CRCNA Joins Others in Being Part of Nobel Peace Prize

In its long-standing opposition to the use of nuclear weapons, the Christian Reformed Church in North America has been and remains an active member of a worldwide, nuclear disarmament effort that was recently awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Sometimes people don't feel that being part of a denomination is beneficial. But this is another piece of evidence that says ‘being part of the Christian Reformed denomination is of great worth!’” said Darren Roorda, the CRCNA’s director of Canadian Ministries.

“Every member of the CRC can say, ‘We are a part of the Nobel Peace Prize!’ Thank God for what he is doing in and through healthy faith partnerships.”

The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in Oslo, Norway on Oct. 6 to the International Committee to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a non-governmental organization with members in more than 100 countries. Comprised of a wide-ranging group of churches, individuals, educators, organizations, and others, ICAN played a key role in July this year to get the United Nations to pass the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

This is the first multilateral legally binding instrument for nuclear disarmament to have been negotiated in 20 years.

In July, 122 nations adopted the treaty, although nuclear-armed states such as the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France have not signed on to the agreement. Though Canada does not have nuclear weapons of mass destruction, it also has not signed the treaty.

“On what is widely considered the most significant nuclear disarmament development in decades, Canada finds itself on the wrong side of history and humanity,” said Cesar Jaramillo, executive director of Project Ploughshares, a peace group with which the CRC is connected.

“Regrettably, Canada not only boycotted the treaty negotiations themselves, it also voted against the UN resolution that launched the process—just as the United States had asked.

“But,” added Jaramillo, “the door remains open for outliers like Canada to join the nuclear ban treaty, which opened for signatures on September 20th.”

ICAN, in a statement on its Facebook page, said about receiving the prize:. “This award shines a needed light on the path that the treaty provides toward a world free of nuclear weapons. Before it is too late, we must take that path.”

“This is a time of great global tension, when fiery rhetoric could all too easily lead us, inexorably, to unspeakable horror. The specter of nuclear conflict looms large once more. If ever there were a moment for nations to declare their unequivocal opposition to nuclear weapons, that moment is now.”

In awarding the prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee commended ICAN, and subsequently its many partners, “for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.”

“From my perspective, it is both humbling and encouraging that, at a moment when nuclear saber-rattling has ominously crept into international headlines and weekly news reports, there are enough good people (as 18th-century statesman Edmund Burke said) that are at least trying to do something about the ghastly evil of nuclear weaponry and thereby making credible the prophetic vision of nations beating their swords into plowshares,” said Samir Gassanov.

Gassanov is the official CRCNA representative to the Governing Committee of Project Ploughshares, a division within the Canadian Council of Churches (CCC) as well as an active part of ICAN, said Peter Noteboom, former development director for the CRCNA in Canada and now serving as interim executive director of the CCC.

“The CRCNA is a member of the CCC and, as a result of acting on the recommendations of the Synod 2006 peace and war report, the CRCNA also participates in Project Ploughshares as a full member,” said Noteboom.

Pushing for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, Noteboom added, is the kind of work that “is the raison d'etre for which Project Ploughshares was envisioned. . . . It is smack-dab in the middle of this work. As a result, the recognition that comes with the Nobel Peace Prize is a much-appreciated spotlight and recognition of the dedication, commitment, and high-level, expert advocacy by ICAN members and our own Project Ploughshares.”

In the Synod 2006 report, delegates to synod reiterated synod’s 1982 declaration that nuclear weapons cannot be a legitimate weapon in war and should be destroyed as soon as possible.

“Scripture is clear that when brothers and sisters of the Lord work together, there is great blessing. As such, to be a part of the group that has won the Nobel peace prize honors the godly reasons of why we do our ecumenical work,” said Roorda.