WarCriminalsWatch Events

WHERE:  Outside Johns Hopkins University, 34th and Charles Streets, Baltimore

WHAT: In 2017, the United Nations General Assembly convened a conference to consider a treaty on a complete ban on nuclear weapons — including their manufacture, possession, use, transfer, and testing. On July 7, 2017, 122 countries voted to adopt the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The treaty required 50 countries to ratify it to enter into force, and that happened on October 24, 2020, when Honduras ratified the treaty.  On January 22, 2021 — 90 days after the fiftieth ratification — the nuclear ban treaty will enter into force for the States which ratified it.

To celebrate there will be a car caravan and a vigil with the main banner announcing nuclear weapons are illegal.  Those gathered will urge Johns Hopkins University to renounce nuclear weapons contracts. Then, there will be a march over to the building where President Ron Daniels has an office, and the UN Treaty to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons will be taped on the building door.

WHY: According to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons report Schools of Mass Destruction, "Johns Hopkins University receives more than twice as much funding from the Pentagon than any other university due to the work of its Applied Physics Laboratory; in 2019 the funding ceiling for its ongoing contract was extended beyond $7 billion. This work includes research for the U.S. military's nuclear weapons systems . . . The Applied Physics Laboratory received a renewed 7-year contract in 2017 for up to $92 million 'for continuing the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center's (AFNWC) strategic partnership." So Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland has an initiated this campaign to urge JHU to renounce nuclear weapons research.

WHO: Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland was formed by groups and individuals concerned about the dangers of nuclear weapons. It has called attention to the growing danger of nuclear war and the outrageous $1.7 trillion dollars being spent to upgrade the nuclear arsenal. For example, the group convinced the Baltimore City Council and the Montgomery County Council to pass Back from the Brink [BFTB] resolutions to demonstrate broad support for five fundamental changes in US nuclear weapons policy. Contact Prevent Nuclear War/Maryland at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .