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This conference is a joint project of Friends Peace Center, Costa Rica (CAP) and the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW).
Friends Peace Center, commonly referred to as CAP, was founded in 1983 by a group of Costa Rican and United States citizens looking for constructive methods of promoting peace and social justice. Over the past 25 years we have been a community resource for training on nonviolence and human rights, have collaborated with other human rights and environmental organizations to preserve Costa Rica’s resources, and have been involved in political lobbies supporting the minority voice in Central America. Throughout our history we have adhered to Quaker values and to this day we hold a close relationship with the San José Quaker Meeting, which is held in our office every week.
In March 2009, San José will be the location of the annual International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons (ICBUW) conference. The goal of ICBUW is to ban the military use of uranium and other radioactive materials by United Nations countries. These radioactive and chemically toxic weapons were first used on a large scale by the US and UK in the Gulf War in 1991, subsequently in Bosnia and Yugoslavia by NATO. These weapons have a devastating and long lasting effect on soldiers, their families and in the communities where they have been used.
As the only Latin American organization that is a member of ICBUW, CAP will be organizing and hosting this event. We have invited representatives from government and non-governmental organizations throughout Latin American to attend, as well as experts from around the globe to discuss the effects of DU. As it is ICBUW’s goal to pass a ban in the United Nations by 2010, this event is an important opportunity to raise awareness in the Americas and to make a unified stand against the use of these arms.
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