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Queen Noor Attends Global Zero World Summit

Jordan’s Queen Noor was one of the 200 attendants at Tuesday’s Global Zero World Summit in Paris. The Summit targets a ban on nuclear weapons, with UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon leading the disarmament.

Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

Iran was on the minds of the participants, especially since the country has been making headlines with its nuclear program. But Queen Noor warned on signaling out the Islamic Republic.

“There is no benefit in selective targeting. Exceptions fuel tensions,” she warned. “You have to hold all states accountable.”

That also meant Israel, which never formally acknowledged its nuclear arms but its neighbors in the Middle East are well aware of it. The Queen’s comment was immediately shot down by George Shultz, the former U.S. Secretary of State under President Reagan.

“You can’t start by telling Israel to get rid of its weapons,” when it is in a region surrounded by people “who question its right to exist.”

The summit is to last for three days. Noor, the widow of King Hussein, is expected to take part for all days since she is one of the biggest campaigner for nuclear disarmament.

February 2nd, 2010 | Tags: , | Category: Jordan | Leave a comment

Queen Noor Discusses How Film Can Bridge Cultures

Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for DIFF

Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Getty Images for DIFF

This past weekend saw the 6th annual Dubai International Film Festival open. Royals and celebrities from all over the Middle East have been taking part in the event, and among them is Jordan’s Queen Noor. She spoke at Sunday’s annual Culture Bridge panel as a guest of honor.

In her speech, the Queen said media platforms like this Film Festival (DIFF) can bring exposure on a  global scale about the perspectives and narratives of one another’s culture. For example, movies like Burdus, which was shown at the panel, have the power to open communication and display how media can influence people.

Queen Noor cited personal examples and insights when she explained that media has the power to shift behavior and thinking, and can cut through differences and promote peace and prosperity.

Click here to see an interview with the Queen about how movies can help solve certain situations, such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

December 14th, 2009 | Tags: , , , | Category: Jordan | Leave a comment

Queen Noor Sees Nuclear Arms Ban Closer to Reality

One of the guests at this week’s U.N. Security Council meeting was Jordan’s Queen Noor. Invited by U.S. President Barack Obama, the Queen sat in the chamber through speeches given by various world leaders.

JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

However, she was not there on behalf of the Hashemite Kingdom. The widow of the late King Hussein was in attendance because Obama is presiding over a U.N. vote to ban nuclear weapons worldwide.

“I believe that world leaders have come to recognize that the only way to eliminate the nuclear threat is to eliminate all nuclear weapons, and it is urgent to begin making this vision a reality,” Queen Noor said, according to the Associated Press.

As co-founder of Global Zero, where 200 world leaders have agreed to ban nuclear arms within 20 years, the Queen has been fighting for this banning in recent years.

Now, with the United Nations voting on this, she gets to see hers, and many others’, dream to be a reality.

Queen Noor said the resolution “would be a historic step toward an international consensus, and it would pave the way for governments to start working to achieve this goal.”

She also hopes Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev would strike an arms deal cut later in the year.

“It begins with the United States and Russia making deep cuts in their arsenals,” Queen Noor said. “We’re hoping the Security Council will endorse the Obama-Medvedev call for the elimination of nuclear weapons. We see this as a team effort.”

“For so long, so many people have been working toward this goal.”

As for Obama, the Queen has nothing but praise for him. “I admire him for setting the goal,” She said. “He’s got an enormous set of challenges in front of him.”

September 24th, 2009 | Tags: , | Category: Jordan | Leave a comment

Queen Noor Campaigns For Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

The Jordanian Queen was busy helping to launch the anti-nuclear weapons campaign, Global Zero. She, along with several other dignitaries and activists, are calling for the weapons to be banned within 25 years. France Global Zero

The project was launched in Paris on Tuesday after 18 months of talks on how to revive lagging disarmament efforts.

Delegations went to Moscow for talks with Russian officials Wednesday and on to Washington on Thursday.

An estimated 20,000 nuclear weapons are held by the Britain, China, France, India, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia and the United States. Israel is also thought to have nuclear weapons. As a first step, Global Zero hopes to build support for new negotiations between Russia and the United States to cut 1,000 weapons from their nuclear arsenals of about 5,000 each.

Besides Queen Noor, signatories for Global Zero include former US President Jimmy Carter, former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, businessman Sir Richard Branson, Ehsan Ul-Haq, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Pakistan, and Brajesh Mishra, former Indian National Security Advisor.

“We have to work on de-legitimising the status of nuclear weapons,” Queen Noor told the BBC.

“We have to set an example,” billionaire Richard Branson was quoted as saying.

With President-elect Barack Obama and several other world leaders advocating the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons, Richard Burt, a former United States arms negotiator, said the idea, once considered radical and unrealistic, was “entering the political mainstream.”

December 11th, 2008 | Tags: | Category: Jordan | Leave a comment