent of such catastrophes and for increased awareness among governmental officials and the general public.

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The mayors of the world’s two atom-bombed cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, met Tuesday in Nagasaki and agreed to continue their efforts to realize a world free from nuclear weapons.

Mr. Kazumi Matsui (picture) was elected mayor of Hiroshima for the first time in the April 10 mayoral election, and has assumed the Presidency of the international network of Mayors for Peace.

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According to a Kyodo News report some 700 peace activists left Tokyo on Friday for their annual walk to Hiroshima. The marchers plan to reach the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Aug 4, two days ahead of the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing of the city.

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Brasilia, April 7th 2011 - The Frente Nacional de Prefeitos (FNP) invited Mayors for Peace to the Brazilian capital for their 59th General Meeting. Nearly 100 Brazilian Mayors elected the new FNP board. The new FNP Board was welcomed by President Dilma Rousseff.

Mayors for Peace had also the opportunity to discuss future co-operation with the Associação Brasileira de Municípios (ABM) and the Confederação Nacional de Municípios (CNM).  The proposal to increase Mayors for Peace membership up to one thousand Brazilian Mayors before the end of 2011 has been welcomed by both the FNP and ABM.

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The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) organized a packed All-Ireland Forum addressing the nuclear disasters in Fukushima and Chernobyl, as well as the total elimination of nuclear weapons. The NFLA is a local government association based in the City Hall of Manchester (UK), a long-time Mayors for Peace Vice-President City. The NFLA campaigns against both military and civilian nuclear hazards. A presentation by representatives from the 2020 Vision Campaign International Secretariat was welcomed by the audience.  Ireland, which is not member of NATO, has played a historic role to advance the establishment of a nuclear weapon free world.

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Mayors for Peace announced today that 140 new member cities have joined during the month of March 2011. This is the largest monthly growth ever recorded since the association was founded in 1982.

Today Mayors for Peace counts 4,680 local governments in its growing network present in 150 countries and regions. The network, Presided by Hiroshima Mayor Dr. Tadatoshi Akiba, campaigns for the total elimination of nuclear weapons by 2020. The enormous growth of the network is explained by hundreds of population centres being targets and threatened with nuclear annihilation.

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In front of a packed audience of government officials, NGO representatives and media, Mayors for Peace presented the petition, which calls on the leaders of all nation states to “free innocent children and global citizens from the threat of nuclear weapons” by starting immediate negotiations for a nuclear-weapon-free world.

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Mayors for Peace’s Representative to the UN Office in Geneva urged diplomats to negotiate legally binding negative security assurances (NSAs) with a view to achieving total nuclear disarmament.

During the historic meeting with NGO representatives, which was chaired by Canadian Ambassador Marius Grinius, Mayors for Peace representative Esteban Ramirez-Gonzalez, reaffirmed the view of over 4,500 mayors from around the world, that “Cities are not targets” and reminded diplomats that “nuclear-armed states have the responsibility of providing legal protection against the effects, both direct and indirect, of potential nuclear confrontation.”

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On February 10, Orlando, Florida joined Mayors for Peace with a moving public ceremony at City Hall.  The signing ceremony was a high point of the 7th Annual Orlando Latin American Film & Heritage Festival (OLA Fest). Opening the ceremony, OLA Festival organizer Nelson Betancourt, described it as a “sacred occasion.”

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Dakar (Senegal) -  Mayors for Peace received the unanimous support of the FAL Network (Forum of Local Authorities for Social Inclusion and Participatory Democracy) in the final declaration of the IX Assembly meeting in Dakar, Senegal on February 8th, 2011. The meeting of the FAL Network coincides with the World Social Forum.

The fundamental aim of FAL is to turn cities into important actors in the process of globalization. Mayors for Peace is also gaining increasing support from Mayors across Senegal.

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In January, the 2020 Vision Campaign Secretariat in Ypres was lucky enough to receive a visit from Wolfgang and Brigitte Schlupp-Wick, a German couple who recently undertook a six month international cycle tour to campaign against nuclear weapons.

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