Greater Manchester & District Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) launched CADU in January 1999 in Manchester City Town Hall. Our main reasons for the launch at this time were:

- information from the Ministry of Defence that depleted uranium weapons had been used in the Gulf War by both the UK and US forces; over 300 tons of DU had been used in the Gulf War by both the UK and US forces; over 300 tons of DU had been left, mainly in southern Iraq. At the time, the Ministry of Defence stated that the weapons would be developed moving from the original, named CHARM 1, to CHARM 2 and 3. The weapons will be retained in the UK arsenal as there is 'no satisfactory alternative' to achieve the 'levels of penetration required to defeat modern Main Battle Tanks'

- increasingly disturbing reports about birth defects and raised incidence of cancer in the population of southern Iraq

- Gulf War veterans finally, 7 years after the conflict, being tested positive for radioactive poisoning

- an increase in childhood leukaemias near the British test site in the south west Scotland.

As we prepare this material, we are aware that NATO forces used DU munitions in the Balkans.

Together we can put an end to the manufacture, proliferation and use of depleted uranium weapons in the interests of humanity.

Rae Street
Coordinator
Campaugn Against Depleted Uranium
c/o Greater Manchester & District CND
One World Center
6 Mount St, Manchester M2 5NS
Tel. (UK) 0161 8348301 Fax: (UK) 0161 8348187
E-mail: gmdcnd@gn.apc.org