[A] global war against an amorphous set of enemies [designed] to bypass the constraints of international law on wartime authorities. This paradigm fed on fear and politicians’ expressed desire to guarantee that terrorism would not affect Americans at home again. In the process, the government imposed discriminatory and harmful policies, primarily against Muslims and communities of color at home and abroad, and fueled bigotry and stigma.

The last two and a half decades of both Republican and Democratic administrations in Washington have been characterized by endless wars, the use of torture, indefinite detention (first at Guantanamo, now in ICE facilities), and the killings of suspected “terrorists” without any judicial process. Drug cartels and traffickers are now labelled foreign terrorist organizations (FTOs) and “narco-terrorists” are summarily murdered at sea.

As UFPJ founding member organization, Veterans For Peace reflected on the 9/11 anniversary:

Unfortunately, instead of using the tragic events of 9/11 as an opportunity to examine U.S. foreign policy and why it led to such a dreadful day and enormous loss of life, our political and military leaders chose to use the deaths of thousands to justify more destruction and killing. They launched a campaign of revenge in Afghanistan, escalated the already decade-long war in Iraq, expanded war to Pakistan, Somalia, Yemen, Syria, and Libya, and eventually involved 76 nations.

Including, most recently, an illegal war in Iran.

And, on September 11, 2026, thirty-three UN Special Rapporteurs on human rights issued a joint statement decrying how this framework has spread worldwide with devastating consequences for human rights, civil society, civic space, democracy, and the rule of law

With this history in mind, the members of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, a founding member of UFPJ, planned its observation of the 25th anniversary of 9/11. It included three separate segments:  a rally at Union Square Park, a peace walk to Ground Zero, and a silent candlelight vigil at the 9/11 Memorial.

The rally was emceed by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! Jeremy Varon, author of the new history Our Grief Is Not a Cry for War: The Movement to Stop the War on Terror, offered some opening remarks about Peaceful Tomorrows’ advocacy and activism. Then, one by one, members of Peaceful Tomorrows, standing in front of the statue of Gandhi in the southwest corner of the park, read from the organization’s “Mission and Goals” and then recognized a person and organization that had been one of its vital partners over the years.

September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows’ Mission:

September 11^th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows is an organization founded by family members of those killed on September 11th who have united to turn our grief into action for peace. By developing and advocating nonviolent options and actions in the pursuit of justice, we hope to break the cycles of violence engendered by war and terrorism. Acknowledging our common experience with all people affected by violence throughout the world, we work to create a safer and more peaceful world for everyone.

Goal #1, is “To promote dialogue on alternatives to war, while educating and raising the consciousness of the public on issues of war, peace, and the underlying causes of terrorism.”

Colleen Kelly, whose brother William Kelly, Jr died in the WTC, described the “Walk for Peace and Healing,” where founding members of Peaceful Tomorrows met, and how they drafted the Mission and Goals on the back of a napkin over beers at the White Horse Tavern at the conclusion of the walk. It was Kathy Kelly (no relation) from Voices for Creative Nonviolence who organized that walk. Kathy recalled her many years of travelling to Iraq and the efforts to prevent the Bush Administration from going to war in 2003. Later, when the Obama Administration declared the War in Afghanistan still legitimate, Kathy turned to advocating for Afghan women’s rights and lawful government in Afghanistan, efforts members of Peaceful Tomorrows have joined.

Terry Greene, whose brother Donald Greene died on Flight 93 next read Goals #2: “To support and offer fellowship to others seeking non-violent responses to all forms of terrorism, both individual and institutional.” She introduced Elik Elhanan from the Parent’s Circle—Families Forum and Combatants for Peace. Elik, who served in a special forces unit in the Israel Defense Forces from 1995 – 1998, became a military refuser after his 14-year old sister was killed by a suicide bomber in Jerusalem. He is a longtime member of the Parents Circle-Families Forum, as is his father Rami Elhanan. Elik is also a co-founder of the Israeli-Palestinian group Combatants for Peace, which he described as being inspired by Veterans For Peace (whose flags were prominent in the crowd at Union Square).

Bill Tammeus, whose nephew Carlton Fyfe died in the WTC, next shared Goal #3: “To call attention to threats to civil liberties, human rights, and other freedoms in the U.S. as a consequence of war.” He introduced Daisy Khan, founder of the Women’s Islamic Initiative in Spirituality and Equality (WISE), a global network promoting peacebuilding, gender equality, and human dignity, and a leader on Muslim women’s rights and in America. Daisy spoke about the decades of grassroots work against anti-Muslim bias that she has carried out, often in partnership with members of Peaceful Tomorrows’ Countering Islamophobia Committee.

Anne Mulderry, whose son Stephen Mulderry died in the WTC, then read Goal #4: “To acknowledge our fellowship with all people affected by violence and war, recognizing that the resulting deaths are overwhelmingly civilian.” She introduced Masuda Sultan, an Afghan-America peace and women’s rights activist and the author of My War at Home. Masuda was one of Peaceful Tomorrows’ earliest partners, when four of the organization’s founding members traveled to Afghanistan in January of 2002, to bear witness to the families suffering from the deaths of their innocent, civilian relatives.

Aidan Salamone, whose father John Salamone died in the WTC, then shared Goal #5: “To encourage a multilateral, collaborative effort to bring those responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks to justice in accordance with the principles of international law.” Aidan then introduced Frida Berrigan, one of the founders of Witness Against Torture (WAT), a UFPJ member organization. Together they described the grave miscarriage of justice that has characterized the Guantanamo detention facilities and the Military Commissions at the Guantanamo Naval Base. There  has been no justice and accountability for the crimes of September 11, 2001, and the U.S. government is saying that a trial of the men accused of planning and supporting the attacks may begin in 2028. But during the past twenty-four and a half years, more than 750 Muslim men and boys have been wrongfully detained at Guantanamo, many of them tortured. WAT has been a great ally of Peaceful Tomorrows in denouncing torture and working to Close Guantanamo.

Terry Rockefeller, whose sister Laura Rockefeller died in the WTC, next read Goal #6: “To promote U.S. foreign policy that places a priority on internationally-recognized principles of human rights, democracy and self-rule.” After focusing, in particular, on the Bush Administration’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003, Terry introduced Michael Zweig, a Co-Convener of US Labor Against the War (USLAW), also a founding UFPJ member organization, and organizer of “Meeting Face to Face: the Iraq – U.S. Labor Solidarity Tour.” Following the Solidarity Tour, USLAW successfully campaigned to get the AFL-CIO to oppose the War in Iraq. Peaceful Tomorrows and USLAW both worked with the Iraqi Civil Society Solidarity Initiative to support Iraqi human rights activists, labor leaders, feminists, and environmentalist to achieve power and legitimacy in their country.

Peaceful Tomorrows’ Goal #7 is, “To demand ongoing investigations into the events leading up to the September 11, 2001 attacks that took the lives of our loved ones, including exhaustive examinations of U.S. foreign policies and national security failures.” Terry Rockefeller explained that Peaceful Tomorrows has no single partner for this final goal. Peaceful Tomorrows’ members hope that all peace and Justice activists will look hard at the U.S. foreign policy and national security failures that have taken place in the 25 years since 9/11. Terry concluded by observing that years after Peaceful Tomorrows was founded, it continues to attract new, younger members, giving us confidence that we will face these challenges.

Liz Miller, Peaceful Tomorrows’ Current Project Director, whose father, Douglas C. Miller, a firefighter, died at the WTC when she was only six years old, then asked everyone to join us on our walk to Ground Zero, “Standing Together for Peace.” Luke Nephew of the Peace Poets led the crowd off with words and songs of peace.

The sun set as the marchers reached Ground Zero. Each person was given an e-candle and asked to silently circle the 9/11 Memorial, bearing witness to the lives lost on 9/11 and in the twenty-five years since.

The post One Tenth of U.S. History Under a “War on Terror” Framework—September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows’ Actions on the 25th Anniversary of 9/11 appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

Every year on or around this date, the UN holds a high-level meeting of world leaders to discuss “urgent and effective measures” to achieve global nuclear disarmament. At the same time, citizens around the world organize events and undertake actions to support nuclear weapons abolition. NuclearAbolitionDay.org, an open, international civil society coalition, was established in 2025 in consultation with the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs, to increase cooperation, and elevate political impact of the day.

September 26 is also the anniversary of one of the times in which humanity has come perilously close to nuclear war. On this date in 1983, a nuclear weapons early warning facility in Russia (then part of the Soviet Union) detected an apparent incoming ballistic missile attack from the United States (later confirmed as a false alarm). Colonel Stanislav Petrov, Duty Officer at the facility, broke protocol by not affirming to senior command that the early warning satellites were detecting incoming nuclear missiles, thus preventing a possible “launch-on-warning, retaliatory nuclear strike” from the Soviet Union, which would have triggered nuclear war.

On September 25-26, 2026, NuclearAbolitionDay.org organized Towards a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World, a global, online, intergenerational event commemorating the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. The event included

presentations by experts from the UN and around the world; global premiere screenings of the documentary An Ordinary Insanity, featuring renowned whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg, followed by discussion with its director and producer; discussion of the principal calls made in the Joint Appeal for Nuclear Abolition Day*; and short cultural performances.

The event was held in four sessions spanning the world’s time zones. You can watch the full session recordings, including powerful pre-recorded video segments, at the Nuclear Abolition Day 2026 YouTube playlist. You can see the program and list of speakers here.

You can also choose to watch the individual pre-recorded video statements from: H.E. Izumi Nakamitsu, UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs; Michael Douglas, Academy Award Winning Actor UN Messenger of Peace; Hon. Oscar Arias, President of Costa Rica 1986 to 1990 and 2006 to 2010, Nobel Peace Laureate1987; Achin Vanaik (India) Founding member, Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace, India; and Bill Kidd (Scotland), Former Member of the Scottish Parliament and Co-President, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament.

For more information see UN Day for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons – September 26: An Appeal to Get the Job Done and visit www.NuclearAbolitionDay.org.

*The Joint Appeal, which has been endorsed by more than 2000 diverse organizations worldwide as well as eminent individuals from 105 countries, was sent to all UN Missions, and was presented at the UN General Assembly High Level Meeting Commemorating the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on September 29. It remains open for endorsement by organizations and notable individuals and will next be presented to the UN First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) which meets later this fall.

The post Nuclear Abolition Day 2026; Towards a Nuclear Weapon-Free World – webinar recordings and more appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

August 6 and 9 marked the 81^st anniversaries of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Organized by a coalition of S.F. Bay area groups, on August 6, peace activists gathered at the West Gate of the Livermore Nuclear Weapons Laboratory, 47 miles east of San Francisco, to remember the victims of the atomic age and to urgently call for the global elimination of nuclear weapons. Livermore Lab, one of two sites where all U.S. nuclear weapons are designed, is currently developing new warheads for Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles, for surprise nuclear attacks to be launched by airplanes, and for small submarines that do not presently carry such weapons.

The last nuclear arms control agreement between the world’s two largest nuclear powers, the U.S. and Russia, expired this year. Those same two nuclear powers are waging wars against states without nuclear weapons. All of the nuclear armed states are spending billions to upgrade their arsenals, and nuclear threats are becoming normalized.

Under the banner, “Nuclear Abolition or Extinction? The Choice is Yours,” rally speakers focused on the illegality and immorality of nuclear weapons, as well as their unacceptable environmental and economic costs, and called for the redirection of resources to meet human needs.

The program featured speakers John Burroughs of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy and Western States Legal Foundation, Tanvi Kardile and Anoushka Raj of Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment (CAREs), Grace Morizawa of Asian Americans for Peace and Justice, and Fr. Thomas Bonacci of The Interfaith Peace Project, as well as Taiko drummers led by Gregory Wada. Patricia St. Onge, of Haudenosaunee (Mohawk) and Quebecoise descent and adopted Cheyenne River Lakota, gave the land acknowledgement, and Patricia Ellsberg, widow of Pentagon Papers whistleblower and nuclear abolition advocate Daniel Ellsberg delivered the call to action. Speakers connected the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the nuclear dangers we face today, including the development of new nuclear weapons, enormous federal spending on the weapons complex, and the continuing environmental and human consequences of nuclear weapons production.

The rally was followed by a “die-in” and a traditional Japanese Bon dance inviting the ancestors, including the victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to join them. At the conclusion of the Bon dance, people joined hands to form a human chain and nonviolently blocked the road leading to the Lab. An “unlawful assembly” was declared, and thirteen people were cited for failure to disperse.

Photos of the event by Michael Kerr can be viewed here.

Watch a recording of the August 6 Livermore Lab commemoration and action here.

On August 9, the coalition of groups hosted a showing in Oakland of “An Ordinary Insanity,” a powerful new short documentary film featuring Daniel Ellsberg in his final interview, who warns about the urgent need for renewed public action to avert nuclear war. The film showing was followed by a panel including Patricia Ellsberg and the film director, Judith Ehrlich. Learn more and watch “An Ordinary Insanity” here.

The co-sponsoring organizations were: Asian Americans for Peace & Justice; Ecological Options Network; Ecumenical Peace Institute; Fr. O’Donnell Social Justice Committee; Fresno Center for Nonviolence; Las Vegas Catholic Worker; Livermore Conversion Project; Nevada Desert Experience; No Nukes Action; Peace and Freedom Party; Sacramento Area Peace Action; S.F. Bay Chapter Physicians for Social Responsibility; The Pacific Life Community; Tri-Valley CAREs; Veterans For Peace—East Bay Chapter; Western States Legal Foundation; and Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom – S.F. and East Bay Chapters.

The post Hiroshima-Nagasaki 2026: Nuclear Abolition or Extinction? The Choice is Ours appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

 But the path to a final decision on the admissibility of the 2007-08 “confessions” to FBI  interrogators who came to Guantánamo as “clean teams” (totally different from CIA interrogators, the government maintains) is far from straightforward.

One defendant, Ammar al-Baluchi, already successfully convinced the previous 9/11 judge that his FBI testimony could not be used at trial. The prosecutors in the 9/11 case have appealed this ruling in the Court of Military Commissions Review (CMCR). The three judges who heard arguments on the issue are expected to render their decision sometime this summer. Whatever the CMCR judges decide, the decision will likely be appealed to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, and possibly to the Supreme Court.

While it does not establish a legal precedent in the 9/11 military commission, it is significant that in 2023, the judge in the case of U.S. v. Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, the man accused of plotting the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole, ruled his FBI confession was inadmissible. In 2025, the CMCR upheld the ruling, affirming that his “confession” was legally “tainted” and rendered  “involuntary” by the brutal torture Mr. al Nashiri endured at CIA “black sites” prior to the FBI interrogation.

The current 9/11 judge says he intends to issue a ruling on the confessions of three of the 9/11 defendants – Khalid Sheik Mohammed (the 9/11 “mastermind), Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi – by August. He will need to rule on each defendant separately, as they each had different experiences of CIA torture and of their later transition to Guantánamo. Mr. al-Hawsawi, for example, was for a period of time detained at Guantánamo when the CIA was still using it as a “black site.” His attorney argued forcefully that there was no way his client could ever experience any interrogation at Guantánamo as anything other than a continuation of CIA interrogation, that could lead at any time to renewed torture; in other words, he was programmed to tell the FBI agents “what they wanted to hear.”

Attorneys for all three defendants argued that their clients were not given a Miranda warning, notifying them of their right to remain silent, their right to have an attorney present, and the fact that anything they said could be used against them in court of law. Mr. Mohammed, in fact, asked if he could have an attorney and was falsely told that he was not yet charged with any crime, despite that fact that the FBI agents were brought to Guantánamo explicitly to obtain confessions to be presented at trial.

Further muddying the water, two years ago, in a surprising revelation in the 9/11 pre-trial hearings, veteran FBI analyst Kimberly Waltz testified that during the Obama Administration, when moving the 9/11 trial to Federal District Court in New York was being contemplated, the Justice Department decided it would not try to use the FBI “confessions” evidence in court. This was later confirmed by former federal prosecutor Adam S. Hickey.

There is no current litigation concerning the FBI interrogations of the fifth 9/11 defendant, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, because his case was severed following a ruling by the previous 9/11 judge that he was mentally incapable of participating in his own defense as a result of PTSD and a delusional disorder that developed following his torture in the CIA “black sites.”

 Should the current 9/11 judge find any of the defendants’ statements to the FBI admissible, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi’s defense attorney’s will be allowed to call witnesses and present additional arguments in the 9/11 pre-hearings. They are currently blocked from filing new motions in the military commissions until there is a final decision about the legality of the pre-trial agreements they signed in 2024, which were subsequently retracted by then Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin.

The one certainty about the prospects for a trial of the 9/11 accused, is that it will not start on January 11, 2027, as the prosecuting attorneys have requested.

The post As the 25th Anniversary of the 9/11 Attacks Approaches, the Prospects for a Trial in the Guantánamo Military Commissions Remain Uncertain appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

On Monday, April 20th, 150 veterans and military family members held an act of civil disobedience peacefully protesting, in the Cannon Building rotunda, Washington D.C.  Their demand was an end to the immoral Iran war and its funding.

The Veterans, wearing their fatigues, held a moving flag-folding ceremony in memory of the 13 service members killed while a bugler played taps.   Each person held a red tulip in remembrance of the Iranians killed by U.S. airstrikes.  The red tulip is an Iranian cultural symbol of mourning and sacrifice.  Following the ceremony, there was a demand that House Speaker Johnson meet with them to accept the folded flag and to   pledge a halt to war funding.

After Capitol Police issued a dispersal order, approximately 67 veterans and military family members refused this order; they were then zip-tied and arrested, including several disabled veterans.  As people were arrested, their tulips dropped to the floor, enveloping the scene with the sadness of death. Veterans and military families know all too well the devastating costs of war.

Among those arrested were Mike Prysner, an Iraq War veteran, and Executive Director of the Center on Conscience and War.  Mike stated: “The war I was sent to senselessly claimed the lives of thousands of Americans and a million Iraqis.  Like the other veterans here with me today, I have spent the last two decades wishing I could turn back the hands of time and refuse to go.” “Service members have that chance right now.  Conscientious Objection is your legal right, and we have professional counselors who will fight to ensure you are approved and kept from deployment.”  The Center on Conscience and War is asking all military members opposed to the Iran war to call its hotline (877) NO-2-WARS for free, professional counseling.

The protest was the work of a coalition of veteran groups:  About Face, Veterans for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, Common Defense, Center on Conscience and War, Fayetteville Resistance Coalition, and 50501 Vets.  Please click on the organizations to learn more about what they do and how you can join in the effort!

The post Veterans, Military Family Members Zip-Tied & Arrested Demanding “End War on Iran” appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

In The Life Work of Jesse Jackson, Michael K. Smith writes, “His Rainbow Coalition spanned the whole of society: farmers, white unionists, feminists, Hispanics, students, environmentalists, and a full 95% of black people…. He called for a freeze on nuclear weapons, large cuts in Pentagon spending, withdrawal of U.S. troops from Europe, the elimination of first-strike MX, Cruise, and Trident D-5 missiles, as well as the canceling of Reagan’s first-strike enabling Star Wars delusion. Alone among [Presidential] candidates, he held that Palestinians were a people deserving of national rights and a homeland.”

In his preface to a stunning collection of black and white photographs, photos from the edge 27 – JESSE JACKSON, PRESENTE!, labor photographer David Bacon writes, “He didn’t come just for labor, of course.  He came for the students, battling the University of California to keep affirmative action.  He walked with the women at the head of the National March to Fight the Radical Right.  And amidst it all, I sometimes found a man lost in his thoughts, perhaps grateful for a moment out of the crowd. You were there for us, Jesse.”

From an international perspective, in As War Tensions Rise, Jackson’s Call for Peace and Justice Endures, Dr. Ghassan Shahrour writes, “Rev. Jesse Jackson, who passed away on February 17, 2026, leaves behind a legacy that extends far beyond the civil-rights milestones that first defined his public life…. Equally defining, though less widely acknowledged, was Jackson’s unwavering commitment to peace and disarmament. From the 1980s onward, he emerged as one of the most consistent American voices urging an end to the nuclear arms race. He warned that humanity could not survive a world governed by fear, militarization, and the unchecked spread of weapons…. Jackson’s voice reminds us that human security begins with justice, not armament…. As we reflect on his passing, one truth stands out: the most faithful tribute to his legacy is to resist the normalization of war and the quiet expansion of armament, and to defend justice wherever it is threatened.”

As Bishop William J. Barber II writes in  Jesse Jackson: Prophet of America’s Possibility, “Jesse showed us how moral leadership can rally a fusion coalition that isn’t possible when we do politics as usual…. Jesse’s mantra was “Keep hope alive,” but he knew hope was not just wishful thinking. Real hope isn’t passive. It comes from deep faith and moral commitment, when people can no longer accept the way things are and set out to change them. That’s when hope is born, nurtured, and grown. And that’s where Jesse chose to be his whole life long.” Barber concludes,

“May we all take up his hope for the America that has never yet been but nevertheless must be.”

Jesse Jackson presente!

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On the 24th anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo, September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows (a founding member of UFPJ) issued a statement on Guantánamo’s legacy: “On January 11, 2002,  the first ’War on Terror’ detainees arrived at Camp X-Ray. Unnamed and unknown, these twenty men in orange jumpsuits ushered in an era of extraordinary rendition, terror jingoism, and a lack of accountability that continues to this day.”

Their statement continues, “When men in blindfolds arrived at the Guantánamo Naval base, they found themselves in a jurisdictional no man’s land. 24 years later, the world remains blind to the situation of the 15 men who remain at Guantánamo, and the history of how we got here. Furthermore, the five men alleged to have planned and supported the 9/11 attacks have yet to be held legally accountable. Indeed, the Guantánamo Military Commission has not even set a trial date. . . .   America has institutionalized a politics of fear. Just as our nation was scared into compliance in the aftermath of 9/11, we are being frightened into numbness now.”

Since February 2025, over 700 immigrants – most of them transported from the United States – have been temporarily detained at  Guantánamo’s Migrant Operations Center or  at Camp 6, part of the military detention facility. Read Peaceful Tomorrows’ full statement HERE.

 An outpouring of anger, frustration, and sadness has marked this year’s shameful anniversary. A statement from 115 U.S.-based organizations committed to human rights and the rule of law (including UFPJ, and our member organization, September 11^th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, FCNL, CPDCS, and PANYS) calls for:

1) Transferring without delay the six men who are not charged with a crime.

2) Ending the failed military commissions and resolving pending cases.

3) Permanently closing the Guantánamo military detention facility, without repurposing it for any future detention regime.

4) Holding perpetrators of U.S. crimes accountable; and

5) Providing redress to those whose fundamental human rights the U.S. has violated.

The 24th anniversary of Guantánamo’s opening also saw worldwide protests.

Only fifteen “war on terror” prisoners remain of the approximately 780 Muslim men and boys the Bush Administration sent to the Guantánamo military detention facility after 9/11. That is because over 97% of the detainees were never charged. Instead, they were “rendered” yet again to various countries around the world without their input or consent.

Life after Guantánamo is filled with challenges, as these former detainees make clear. Mansoor Adayfi organized and supports the Guantanamo Survivors Fund, which recognizes how, after suffering years of torture and imprisonment without charge, former detainees have been transferred to countries far from their families, where they are stigmatized, receive little or no assistance, and have no legal status or permit to work. The Guantanamo Survivors Funds supports men working to rebuild their lives. Read Mansoor Adayfi’s book, Don’t Forget Us Here, where he shares with great insight and empathy a narrative of fighting for hope and survival in unimaginable circumstances.

Another former detainee, Mohamedou Ould Slahi, discussed his current situation with Nael Georges, Middle East and North Africa Programme Coordinator at PEN International. Slahi ends with a powerful message to U.S. citizens: “Readers should know that law and democracy are valid and useful, and that despising democracy and human rights is invalid and inadmissible. Why am I saying that? Because the US said it would be torturing me until I confessed, then it would take me to court and prosecute me. I was sent to be tortured in Jordan, Afghanistan and Guantanamo, and yet it [the US] was unable to bring me before the court. The US did all that so it could collect proof of violence and sentence me in court. The United States failed. Why? Because a state of law is the only one that is valid.”

Is the United States TODAY a state of law? If we reflect on the 24 years of the Guantánamo Detention Facility and the former detainees’ messages, we must conclude otherwise.

The post The Shameful 24th Anniversary of the Opening of the Military Detention Facility on the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

The United States is now planning to establish an infrastructure capable of producing at least 80 plutonium pits for nuclear weapons per year. The project is well described and criticized in a comprehensive report released in May by the Union of Concerned Scientists. In the current approach, facilities would be located at Los Alamos National Laboratory, in New Mexico, and the Savannah River Site, in South Carolina. In a settlement of a lawsuit brought by activist groups (see video), the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) agreed to conduct programmatic environment review of this major project. This summer the NNSA accepted public comments on the scope of the review.

Many NGOs submitted comments, including the groups that brought the lawsuit resulting in the review: Savannah River Site Watch of Columbia, SC; Nuclear Watch New Mexico of Santa Fe, NM; Tri-Valley Communities Against a Radioactive Environment (CAREs), based in Livermore, CA; and the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition of coastal Georgia. Other submissions included one from Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy and Western States Legal Foundation. Their comment focused on the nuclear disarmament obligation under Article VI of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and argued that the NNSA must consider a true no-action alternative of no pit production.

According to the comment: “If the United States and other nuclear-armed states, in particular China and Russia, in accordance with Article VI take a negotiated path to the global elimination of nuclear weapons in the foreseeable future, there will be no need, perceived or real, for plutonium pit production. While the current international landscape is not conducive to that enterprise, it should not be assumed that pit production will take place over the next several decades. The negotiation of the abolition of nuclear arms is a legal obligation of extraordinary practical and moral importance. The [Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)] should not assume non-compliance with the obligation.”

The comment also observed: “Additionally, a sometimes overlooked element of Article VI is cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date. Production of pits for new-design warheads on a new delivery system, the Sentinel ICBM, and on submarine-based ballistic missiles, has aspects of nuclear arms racing, both in reality and, importantly, as it is perceived by rival nuclear-armed states. If the W87-1 serves to enable MIRVing [placement of multiple warheads] of the Sentinel ICBM, it would contribute to quantitative arms racing; MIRVing also would be destabilizing. Moreover, according to the Department of Defense, the Sentinel ICBM will have enhanced capabilities and thus its development and deployment amounts to qualitative arms racing. It also appears that the W93 warhead for submarine-based missiles will add some military capability ….”

It concluded: “The PEIS should not rule out the possibility that nuclear arms racing will cease and nuclear disarmament will be implemented in accordance with NPT Article VI …. Failing to consider a true no-action alternative would have that effect.”

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photo: the Nagasaki Peace Statue

 August 6th and 9th marked the 80th anniversaries of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. To commemorate this historic milestone, solemn official commemorations with thousands of governmental and nongovernmental representatives from around the world in attendance were held in each of the two cities, presided over by their respective mayors. There were also large international conferences that took place in multiple venues organized by Gensuikyo (the World Conference Against A and H Bombs), Mayors for Peace, and others.

While it would be nearly impossible to summarize the many talks, meetings, and events that took place, a number of common themes emerged. First and foremost, there was an emphasis on recognizing the hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors), whose average age is now over 86 years, by listening to and preserving their personal testimonies for future generations. In particular, the hibakusha were appreciated for their contribution to preventing another nuclear weapon use by painfully sharing their horrific experiences of the bombings, so that “no one else should ever again suffer as we have.” For  their efforts, Nihon Hidankyo, the association of Japanese a-bomb survivors, received the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.

There was a palpable level of concern about rising tensions among nuclear-armed states, renewed arms racing, and the growing dangers of a nuclear confrontation, with particular reference to threats by the Russian government, and the U.S. and Israeli bombings of Iran’s nuclear facilities. There were strong denunciations of the Israeli government’s genocidal war on Gaza, and it was particularly poignant to hear some of the hibakusha compare photos of bombed-out Gaza bombings with their own recollections of the aftermath of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Many presentations underscored the urgent need for new thinking, in an increasingly unstable world, to end states’ increasing reliance on the doctrine of “nuclear deterrence” as the basis for national security. As stated in the World Conference Against A and H Bombs International Declaration: “‛Nuclear deterrence’ is a policy based on the premise of a catastrophic outcome from a nuclear attack, far greater than the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and is absolutely unacceptable from a humanitarian and moral standpoint.”

It was noted that this year also marks the 80^th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations, “to end the scourge of war,” and calls were made to “uphold the UN Charter, oppose aggression, war, and military buildups, and work in solidarity with various movements seeking peace and disarmament to develop a global movement toward a ‘nuclear weapon-free, peaceful and just world’.”

Finally, since Japan is the only country that has (so far) experienced a nuclear weapons attack, the Japanese government was called upon to reaffirm the three non-nuclear principles in its Constitution –  not producing, possessing or allowing nuclear weapons in the nation.

The Japanese government was also called upon to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) or at least to send an observer to the TPNW’s first Review Conference next year.

Being in Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the annual August commemorations of the U.S. atomic bombings is an emotional experience. For those attending for the first time, imagining and trying to come to grips with the reality of those bombings can be overwhelming. Nick Rabb, a board member of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament, and Common Security, writes about his experience at Testimony of the Hibakusha of Hiroshima and Nagasaki: No More Nuclear Weapons – They have been telling their stories for nearly 80 years. It’s about time more of us listen.

 Read the World Conference Against A and H Bombs Declaration of the 2025 International Meeting here.

Read about the Mayors for Peace 2025 General Conference in Nagasaki here.

Read the 2025 Hiroshima Peace Declaration, delivered by Mayor Kazumi Matsui on August 6 here.

Read the 2025 Nagasaki Peace Declaration, delivered by Mayor Shinro Suzuki on August 9 here.

As Mayor Suzuki concluded: “I hereby declare that in order to make Nagasaki the last atomic bombing site now and forever, we will go hand-in-hand with global citizens and devote our utmost efforts towards the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of everlasting world peace.”

Quoting the late Senji Yamaguchi, the first hibakusha to describe the horrific scene of the bombing to the United Nations General Assembly in 1982, Mayor Suzuki demanded, “No more Hiroshimas. No more Nagasakis. No more war. No more hibakusha.”

The post “No more Hiroshimas. No more Nagasakis. No more war. No more hibakusha” appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

As recognized in the 1945 Constitution of UNESCO, “Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.” In 1955, Albert Einstein and Bertrand Russel declared, “We appeal, as human beings, to human beings: Remember your humanity, and forget the rest.” It is incumbent on each of us to contribute in some way to the construction of the defenses of peace. Here are some opportunities for engagement and education in the coming weeks. 

Organizational sign-on opportunity through August 1: Sign your group onto the “HumanRaceNotArmsRace” statement from Civil Society organizations here. “We must demand disarmament, prevent further proliferation, and ensure today’s conflicts do not become tomorrow’s nuclear catastrophe.”

Find an event near you: Physicians for Social Responsibility compiles an annual list of Hiroshima-Nagasaki commemorations. Click here to find your community and attend an event to commemorate 80 years since these immoral nuclear weapons were used in war. Click here to submit a local event to be included in the calendar and map.

Fold a paper crane for peace: Fold a paper crane and join in the annual #CranesforOurFuture campaign between August 6 – 9. #CranesForOurFuture is a joint project of the Hiroshima Prefecture, Nagasaki Prefecture, Nuclear Threat Initiative, and Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace.

Back from the Brink is mobilizing around two flagship congressional resolutions this August as we mark the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 80 years ago:

H.Res.317 – Urging the United States to lead the world back from the brink of nuclear war and halt and reverse the nuclear arms race

S.Res.323 – Urging the United States to lead a global effort to halt and reverse the nuclear arms race

These congressional resolutions are the current focus of Back From the Brink’s national campaign along with continuing efforts to secure adoption of local resolutions — and they will be at the heart of commemorations organized by Back from the Brink hubs across the country.

Here are one-click tools to make it easy to act and share:

Support H.Res. 317

Support S.Res. 323

Educational Materials to Read, Watch, and Share

Nobel Laureate Assembly Declaration for the Prevention of Nuclear War – July 16, 2025; 100 Nobel Laureate signatories to date. “We ask that [global leaders] each be guided by the words of Nobel Laureates Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein: “We appeal as human beings to human beings: remember your humanity, and forget the rest.” Our survival and the survival of future generations are at stake.”

A new nuclear arms race, by Lawrence Wittner, posted on July 13, 2025, by beyondnuclearinternational

U.S. Mayors Renew Their Call for the U.S. to Lead the World Back From the Nuclear Brink, by Jacqueline Cabasso, published July 1, 2025, by Inter Press New Service Agency

Video: Why Should You Care? Nagasaki Mr. Taniguchi, by Shizumi Manale, 2017. Powerful personal testimony of Nagasaki A-bomb survivor, Sumiteru Taniguchi, recorded the year he died. According to the filmmaker, “This documentary captures the devastating reality of war—scenes so painful, they may make you want to look away. Some moments may be difficult to watch, leaving a lasting impression on both your eyes and your heart. And yet—We believe that true peace can only begin with knowing. That is why we created this film.”

 Social media: For those who want to participate in the shared hashtag campaign #HumanRaceNotArmsRace please use that hashtag in public/ social media promotions.

The post #HumanRaceNotArmsRace appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.