Doctors from around the world have voiced deep concern about nuclear proliferation and in particular, plans to “retain indefinitely and modernise nuclear arsenals” in some countries, leading them to call for such states to promptly sign and implement the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Representatives from almost 40 national medical associations attended the World Medical Association’s (WMA) Council meeting in Latvia last week where they spoke about the consequences of nuclear weapons on human health and the environment. The WMA and its Constituent Members say doctors have a responsibility to work for the elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide.
WMA President Dr Yoshitake Yokokura said: "It is our duty as physicians to preserve life, to safeguard the health of patients and to dedicate ourselves to the service of humanity. Members of the WMA have a responsibility to remind their governments of the devastating and long-term health consequences of using nuclear weapons and to urge them in the strongest possible terms to prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons."
The Council has adopted a resolution for the prohibition of nuclear weapons.
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