(RightLivelihood.org)

In all the hoopla surrounding President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize, another visionary and activist for peace quietly received a momentous award for his work in nuclear disarmament around the world. Alyn Ware, global coordinator for the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, was one of five recipients for the Right Livelihood Award, often called the “Alternative Nobel Prize”.

Like President Obama, Ware was recognized for his work in the area of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, for several reasons.  One, Alyn was instrumental in the organization of the World Court Project. This Project brought together NGOs to campaign for the International Court of Justice to hear a case on the question of whether the threat or use of nuclear weapons was illegal under international law. The court decided that yes, the threat or use of nuclear weapons was generally illegal under international law. But the Court also ruled that nuclear nations had the obligation under international law to eliminate their nuclear arsenals. Against all odds, and a great deal of governmental pressure to prevent this case from reaching the Court, the World Court Project, which brought together groups such as the Lawyers Alliance for World Security, LCNP, and a number of European groups,  succeeded in a legal victory against nuclear weapons.

Alyn Ware did not stop there. He organized the drafting of the model Nuclear Weapons Convention, and continues to campaign for this Convention, which would eliminate and ban all nuclear weapons just as biological and chemical weapons have been banned. And in 2002, Ware founded the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, a group that bridges the gap between NGOs and government leaders to find the path to global zero.

Nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation has reached center stage, and Alyn Ware and his affiliated groups– which include PNA, the Project for Nuclear Awareness– are a huge force behind this movement. His work with students, government leaders, lawyers, and activists at all levels signifies him as a tireless leader and promoter of peace and a nuclear-weapons free world.

The Project for Nuclear Awareness is proud and honored that Alyn Ware, 2009 recipient of the Right Livelihood Award, will be our keynote speaker on the second day of our International Youth Dialogue for Disarmament. Participants from all over the world will benefit from hearing from this global leader for nuclear disarmament.