1. CITY OF SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO RESOLUTION NO. 2005-____
INTRODUCED BY: Miguel Chavez, David Coss, Patti Bushee

Passed by the Santa Fe City Council on April 13, 2005.
(signed resolution here - pdf)

A RESOLUTION SUPPORTING COMPLIANCE BY THE UNITED STATES WITH THE TREATY ON THE NONPROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS.

WHEREAS, the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was ratified by the United States on November 24, 1969 and entered into force on March 5, 1970, becoming part of what the U.S. Constitution calls the supreme Law of the Land; and

WHEREAS, the NPT has now been ratified by 188 countries (all but four), and according to the United States Department of State, it has been remarkably successful in achieving its main goals and is an indispensable tool in preventing the spread of nuclear weapons; and

WHEREAS, Article VI of the NPT requires that “each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a Treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control”; and

WHEREAS, the United States appears committed to (1) retaining and upgrading a large nuclear arsenal including more than 10,000 nuclear weapons of which many reside in New Mexico, reportedly more than in any other state, along with large stocks of fissile materials; (2) designing new kinds of nuclear weapons; (3) building new factories for nuclear weapons components; and (3) upgrading existing ones; and

WHEREAS, more than 40% of all United States nuclear weapons spending occurs in New Mexico, more than in any other state, at facilities located within 70 miles of Santa Fe; and

WHEREAS, the radioactive wastes are being permanently disposed in large quantities at Los Alamos and Carlsbad, and continued nuclear weapons design and manufacturing activities will only cause more radioactive waste to be generated and disposed in New Mexico; and

WHEREAS United States compliance with the NPT and specifically with its disarmament requirements is an important step towards the goal of preventing nuclear proliferation; and

WHEREAS, large public opinion polls have shown very strong public support for nuclear disarmament, exceeding 80% nationally, and numerous civil society initiatives have sprung up around the world to strengthen and guide public opinion, legislation and executive action toward nuclear disarmament, including the Mayors for Peace campaign, which includes the mayors of at least 56 U.S. cities and 700 international cities.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF SANTA FE THAT

Section 1. The governing body recognizes:

(a) The legal obligation to nuclear disarmament stated in Article VI of the NPT and authoritatively interpreted in the 1996 unanimous advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice;

(b) The importance of United States leadership in nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation;

(c) That a posture of nuclear threat or deterrence cannot remain the sole prerogative of the United States and a small group of countries friendly or not actively hostile to the United States;

(d) That the federal commitment to nuclear weapons expends enormous resources and talent, creates security and safety problems that can never be fully solved; undermines the ethical basis of our society by promoting massive and indiscriminate violence, and permanently contaminates portions of our environment;

(e) That proposals to upgrade nuclear weapons, design new varieties of such weapons, maintain thousands of nuclear weapons or build new or expanded factories for the manufacture of nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons components should be viewed with dismay; and

(f) As immoral the notion that human security can ever be built upon instruments of mass destruction and the will to use them.

Section 2. The governing body calls upon our elected representatives to Congress as well as upon our Governor to publicly:

(a) Reaffirm the complete commitment of the United States to an unequivocal undertaking to the total elimination of nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament to which all States parties are committed under Article VI;

(b) Call for progressively and systematically dismantling our nuclear arsenal in concert with other nuclear powers pursuant to Article VI of the NPT and any other treaties and agreements as may be prudent to negotiate;

(c) Call for negotiations on treaties involving universal norms against all weapons of mass destruction;

(d) Reject all proposals to build new or expanded factories for nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons components; and

(e) Request that the federal government minimize and ultimately halt disposal of nuclear waste in northern New Mexico.

Section 3. The City Manager is directed to forward this resolution to the Monitoring, Data Base and Information Branch of the Department for Disarmament Affairs of the United Nations, all members of the United States Congress, the Governor of the State of New Mexico and all members of the New Mexico Legislature.

PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED this _____ day of ___________, 2005.

__________________________________
LARRY A. DELGADO, MAYOR

ATTEST:
_______________________________
YOLANDA Y. VIGIL, CITY CLERK

APPROVED AS TO FORM:
_________________________________
BRUCE THOMPSON, CITY ATTORNEY