wfn.org | Official Urges Lawmakers Not to Rush to Judgment On Test Ban Treaty

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

12-October-1999 
99342 
 
    PC(USA) Official Urges Lawmakers 
    Not to Rush to Judgment On Test Ban Treaty 
 
    Pact Would Halt All Nuclear Testing 
 
    by Evan Silverstein 
 
WASHINGTON - With a showdown looming on Capitol Hill, the Presbyterian 
Church (U.S.A.) pressed its case Thursday for ratification of a treaty 
banning nuclear weapon tests, and appealed yesterday for the Senate to 
postpone a vote on the pact scheduled for next week. 
 
    During a White House gathering of religious leaders, the Rev. Elenora 
Giddings Ivory, director of PC(USA)'s Washington office, argued that the 
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) is too important to be considered in 
the brief time set aside by Republican leaders. She urged the Senate to 
support the treaty when it comes up for a vote next Tuesday. 
 
    "The passage of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty is central to 
ensuring the safety and well-being of future generations," Ivory said. 
"Considering that the Chemical Weapons Convention, which was ratified by 
the Senate in 1997, enjoyed 14 full days of hearings, this treaty deserves 
the same thoughtful deliberation." 
 
    Historically, the Presbyterian Church has deplored the use or testing 
of nuclear weapons. In  1997 it supported the ratification and 
implementation of the test ban treaty. In 1980, the General Assembly 
affirmed that "the new global reality and our faith call us to recognize 
the task of peacemaking at the center of our church's mission in this 
critical time." 
 
    "The Cold War has ended - there is no need for nuclear weapons 
testing," Ivory said. "The passage of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty is 
absolutely necessary to stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons 
around the world." 
 
    She said the treaty, which has virtually no Republican support, would 
discourage the spread of nuclear arms to non-nuclear countries and reduce 
the chance that a superpower will develop more dangerous nuclear weaponry. 
Ivory urged people of all faiths to contact their senators to ask for a 
full hearing on the treaty. 
 
    President Clinton thanked Ivory and other religious leaders who 
surrounded him on the South Lawn of the White House for their support of 
the treaty. On hand were representatives of the U.S. Catholic Bishops' 
Conference, the National Council of Churches of Christ, the Religious 
Action Center for Reformed Judaism, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, and 
the National Council of Churches. 
 
    "Today, religious leaders from across the spectrum and across the 
nation are urging America to seize the higher ground of leadership to stop 
the spread of nuclear weapons," Clinton said. 
 
    The treaty, signed by Clinton on Sept. 26, 1996, was first proposed by 
President Dwight Eisenhower in 1958. Historically, the United States has 
taken the lead in drafting and promoting the test ban treaty. Clinton urged 
opponents of the treaty to join him in listening to the religious 
community, the American people and others who support the test ban 
initiative. 
 
    "Listen to the religious leaders, who say it is the right thing to do," 
he said. "Listen to our allies, including nuclear powers Britain and 
France, who say America must continue to lead." 
 
    The treaty would extend the present international ban on nuclear tests 
in the atmosphere to forbid underground testing as well. In effect it would 
be a total ban on nuclear explosions. Supporters of the treaty, which has 
been signed by representatives of 154 nations, have acknowledged privately 
that they could not get the two-thirds majority needed for U.S. 
ratification. If the measure fails in the Senate, the treaty will be the 
first arms-control treaty ever voted down. 
 
    Clinton said the treaty's approval is a moral obligation to future 
generations. 
 
    "Do you really want to leave our children a world in which every nation 
has a green light to test, develop and deploy nuclear weapons?" he asked. 
"Or a world in which we have done everything we possibly can to minimize 
the risks nuclear weapons pose to our children?"  

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