News Brief

Mayors and councillors from across the UK who share a commitment to tackling the twin threats of climate change and nuclear weapons proliferation will meet in Manchester this Thursday.

They will be addressed by Mayor Luc Dehaene, Mayor of Ypres, a leading figure in the international Mayors for Peace movement. He is also Chair of the Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign, which has the goal of abolishing nuclear weapons globally by the year 2020.

He will be travelling to Manchester to give a keynote speech at the policy briefing 'A Vision of the World in 2020: How do we tackle climate change and nuclear proliferation?' organised by Mayors for Peace UK and the Nuclear Free Local Authorities network.

The briefing will warn of the dangers of climate change and nuclear proliferation and will highlight actions which local councils can take to address these threats.

Mayors for Peace was formed in 1982 by the Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to bring mayors together across borders to press for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Mayors for Peace currently has just under 3000 member mayors worldwide, including the Lord Mayor of Manchester and the Mayor of Ypres, who are both members of the Mayors for Peace International Executive Board.

The Belgian town of Ypres was scene of some of the most intense fighting during the First World War and saw the use of chemical gas – a weapon of mass destruction – during the fighting. The city was almost entirely destroyed by artillery fire and was rebuilt after the war.

Ypres has become a high profile member of Mayors for Peace to pledge that never again should such tragedies be allowed to happen. As such it has declared itself a ‘City of Peace’.

Councillor Alison Firth, Lord Mayor of Manchester said: “It is almost 30 years since Manchester first declared itself a City of Peace and since then, Manchester City Council has done its best to work for peace both locally and internationally. We believe that promoting peace should be a key value for local councils, in the same way that caring for the most vulnerable and protecting the environment are.”

Mayors for Peace is registered as an official non-governmental organisation with the United Nations and has 2976 member Mayors worldwide in 134 nations and regions.

In the UK, Mayors for Peace currently has 53 members, including the Mayors of London, Manchester, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Coventry, Bristol, and Belfast. In the Republic of Ireland there are seven members, including Dublin and Wexford. For more information please see www.mayorsforpeace.org

The NFLA / Mayors for Peace Annual Policy Briefing 'A Vision of the World in 2020: How do we tackle climate change and nuclear proliferation?' will take place at Manchester Town Hall on 11th – 12th June 2009. Further details and registration documents can be found at: http://www.nuclearpolicy.info/docs/events/Conference_2009.pdf