raynor@orca.UUCP (Raynor Christianson) (11/20/85)
FIVE CONTINENT PEACE INITIATIVE The Five Continent Peace Initiative was proposed with the goal of breaking the nuclear deadlock between the superpowers. The leaders from five continents include President Raul Alfonsin of Argentina, Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India, President Miguel de la Madrid of Mexico, President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, Prime Minister Olof Palme of Sweden, and Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou of Greece. The first Joint Declaration, calling for a freeze on nuclear arsenals followed by general and complete disarmament as well as a strengthened United Nations, was announced in May of 1984 at simultaneous news conferences in their national capitals. Then, in a powerful show of unity, their United Nations ambassadors conveyed the declaration to the five nuclear weapons states -- the US, the USSR, Great Britain, France, and China. The Delhi Declaration is their latest effort. Starting with a summit meeting in New Delhi in January, 1985, the group undertook a series of high level discussions on a new agenda for disarmament. The visits to the capitals of the nuclear weapons states -- announced at the New Delhi summit -- provide a clear indication that the Five Continent Peace Initiative intends to impress its concerns actively in the context of international bilateral talks. The first such visit was that of Prime Minister Papandreou to Moscow from February 11 to February 14, 1985. In discussions with Soviet Prime Minister Tikhonov, Prime Minister Papandreou presented the fundamental goal of the Initiative. He also held a separate meeting with Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko. In March, President Alfonsin visited Washington, and President Nyerere carried the Initiative's message with him when he met with Prime Minister Thatcher in London Prime Minister Gandhi visited Moscow in May and Washington in June, where he spoke to President Reagan and to Congress. The six world leaders have stated there intention to keep each other fully informed of the results of these visits. The Delhi declaration states that "the nuclear weapon states have applied traditional doctrines of war in a world where new weapons have made them obsolete...If the old doctrines are applied to the future, the holocaust will be inescapable sooner or later. But nuclear war can be prevented if our voices are joined in a universal defense of our right to live." The Declaration "reiterate[s] our appeal for an all-embracing halt to the testing. production and deployment of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems" and focuses on two specific steps: "the prevention of an arms race in outer space, and a comprehensive test ban treaty." Finally, it asserts that "The future of all peoples is at stake. As representatives from non-nuclear states, we will not cease to express our legitimate concern and make known our demands. We affirm our determination to facilitate agreement among the nuclear weapon states, so that the required steps can be taken. We will seek to work together with them for the common security of mankind and for peace." Originally organized by Parliamentarians for World Order, the Five Continent Peace Initiative effort has been endorsed by the Pops, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, over 125 members of the U.S. Congress, Physicians for Social Responsibility, and most recently, by 79 Nobel Laurietes. Parliamentarians for World Order (PWO) is an international network of legislators committed to the goal of world peace through world law. Founded in 1980, the group has 600 members from 30 countries who believe that "The only way to provide security for their constituents, and to ensure a future for humanity, is through comprehensive disarmament and fundamental reform of the international system." Having concluded that action at the highest level held the best hope of breaking the nuclear deadlock, PWO established contact in 1983 with the world leaders who now form the Five Continents Peace Initiative.