ANFA statement: Australian First Nations take a stand for all nations

image: ANFA co-chair Vicky Abdullah and co-president Sue Coleman-Haseldine with the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to ANFA member group ICAN for its powerful work to make nuclear weapons Illegal

Australian First Nations take a stand for all nations

The war in Ukraine is a reminder that all nuclear facilities can be weaponised against people and that nuclear weapons are not a ‘deterrent’. Instead, these illegal weapons of mass destruction are used in war to threaten and intimidate and prevent support for smaller non- nuclear states.

Our hearts go out to the people of Ukraine who have already suffered at the hands of war and in the wake of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. We are watching and we see Russia take control of nuclear facilities and threaten countries with the use of nuclear weapons and we are reminded of why we have fought for so long to keep uranium safe in the ground.

We do not want our country being used in weapons to destroy other people’s country and lives. We do not want a mineral from our country fuelling reactors and waste facilities which can be weaponised against civilians in war.

We send our support to Ukraine and stand in solidarity with people world-wide for a safe, nuclear-free and peaceful future.

Note: Mirarr are founding members of ANFA, the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance, which formed in 1997.