By Tenzin Monlam
DHARAMSHALA, October 7: The Tibetan spiritual leader His Holiness the Dalai Lama congratulated the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) on winning the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.
The 1989 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, in his letter to Beatrice Fihn, the Executive Director of ICAN, lauded the organization, which has been honored with the prize for their constant efforts over the years in eliminating nuclear weapons through out the world.
“In these times of great uncertainty and upheaval in many corners of the world, the work of ICAN is of the utmost urgency. It is therefore most fitting that the Nobel Peace Committee has recognized the endeavors of ICAN,” the Dalai Lama said in his letter.
The Geneva-based organization on winning the peace prize said that the prize had come as a ‘surprise’ but it was also a ‘huge signal’ that the works of the organization was ‘needed and appreciated’.
“The laws of war say that we can’t target civilians. Nuclear weapons are meant to target civilians; they’re meant to wipe out entire cities. That’s unacceptable and nuclear weapons no longer get an excuse,” said Beatrice Fihn, head of ICAN.
The anti-nuclear weapons group is a coalition of 468 organizations from 101 countries and was formed in the year 2007 with the aim of working towards spreading awareness on the catastrophic consequences of any use of nuclear weapons.
The highlight of the organization’s work is the successful lobbying of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which was adopted at the United Nations by a vote of 122-1 in July this year.
The Tibetan leader has always maintained that he does not support nuclear weapon. In his letter to the group, he wrote, “I pray that there will be concerted and vigorous efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.”
