The Baptist Assembly, the annual gathering of the Baptist Union of Great Britain and BMS World Mission, has ended with Baptists calling on all governments to do what they can to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

The public resolution came ahead of the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference which began at the United Nations in New York today.

Proposed by Craig Gardiner, the resolution was seconded by Norman Kember, a peace campaigner who was held hostage in Iraq in 2005 when he was visiting as part of a Christian Peacemaking Team.

The resolution ‘affirms its commitment to uphold the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons’, ‘calls upon the UK Government to join with others in taking courageous steps to strengthen the non-proliferation regime and build a secure future for all’, and ‘calls upon churches to give support to the ‘Now is the time’ campaign’ to end nuclear weapons currently being led by an alliance of nine UK church denominations.

In seconding the resolution Norman Kember said, “In 1945 mankind let the genie of the nuclear bomb out of the bottle. It cannot be put back – every science student knows in principle what is needed to make a bomb.

“If we cannot unlearn the science of nuclear explosions and remember that the two bombs of 1945 have been far-exceeded in destructive power from kilo tons to mega tons – by the design of hydrogen bombs – we must limit the possibilities of their use.”

Another resolution passed during the same session ‘called on Baptists to look for ways of acting in solidarity’ with organisations campaigning to end the abuse and exploitation of women and children caught up in human trafficking.

Amongst the speakers at the Assembly that was held at the Plymouth Pavilions in Devon from Friday 30 April to Monday 3 May, was the President of the Baptist World Alliance, David Coffey.

During his address on Sunday evening he urged Baptists to vote in the General Election happening this Thursday but said that only one manifesto would ever fully triumph.

He said: “The Gospel Manifesto is the only one that will deliver on its promises."