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As the Yugoslavia war was winding down, LCNP Executive
Director John Burroughs participated in two conferences in St. Petersburg, Russia. At a
June 18-20 Abolition 2000 conference sponsored among others by the German and
Russian branches of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and the
St. Petersburg Peace Council, no one could miss the pervasive sense of betrayal and
outrage of Russians arising from the NATO bombing without UN authority, the expansion of
NATO, and other post-Cold War developments. Several Russian speakers expressed the
conviction that progress in nuclear disarmament will require a renewal of respect for
international law and institutions.
Burroughs was one of the drafters of the St.
Petersburg Declaration issued by the conference. In addition to hitting now
familiar abolition themes, the document speaks to the Kosovo war. It states that
"future European security arrangements must comply with international law" and
called for "new emphasis on regional security organizations," such as the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. OSCE is a pan-European security
organization, involving 54 countries including Russia, the United States, and Canada,
which promotes non-military solutions to conflict.
On June 22-25, Burroughs joined a Hague Appeal for Peace delegation participating in the
second phase of the governmental Centennial Conference held to mark the 100th
anniversary of the Hague Peace Conference of 1899. Forceful presentations on nuclear and
comprehensive disarmament issues were made by Burroughs and others. Some of the points
raised by HAP delegates and other civil society organizations will be reflected as
positions of participants in the final report of the governmental process, to be
circulated at the United Nations this fall.
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