Obama to chair U.N. nuclear arms meeting

NEW YORK — U.S. President Barack Obama will chair a special Sept. 24 meeting of the U.N. Security Council on nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, according to U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice. The heads of state of the other 14 Security Council members have been invited to participate in the meeting during the U.N. General Assembly’s annual summit.

Session will be focused on nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament broadly.

"The session will be focused on nuclear nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament broadly and not on any specific countries," Rice said.

The Security Council has imposed sanctions on Iran and North Korea, though, due to their nuclear programs. The latter has conducted two nuclear tests, and the former denies allegations it is trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Obama has promised to reduce U.S. nuclear weapons stockpiles. He and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed in Moscow last month to reduce their country’s arsenals of deployed nuclear warheads by a third from current levels to approximately 1,600 each.

Obama will address the 192-nation General Assembly on Sept. 23 and possibly a climate change meeting on Sept. 22. The appearances will mark his U.N. debut.

Peace with Justice

The United Methodist Board of Church & Society’s Peace with Justice Program aims to make shalom visible and active in people's lives and communities. The General Board of Church & Society (GBCS) has been assigned by the denomination to implement the program and call the church to "strengthen its capacity to act as a public policy advocate" in communities and nations throughout the world.

Action Network

Mark Harrison, director of GBCS’s Peace with Justice program, supervises an “Action Network” that provides legislative updates, educational resources and identifies opportunities to act on issues such as ending the war in Iraq, overcoming global poverty and hunger, stopping new nuclear weapons proliferation, stopping global conflicts (i.e. Darfur, Philippines) and Middle East Peace. He issues “Action Alerts” periodically through e-mail.

Joining the Peace with Justice Action Network is free: go to umpower.org or click on My GBCS on the General Board of Church and Society Web site, www.umc-gbcs.org. You can also contact Donna Brandyberry, (202) 488-5641. Mark Harrison can be reached at (202) 488-5645.