World Court Project UK
The Public Conscience in Action
CORE GROUP MEETING: 18.8.2010, HOUSMANS, CALEDONIAN RD, LONDON
*** = Action items
Present: Pat Haward, Jim McCluskey, George Farebrother, Frank Jackson, Kitty McVey. Apologies: Lord Murray, Christine Titmus, Roslyn Cook.
1. Minutes of Last Meeting: The minutes of the last meeting were accepted.
2. Diary and Finance:
*** The Secretary's diary will be distributed.
*** We shall investigate the possibility of placing the INLAP account, administered by Vijay, into an interest-bearing account.
*** Attachments sent to the core group should be in pdf format in future.
The arrangements for banking the treasurer's and secretary's accounts are now complete. The secretary's account has now been re-named INLAP/WCP UK.
*** The arrangements from Gift Aid are now almost complete and will soon go to the Inland Revenue.
The carried-forward figure at the end of July was £12,009.76. However, taking into account conduit money not yet transferred, the real figure is £8,347.26.
3. Mayors for Peace: George has been appointed as a 20/20 vision campaigner for Mayors for Peace. There has been a meeting at UNA UK HQ with Peter Burt Mayors for Peace UK, Sean Morris, Nuclear-Free Local Authorities, and Ann Caluouri of the 20/20 vision campaign international secretariat.
*** George has offered to visit groups on our mailing list to tell them about Mayors for Peace and will provide accessible material for the use of local councillors. It was emphasised that it was better to obtain council resolutions than merely to recruit individual mayors.
*** We notice that the "Towards Zero" campaign is building a database of MPs interested in weapons issues. Further inquiries will be made about this.
*** Mayors for Peace should be a useful resource for the Affirmations. George will consider whether someone like Peter Burt might help in administering this.
4. Illegality Project: INLAP members and Rebecca Johnson have worked on a Citizen's Affirmation. This, initially, has been piloted in Sussex and has proved to be effective. People understand the simple message and are happy to endorse it immediately. However, it is beginning to yield considerable administrative demands and more thought will have to be given to this. Our experience shows that it is better on stalls, for instance, for people to sign the affirmation and then be given an A5 sheet to explain it. We have also introduced a returns box for people to ask for more and a donations box to help finance the project. It may be necessary, if the project expands considerably, for us to search for a paid assistant.
Although paper Affirmations are useful in spreading the word, it will be necessary to use social networking sites in several countries to build up the large numbers.
*** George will contact Ashley Woods about this with a view, possibly, of visiting Paris to learn more.
*** Rebecca will provide more suggestions on the wording of the Affirmations and we will check the explanation that goes with it as well as the longer explanation in the website to ensure that its purpose - for citizens to bring pressure on states to endorse their view that any use of nuclear weapons would be a crime against humanity and a war crime - is made clearer.
*** We must also find a simple title to identify the campaign and simplify the web link. In due course the basic affirmation will need to be translated into several languages.
*** Links must be made with ICAN, CNND, PNND and like organisations and people in Netlap.
5. Alyn Ware's Proposal for a joint application of PNND, INLAP, and the World Future Council to Rowntrees. The aim is to increase awareness among parliamentarians of the UN Secretary General's 5-point proposal for nuclear