Oakland, CA – In a major speech made from Prague today, President Obama placed a commitment by the US to achieve a “world without nuclear weapons” at the center of US nuclear policy, outlining the need for arms control agreements and a series of steps to address the threat posed by nuclear weapons.

“With the Cold War long over, President Obama’s commitment to a nuclear weapons free world signals a shift to a 21st century security strategy that addresses the fact that nuclear weapons are a liability and pose an increasing security risk in today’s world,” said Cara Bautista, Coordinator for the Campaign for a Nuclear Weapons Free World. “Reducing the role of nuclear weapons in our own security strategy gives us the authority to ask other countries to do the same as we work to strengthen existing international arms control treaties and negotiate new ones.”

The elimination of nuclear weapons and the need for concrete steps forward has been endorsed in the last two years by a growing lists of foreign policy elite including former Secretaries of State Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, former National Security Advisors Zbigniew Brzezinski, Sandy Berger, and Richard McFarlane, former Senators Sam Nunn and Chuck Hagel and former Defense Secretary William Perry.

“The faith community in New Hampshire and the US applauds the new spirit of a world without nuclear weapons,” said David Lamarre-Vincent, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Council of Churches. “Especially during these holy days of Easter and Passover, we celebrate the hope-filled work for a nuclear weapons free life rather than living with the unthinkable evil of a nuclear attack.”

President Obama said that his administration would “aggressively pursue U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.” Over 140 nations have ratified the CTBT. The United States has signed but not ratified the treaty, observing a moratorium on nuclear testing since 1992.

“Interreligious leaders strongly support ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty as a down payment on a new era of US leadership to lock down nuclear weapons, build down our stockpiles and end a world held hostage to nuclear weapons development and proliferation,” said Lamarre-Vincent. “Faith leaders agree that US leadership on economic development and diplomacy trumps trillions of dollars spent on weapons that we dare never use.”

Congress is likely to present a hurdle for President Obama’s arms control agenda. Achieving a follow-on agreement to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and any newly negotiated treaty to verifiably end the production of fissile materials would require ratification by two-thirds of the US Senate or 67 votes. Adequate funding for programs to address the threat of nuclear terrorism by securing loose nuclear material, such as the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism, would also have to be approved by Congress.

“The Campaign for a Nuclear Weapons Free World is working to build support in Congress for steps toward a nuclear weapons free world,” said Bautista. “Today the president said that ‘the voices for peace and progress must be raised together’ for this call to eliminate nuclear weapons, and our coalition of more than 100 organizations nationwide stands ready to mobilize support to help achieve this shared goal. Congress should support reducing our stockpile to 1,000 or fewer nuclear weapons as we negotiate a replacement for START with Russia.”

President Obama also proposed that the US host a Global Summit on Nuclear Security within a year, highlighting the need for the international community to work together to address the threat posed by nuclear weapons.

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The Campaign for a Nuclear Weapons Free World is a consortium of more than 100 organizations promoting practical steps today to free the world from nuclear weapons tomorrow. For more information, visit www.nuclearweaponsfree.org. The New Hampshire Council of Churches is a coalition partner with the Campaign for a Nuclear Weapons Free World. For more information, visit www.nhchurches.org.