Scotland's Christian peace groups campaign at Faslane

Credit: Justice and Peace Scotland

One year on from the day the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was ratified on 22 January 2021 at the UN in New York, Justice and Peace Scotland joined our fellow anti-nuclear campaigners from Scottish CND, Pax Christi Scotland, Glasgow Catholic Worker and the Faslane Peace Camp to hold a vigil at the 'home of Trident' at Faslane on the Clyde.

At 10-minute intervals and using a loudspeaker we took it in turns to highlight our particular concerns and call on the UK government to implement the Treaty using text taken from the Treaty document. Some of our concerns and some of the actions we called for are as follows:

• We are deeply concerned about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that would result from any use of nuclear weapons and recognising the consequent need to completely eliminate such weapons which remains the only way to guarantee that nuclear weapons are never used again under any circumstances.
• We also urge the UK government never, under any circumstances, to develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

2022 also marks the 40th anniversary of the 1982 Scottish Catholic Bishops statement on Peace and Disarmament - a landmark statement on nuclear weapons which: "Calls upon all men and women to work for genuine peace in the world. We have at present an atmosphere of uneasy peace in which a nuclear holocaust remains an ever-present threat."

This statement continues to speak to us and is as important today as it was in 1982. We encourage you to read and share this statement which you can find here: Justice & Peace Scotland - Scottish Bishops' statement on Peace and Disarmament, 1982