The Issue:
U.S. Senate decides not to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty…The U.S. withdraws from the ABM Treaty…North Korea and other nations are developing nuclear weapons…The Bush Administration seeks funds to develop new, small nuclear weapons and “bunker busters”.
Over the past few years, the world has moved away from nuclear disarmament and embarked on a dangerous proliferation path. Through talks with other funders, we decided that the U.S. government needed to hear clearly that the risks associated with this approach and its participation in fostering it had too high a price, politically and financially. We also believed that the nonprofit disarmament community should develop and follow a common agenda in order to be most effective.
Action:
In conjunction with the Ploughshares Fund, we created and fund the Arms Control Advocacy Collaborative (AC2), a consortium of ten organizations and a paid lobbyist in Washington, DC, to bolster the lobbying activities of those committed to arms control and nonproliferation.
As of June 2003:
• After establishing four key topics ranging from opposition to the development of new nuclear weapons to concern over the weaponization of space, AC2 members met regularly and coordinated their legislative and other lobbying strategies.
• AC2 held briefings with congressional members and staff on North Korea’s development of weapons before the public was fully aware of the threat.
• AC2 members used their access to key Republicans and Democrats to explain why the Moscow Treaty needed to be strengthened, why funding requests for the development of new nuclear weapons should be denied, and why the Nunn-Lugar program should receive augmented funding and support.
• AC2 members ensured significant discussion about the need to reduce the U.S. nuclear arsenal in the U.S. Senate for the first time in over a decade.
• According to those “inside the Beltway,” AC2 is a visible force for non-proliferation and disarmament and is helping to keep peace and security issues in front of the Congress.
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The very existence of nuclear weapons gives rise to the pursuit of them. They are seen as a source of global influence, and are valued for their perceived deterrent effect. And as long as some countries possess them (or are protected by them in alliances) and others do not, this asymmetry breeds chronic global insecurity.”
• Mohamed El Baradei, Director, International Atomic Energy Association, The Economist, October 16, 2003
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Co-founders and co-funders of AC2, Ploughshares Fund: (L to R) Naila Bolus, Executive Director; Isabel Allende, Author, presenting Espiritu Award to Ploughshares Fund; Sally Lilienthal, Founder.
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