The Methodist Church in Britain has criticised the UK Governement for boycotting the latest United Nations meeting on nuclear disarmament, the May session of the 2016 open-ended working group on nuclear disarmament.
‘It is now time to take disarmament seriously. Agreement on a verifiable and effective treaty leading to the elimination of nuclear weapons would demonstrate our faith in co-operation over threat, hope over fear, life over death. As people of faith we believe that threat of use of weapons of mass destruction is inherently wrong regardless of who holds them. The continued use of this threat by the UK is unnecessary and counterproductive’, commented Revd Steve Wild, President of the Methodist Conference.
‘It is shameful that our government has voted against the process that is currently taking place within the United Nations. Although we have a UK Disarmament Ambassador based in Geneva, the UK chose not to be present in vital discussions taking place in that same city. The credibility of the UK’s commitment to multilateral disarmament is being seriously dented. Our government cannot hold back progress on the introduction of a nuclear ban treaty’, said Dr Jill Barber, Vice-President of the Conference of the Methodist Church.
