On January 28, the UN Open Ended Working Group on nuclear disarmament (OEWG) will hold its first session in Geneva.

The OEWG, open to all UN member states and to representatives of civil society, was established by the UN General Assembly to work on legal measures and norms to achieve a world without nuclear weapons, and on interim measures to increase transparency and eliminate the risk of accidental, mistaken, unauthorized or intentional nuclear weapon detonations.

Mayors, parliamentarians and civil society organisations are taking action to support the OEWG and to promote effective action in this deliberating process.

Mayors for Peace, an organisation of over 6,800 cities, has sent an open letter to the OEWG urging all States – especially those possessing nuclear weapons and their umbrella states – to engage in constructive deliberations in the OEWG in order to pave the way for a nuclear-weapon-free world.

People for Nuclear Disarmament and the Human Survival Project have sent a Memo to Governments Participating in the OEWGhighlighting the humanitarian and security imperative to immediately reduce nuclear risks and to take concurrent steps to prohibit and eliminate the weapons. The memo explores various options to abolish nuclear weapons, including a nuclear weapons convention, ban treaty and/or a ‘building blocks’ approach.

Paul Flynn MP (UK), a member of Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, has put a question in the UK House of Commons to the Foreign Office asking ‘what proposal the Government plans to put in place to the second UN open-ended working group on nuclear disarmament.’ The UK did not participate in the 2013 OEWG and has not yet announced whether they will participate in the 2016 OEWG.