UK REPRESENTATION AT THE VIENNA CONFERENCE ON THE HUMANITARIAN IMPACT OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS

That this House welcomes the third conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in Vienna on 8-9 December 2014 and the international momentum to understand and further the humanitarian agenda; notes with concern the catastrophic and global consequences of the use of nuclear weapons, from initial blast, heat and radiation to climate disruption and nuclear famine over decades, and the need for international engagement from both nuclear and non-nuclear armed states to forge a dialogue on this issue; further notes that 145 countries attended the conference in Mexico earlier this year; further notes with regret that the UK and the four other nuclear-armed members of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty-P5- have so far boycotted the previous two conferences; further notes that the US has now confirmed its attendance at the Vienna conference; and urges the UK to confirm its participation in the Vienna conference in December and play its part in shaping the discussion and initiative on the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons.