The Peacemaking Team at First Presbyterian Church of Bend, Oregon has engaged in advocacy supporting the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).
The team developed a statement calling for the ratification of the treaty and then invited members of the faith community to sign on with us in support of the statement. Over 250 signatures, with a cover letter, were sent to President Obama, Vice President Biden, Secretary of State Clinton, and Senators Wyden and Merkley from Oregon asking them to support the CTBT.
The CTBT is a global ban on all nuclear test explosions. There are 44 countries that are required to sign and ratify the treaty before it enters into force. Out of those 44, all of them have ratified except for nine. And those nine include the United States, China, India, Pakistan, Israel, Iran, Egypt, Indonesia, and North Korea.
General Assemblies of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) called for the creation of a test ban treaty before it existed and have called for the U.S. to ratify the treaty once it was proposed.
Ratification of the CTBT would be a significant step toward a world free of nuclear weapons.
Congrats to the folks of First Presbyterian Church, Bend, Oregon for living the believers' calling as peacemakers following Jesus!