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Bruce Kent receives major international peace award

  • Jo Siedlecka

L-R: Bruce Kent, Lisa Clark, Reiner Braun and Philip Jennings at the ceremony.

L-R: Bruce Kent, Lisa Clark, Reiner Braun and Philip Jennings at the ceremony.

Peace campaigner Bruce Kent, was presented with the Sean McBride award by Philip Jennings, new co-president of the International Peace Bureau, at a special ceremony at St Thomas' Hospital in London on Saturday. Among the attendees were Kate Hudson, director of CND, Theresa Alessandro, director of Pax Christi, Lisa Clark and Reiner Braun IPB co-presidents. Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire and previous Sean McBride award winner Jeremy Corbyn were among those who sent messages of congratulations.

In his speech Philip Jennings recalled a visit to Hiroshima where he had convened a world congress for 2000 union leaders from 150 nations in Nagasaki in 2010. He said: "Next year is the 75th Anniversary of the detonation of the nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.The hibakusha related to me their Nagasaki memories of August 9 1945 - the annihilation - the loss - the agonizing pain and suffering…. On saying farewell, they shared a worry that with their passing their message to the world would be forgotten.They said please ensure that there will be no silence. I recalled the quote of Martin Luther King who said: "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

"I relate all of this to you because today we recognize a man who has refused to stay silent about things that matter. That man is Bruce Kent. His message for peace and the prohibition of nuclear weapons has echoed across the decades."

"A soft voice that has roared with a message for human rights, for social justice, for people to take a stand. For people to wake up and see the dangers that a nuclear weapon world holds for us. Campaigner, organizer, orator, a man restless for change. Martin Luther King said: 'The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.' By MLKs measure - Bruce you are a giant."

Jennings praised Bruce Kent's energy which has led him to take part in events such as a 1000-mile march from Warsaw to Nato HQ, as well as his commitment to service from War on Want, to CND, to Pax Christi, to the IPB. "At 90 he is still an active office bearer in many organizations," he said.

"Today the International Peace Bureau is proud to award Bruce Kent with its highest honour. Bruce Kent you are the worthiest winner of the Sean MacBride prize in 2019. In the words of Sean MacBride you have dedicated your life for peace to be the desperate imperative of humanity. Congratulations!"

In his acceptance speech Bruce Kent praised Sean McBride who dedicated his life to working for peace. In 1974 he was awarded the Nobel Peace prize for his wide-ranging work including roles such as co-founder of Amnesty International, Secretary General of the International Commission of Jurists and UN Commissioner for Namibia. While at IPB he launched the Bradford Proposals on World Disarmament which laid the grounds for the first Special Session on Disarmament in 1978.

Bruce Kent stressed: "I would like every child and school on this planet, to have a copy of the UN Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and I hoped they will one day be included in all school curriculums." He said the document was difficult to find in bookshops - but he had brought some along for the evening and urged everyone to have a copy.

Read the document on the UN website here: www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/

The IPB is the world's oldest peace organization. Since 1891 it has brought together organizations dedicated to peace, against war, for disarmament and against nuclear weapons.

For more information see: www.ipb.org/

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