The Arms Control Association, a prominent Washington, DC-based group promoting arms control policies, has announced the finalists for its annual Arms Control Person of the Year award.
One of the finalists is the government of the Marshall Islands and its former Foreign Minister Tony de Brum, “for pursuing a formal legal case in the International Court of Justice in The Hague against the world’s nuclear-armed states for their failure to initiate nuclear disarmament negotiations in violation of Article VI of the 1968 nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and customary international law.”
We appreciate the good work done in 2016 by all the nominees. However, we believe that the courage and foresight demonstrated by the Marshall Islands in filing these cases is unparalleled. And let’s not forget that the Marshall Islands’ case against the United States is still active. Receiving this award would help bring added attention to this ongoing effort in U.S. Federal Court. The Marshall Islands’ sustained effort to bring these issues to the highest judicial forums deserves strong recognition.
I encourage you to submit your vote for the Marshall Islands in this year’s contest, and to ask your friends, family, and colleagues. Voting is open now through January 5, 2017, at this link: https://www.armscontrol.org/acpoy.
We also have some social media content ready for you to share about this vote. Please re-tweet this tweet from @napf, and share this image on Facebook. Your support is much appreciated!