SIGN DECLARATION - World Uranium Symposium

[Oscar]

Sale of Canadian Uranium to India Denounced by International Experts at World Uranium Symposium

[ http://us4.campaign-archive2.com/?u=c89 ... 4f5ba6ef0e ]

Canada has just announced a multimillion-dollar agreement to sell uranium to India, despite the implications for nuclear weapons proliferation.

World Uranium Symposium
Science | Health | Environment | Energy | Economy | Human Rights | Society
Québec Congress Centre | 14-15-16 April 2015 | http://www.uranium2015.com

Quebec, 15 April 1015 – About 200 international experts and delegates of the World Uranium Symposium this morning denounced the sale of Canadian uranium to India, a country that maintains an arsenal of nuclear weapons and has never signed the United Nations’ Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). By signing such a deal on the eve of the NPT review conference to be held in New York City in two weeks’ time, Canada is undermining and discrediting the key international treaty prohibiting the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

“Canada’s attitude sends a terrible message to the international community regarding the necessity for all countries to respect and to reinforce the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” said Arielle Denis, Director of the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

“India’s nuclear weapons program is very active, as demonstrated by a series of nuclear test explosions. Moreover tensions between India and Pakistan, a country with its own nuclear arsenal, are running very high. The attitude of Canada is irresponsible and alarming,” according to Shri Prakash, one of several participants from India at the World Uranium Symposium.

“Despite rules specifying no military use of Canadian materials, some uranium from Canada could well end up in Indian bombs,” said Dr. Gordon Edwards of the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility. “At the very least, Canadian uranium will free up more Indian uranium for weapons production purposes.”

“We should be reinforcing the NPT and not undermining it. Canada is going against the Austrian Agreement launched last December to fill the gap present in international law by making it not only illegal to use nuclear weapons, but also to possess them. Nuclear warheads are the only Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) not forbidden under existing international
conventions,” explained Arielle Denis of ICAN.

India has already broken its promise to Canada in the past by using a Canadian reactor given as a gift in 1956 to produce the plutonium for its first atomic bomb, detonated in 1974. Canada broke off all nuclear cooperation with India, a policy that was maintained until the Harper government decided to resume nuclear cooperation between Canada and India despite its nuclear arsenal.

Australian delegates to the World Uranium Symposium also expressed grave misgivings about the negotiations towards a similar agreement between India and Australia, whereby Australian uranium would be sold to India. -30-

For more information :

Arielle Denis, International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons
(ICAN), 336 8714 8933, arielle@icanw.org
Mycle Shneider, International energy & nuclear policy consultant, 33 620 63
47 37, mycle@orange.fr
Dr. Gordon Edwards, Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility,
514-839-7214
Dave Sweeney, Australian Conservation Foundation, 61 408 317 812,
d.sweeney@acfonline.org.au
Shri Prakash, Indian Filmmaker participating at the Symposium and International Film Festival,
prakash.shri@gmail.com
Héloïse Fernandez, Communications Director of Nature Québec, official secretariat of the World Uranium Symposim cell.
418-931-1131, 418 648-2104,
poste 2074, communications@naturequebec.org

The World Uranium Symposium [ http://uranium2015.com/en ] is jointly organized by Physicians for Global Survival (1985 Nobel Peace Prize), the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, the Canadian Coalition for Nuclear Responsibility, Nature Quebec, and Quebec Coalition for Better Mining. The Symposium also has support from the Institute for
Sustainable Development of the First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (Swiss Chapter), Helen Caldicott Foundation, MiningWatch Canada, the Cree Nation of Mistissini, and a number of other local, national and international partners.

[Oscar]

SIGN DECLARATION NOW . . . . PLEASE PASS TO YOUR CONTACTS.

[ http://uranium2015.com/en/news/quebec-d ... on-uranium ]

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Declaration of the World Uranium Symposium 2015

[ http://uranium2015.com/en/news/quebec-d ... on-uranium ]

Quebec City, Canada | April 16 2015

To endorse this resolution go to the link below:

We, the participants of the World Uranium Symposium 2015, coming from 20 countries on five continents, having gathered in Quebec City, Canada, the traditional territory of the Huron-Wendat Nation, in April 2015;

Acknowledging that in 1943 Quebec City was the site where the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada entered into a formal cooperation agreement to develop the first atomic bombs, resulting in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945;

Respecting the moratorium imposed by the Cree Nation of Eeyou Istchee in Northern Quebec on all uranium-related activities on their lands, as well as the broad consensus against uranium development by the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec and Labrador, the Inuit of Nunavik and over 300 municipalities across the province of Quebec;

Recognizing the growing awareness that nuclear power is not a cost-effective, timely, practical or safe response to climate change, and applauding the enormous expansion of the use of renewable energy and the significant strides made in recent years to phase out nuclear power;

Acknowledging the need for sustainable development and responsible environmental stewardship;

Recognizing the unique health, environmental and social dangers present at all stages of the nuclear chain, from the exploration, mining and milling of uranium, to nuclear power generation, the development of nuclear weapons and the storage of radioactive waste;

Recognizing that the risk of contamination resulting from the extraction, use and storage of radioactive substances presents a unique and grave threat to all living creatures, their environments and watersheds, transcending all political and geographic boundaries and enduring for eons to come;

Recognizing that there are stores of radioactive waste throughout the world that have not been effectively isolated;

Recognizing that there is compelling scientific evidence that there is no safe dose of exposure to radioactive emissions, and that even small doses can present health risks to miners and local populations, animals and plant life;

Recognizing that more must be done to understand, recognize and acknowledge the full scope and extent of all social, health and environmental short and long term impacts of uranium and nuclear-related activities on human life, wildlife and plant life;

Recognizing both that the technological development of nuclear energy opens the door to the development of nuclear weapons against which there is no effective protection, and that nuclear power generation facilities present a serious threat in and of themselves;

Insisting that nuclear regulating bodies be independent and work solely in the best interests of people, animals and plant life;

Recalling the tragedies at Three-Mile Island, Chernobyl, Fukushima Daiichi and many other places around the world;

Convinced that all non-military end-uses of uranium, including medical uses, can be readily satisfied in an alternative manner;

Insisting that nuclear weapons and those using depleted uranium be criminalized and that all signatories be held accountable to the obligations set out in the Non-Proliferation Treaty;

Appalled by the nuclear destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, alarmed by the maintenance and proliferation of nuclear arsenals, and convinced that the devastating consequences of nuclear detonations can be avoided only when all nuclear weapons and the systems that manufacture them have been eliminated;

Affirming that it is in the interest of the survival of humanity and of life on this planet that nuclear weapons are never used again, under any circumstances;

Recognizing that those most immediately affected by uranium and nuclear related activities often lack proper capacity and resources and that, as a result, such activities infringe their fundamental human rights to life and security of the person;

Affirming our commitment to the principles of sustainable and equitable development, and respect for the fundamental human rights of all individuals and peoples for all time;

Acknowledging that unique and irreplaceable cultures and landscapes have been and continue to be endangered by uranium and nuclear related activities;

Acknowledging that the world’s Indigenous Peoples have disproportionately borne the harmful burdens of the global uranium industry, nuclear activities (including nuclear testing) and the dumping of radioactive waste;

Recalling that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples affirms the rights of the world’s Indigenous Peoples to self-determination, and to territorial, social and environmental integrity which includes free, prior and informed consent achieved through an independent, fair, transparent and impartial process, and recognizing that the survival and well-being of Indigenous Peoples depends on full respect for these fundamental and inalienable rights;

Determined to reduce the burden on future generations resulting from the extraction and use of radioactive substances;

Dedicating ourselves to a nuclear-free future;

WE SOLEMNLY DECLARE THAT:

1. We reaffirm the Declaration of the World Uranium Hearing in Salzburg, Austria in 1992, of the Indigenous World Uranium Summit in Window Rock, Navajo Nation, USA in 2006, and of the IPPNW-World Conference in Basel, Switzerland in 2010: Uranium and all radioactive substances must remain in their natural location.

2. We demand a worldwide ban on uranium exploration, mining, milling and processing, as well as the reprocessing of nuclear waste, and the irresponsible management of radioactive waste;

3. We call on all states, authorities and Peoples to recognize and respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples including the right to self-determination and to free prior and informed consent achieved through an independent, fair, transparent and impartial process, and to cease the pursuit of uranium- and nuclear-related activities on Indigenous Peoples’ lands in violation of these rights;

4. We urge all states, authorities and Peoples to provide full, fair and equitable redress to all those harmed by uranium- and nuclear-related activities and to ensure that those responsible are held accountable for their actions and failures;

5. We demand that all states, authorities and Peoples phase out and eliminate nuclear power generation and use, and dedicate themselves to the development and use of intelligent energy services based on sustainable, safe and renewable energy resources;

6. We call on all states, authorities and Peoples to strengthen their commitments to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, to eliminate all existing nuclear weaponry, to cease any and all development of nuclear weapon technologies, and to support and advance a legal treaty to ban all nuclear weapons;

7. We call on all states, authorities and Peoples to ensure that all existing radioactive products, material and structures from all phases of the nuclear weapons and power systems are secured and managed in accordance with the best and safest available technology for the people, animals and plant life.

To endorse this resolution go to the link below:

[ http://uranium2015.com/en/news/quebec-d ... on-uranium ]


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Council of Canadians supports the "Declaration of the World Uranium Symposium"

From: Brent Patterson
Sent: Thursday, April 23, 2015 5:08 AM
Subject: Council of Canadians supports the "Declaration of the World Uranium Symposium"

The Declaration of the World Uranium Symposium calls on all nations to put an end to the mining and use of uranium.

A media release notes, "It is a call to action, urging governments to ban the mining and processing of uranium, to eliminate the use of nuclear energy, and to renounce nuclear weapons. ...Some 300 experts, members of civil society and indigenous peoples from around the world, meeting recently at the Symposium in Quebec City, launched this global appeal."
[ http://uranium2015.com/en/news/internat ... -symposium ]

The demands in the declaration include:

- We demand a worldwide ban on uranium exploration, mining, milling and processing, as well as the reprocessing of nuclear waste, and the irresponsible management of radioactive waste;

- We call on all states, authorities and Peoples to recognize and respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples including the right to self-determination and to free prior and informed consent achieved through an independent, fair, transparent and impartial process, and to cease the pursuit of uranium- and nuclear-related activities on Indigenous Peoples’ lands in violation of these rights;

- We demand that all states, authorities and Peoples phase out and eliminate nuclear power generation and use, and dedicate themselves to the development and use of intelligent energy services based on sustainable, safe and renewable energy resources.

The Council of Canadians endorses this declaration.

Our formal statement of opposition to nuclear power and uranium mining, approved by our Board of Directors in 2008, states:

"The Council of Canadians rejects nuclear power because it poses an unacceptable risk to people and the environment. It is neither clean, safe, peaceful nor economic. We are opposed to the further expansion of nuclear power in our country. Faced with climate change and diminishing energy resources globally, we recognize the need for a just transition away from a fossil fuel and nuclear dependent society while ensuring Canadians access to basic energy needs to sustainable publicly-funded and publicly-delivered energy alternatives that benefit both workers and their communities. We support renewable non-invasive energy sources (such as solar and wind power) energy efficiency and conservation. Nuclear power also requires uranium, the mining of which creates toxic tailings poses water contamination and other environmental risks and health hazards. The Council of Canadians calls for a ban on all uranium exploration and mining strengthening of legislation to ensure that any exploration or mining of other materials does not disturb or uncover uranium deposits and fair, just transition programs for all communities and workers involved in the uranium mining industry."

Just this month, during the visit of Indian prime minister Narendra Modi to Canada, India signed a $350 million five-year agreement with the Saskatoon-based company Cameco to purchase 7.1 million pounds of uranium concentrate that would be mined in northern Saskatchewan. It is meant to fuel India's 21 nuclear reactors, and the 6 new reactors that will come online by 2017. Non-proliferation analysts are also concerned by this deal, particularly in light of the fact that India test-fired the nuclear capable Agni-III missile, which has a range of over 3,000 kilometres, just hours after signing the agreement with Cameco.

Several Council of Canadians activists - including Saint John chapter activists Leticia Adair and Carol Ring - have already signed the Declaration of the World Uranium Symposium.

To add your name to the declaration, please click here:
[ http://uranium2015.com/en/news/quebec-d ... on-uranium ]


Further reading

Barlow signs World Future Council statement against nuclear power (July 2013)
[ http://canadians.org/content/world-futu ... lear-power ]

Brent Patterson’s Blog
[ http://canadians.org/blogs/brent-patterson ]
Political Director of the Council of Canadians

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Uranium deals with India weaken Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, says Greens

[ http://www.greenparty.ca/en/media-relea ... ays-greens ]

April 16, 2015

(OTTAWA) - Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party of Canada, expressed serious concern over Stephen Harper’s failure to engage India President Narendra Modi in a discussion on how to gain India’s support for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NNPT).

“Canada’s trade in nuclear materials with India is a direct violation of the NNPT, yet we resumed trading equipment and fissionable materials with India in 2013,” said Ms. May. “India has indicated a willingness to pursue a comprehensive plan for a nuclear-free world, and has voluntarily adopted a ‘no first use’ policy. I call on Stephen Harper to stop encouraging defiance of the NNPT.”

“Canadians support peace and democracy. Selling uranium to India could cause us to violate the NNPT if India uses it to manufacture weapons, and make us part of the global insecurity problem,” said Lorraine Rekmans, the Green Party’s Indigenous Affairs Critic and candidate for Leeds – Grenville – Thousand Islands and Rideau Lakes.

Daniel Green, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada, added, “When India exploded its nuclear device in 1974 using Canadian technology, Canada ceased all exports of nuclear material to India, and India continued to develop a nuclear weapons program. India is not a signatory to the International Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. It would be unacceptable for Canada to renege on its commitments to this treaty, which is indispensable to our global security.”

“Although India has yet to sign the NNPT or the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, Canadian firms began to sell equipment and uranium to them in 2013. Stephen Harper needs to stop violating our international commitments,” said Bruce Hyer, Deputy Leader of the Green Party of Canada and Member of Parliament for Thunder Bay – Superior North.

Lorraine Rekmans continued, “Canada must promote peace and security abroad. In the upcoming review of the NNPT on April 29, we must work with our allies to bring all stakeholder nations into an improved NNPT.”

Ms. May concluded, “The 2015 Conference of the Parties Review of the NNPT will be held from the 29th of April to the 22nd of May 2015 at UN Headquarters in New York. Once again India, Pakistan, and Israel will be absent from this important forum. Instead of violating the treaty, Canada must move to a more active and assertive role in the NNPT Conference Review on April 29.

“We must explore constructive ways to bring India, as well as Pakistan and Israel, into a strengthened NNPT framework.” -30-

For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:

Julian Morelli
Director of Communications
Green Party of Canada
cell: (613) 614 4916
office: (613) 562 4916 (224)
julian.morelli@greenparty.ca

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Background: India and the NNPT

India has refused to join the NNPT since it was created in 1970, as the treaty allowed the original five nuclear states to expand their stockpiles of weapons while constraining other signatories.

Canada banned all exports of nuclear materials to India in the 1970s, after India used a CANDU research reactor to develop its first experimental nuclear weapon.

The export ban was lifted with the Canada-India Nuclear Cooperation Agreement in 2013, in violation of Canada's obligations under the NNPT. At the time, Harper's minister Lawrence Cannon simply said, ‘India has been in the penalty box long enough.’ The 2013 agreement allows Canadian firms like Cameco to export and import nuclear materials, equipment and technology to and from India to facilities subject to safeguards applied by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Increased imports from Canada will enable India to undertake the expansion of its capacity to generate electricity – India’s goal is to increase the generation of electricity from nuclear energy from 3% today to 50% by 2050. Unfortunately, increased uranium imports permit India to continue its nuclear weapons program outside the NNPT structure with its own internal uranium supplies.

[Oscar]

Global Conference Urges Ban on Uranium Mining and Nuclear Power

[ http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/glo ... r_20150424 ]

By Paul Brown, Climate News Network Posted on Apr 24, 2015

“The risks to health, safety and the environment represented by the entire nuclear fuel chain . . . greatly exceed the potential benefits for society”

This Creative Commons-licensed piece first appeared at Climate News Network.
[ http://www.climatenewsnetwork.net/world ... ear-power/ ]

LONDON—Uranium mining across the world should cease, nuclear power stations be closed and nuclear weapons be banned, according to a group of scientists, environmentalists and representatives of indigenous peoples.

Three hundred delegates from 20 countries that produce uranium for nuclear power, weapons and medical uses called for an end to all uranium mining in a declaration launched on Earth Day this week at a meeting in Quebec, Canada. [ http://uranium2015.com/en/news/quebec-d ... on-uranium ]

The venue for the World Uranium Symposium was chosen because Quebec state is currently considering whether to continue its moratorium on uranium mining, having already closed down its only nuclear power plant in 2013. [ http://uranium2015.com/en ]

Symbolic choice

The city of Quebec is also symbolic because this is where Canada, the US and the UK made a co-operation agreement in 1943 that led to the building of the world’s first nuclear weapons. Two of the resulting A-Bombs were used to destroy the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.

But the symposium was more concerned about the damage that existing uranium mining is doing to the welfare of indigenous peoples, and the “erroneous view” that nuclear power can help solve the problem of climate change.

The declaration applauded the expansion of renewable energy and the significant strides in phasing out nuclear power following the growing awareness that “nuclear power is not a cost-effective, timely, practical or safe response to climate change”.

It called for “a worldwide ban on uranium exploration, mining, milling and processing, as well as the reprocessing of nuclear waste, and the irresponsible management of radioactive waste”.

Dr. Eric Notebaert, associate professor of medicine at the University of Montreal, co-president of the Symposium, and member of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_A ... g_projects ] said that the symposium delegates all agreed that “the risks to health, safety and the environment represented by the entire nuclear fuel chain—from uranium mines, to power reactors, to nuclear weapons, to radioactive wastes—greatly exceed the potential benefits for society”.

Dr. Juan Carlos Chrigwin, a physician affiliated with McGill University, and president of Physicians for Global Survival, [ http://pgs.ca/?page_id=89 ] said: “The issuing of this World Declaration on Uranium is the culmination of essential work carried out over many years by international coalitions who, despite geographical and cultural differences, share common objectives and who desire to shape a common vision of a better world.

“Uranium does not provide a viable or sustainable approach for dealing with climate change, nor for providing isotopes for medical use. Today, there are a number of medical and energy alternatives that are cheaper and safer.”

The declaration is open for organisations and individuals to sign on the internet and is bound to put further pressure on an industry already suffering from falling confidence. [ http://uranium2015.com/en/news/quebec-d ... on-uranium ]

The price of uranium has dropped from $138 a tonne in 2007 to less than $40 a tonne currently as plans to build more nuclear stations have been shelved in several countries.

While the search continues for rich new uranium deposits—particularly by China in Africa and the US in Greenland—it is unlikely to be economically viable to exploit them at current prices.

Carbon footprint

According to the World Nuclear Association, [ http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/nucle ... -overview/ ] 52% of the world’s production comes from 10 mines in six countries. The largest is in Canada, followed by one in Australia, but the largest single producer is Kazakhstan, which has four mines in the top 10 in the world. In Africa, Niger and Namibia are also big producers.

While many pro-nuclear governments—including the UK’s—regard nuclear power as a clean, low-carbon form of energy, the politicians ignore the carbon footprint of the mines and the consequences for the health of workers.

It is in developing countries that the miners and the local environment tend to suffer most because of open cast mines. For example, large areas of Kazakhstan are too dangerous to inhabit as a result of mountains of uranium tailings and mildly radioactive dust.

The Symposium’s co-president, Dr. Dale Dewar—a physician who is associate professor at the University of Saskatchewan and is co-author of the book, From Hiroshima to Fukushima to You — summed up by saying: “We are calling on national and international leaders to protect our planet and our populations from any further nuclear catastrophes. Anything less would be irresponsible.” [ https://btlbooks.com/book/from-hiroshim ... ima-to-you ]