Nuclear disarmament is the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons with the aim of achieving a nuclear-weapons-free world.

At Crescent Wealth, we believe a world free of nuclear weapons is possible through international cooperation to reduce the flow of financial resources to organisations that deal in and/or profit from nuclear weapons.

“If not me, who? If not now, when?” Emma Watson famously said at the United Nations.

For all of us at Crescent Wealth, this is exactly what we ask of ourselves every day, particularly when it comes to participating in an action plan to contribute to the eradication of the use of nuclear weapons and more accurately perhaps, weapons of mass destruction.

International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)

As a specialist ethical and Islamic superannuation fund, we are proud to announce that today we received recognition for our stance against nuclear weapons and their manufacturers and financiers.

The recognition comes from Quit Nukes, a joint initiative working group of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and the Medical Association for Prevention of War (MAPW).

Crescent Wealth Managing Director Talal Yassine OAM said, “It is way past the expiry date for super funds to continue to invest in the armaments industry. Crescent Wealth has taken a moral, and ethical stand on weapons with a focus on sustainable development and positive investments. We never have and never will invest in companies involved in the manufacturing, financing or even stockpiling chain of nuclear and other controversial weapons, including chemical and biological weapons, landmines, and cluster munitions.  It is our obligation to create and contribute to a world free of such destructive harms,” he added.

Quit Nukes

Quit Nukes today added Crescent Wealth to its Honour Roll of Australian financial institutions that have adopted and implemented policies to comprehensively prevent any financial involvement with companies that produce nuclear weapons and marked this with a ceremony at Crescent Wealth’s Sydney CBD office. The Honour Roll criteria include a clear policy and zero exposure to a list of 25 companies that produce or maintain nuclear weapons that may be used for nuclear war.

Quit Nukes is working with Australian financial institutions to bring them into line with the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which among other things prohibits assistance with the production of weapons for nuclear powers, including financing.

Quit Nukes Director Gem Romuld said he applauded Crescent Wealth for its clear rejection of such abhorrent weapons.

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

“The nuclear weapon ban treaty makes these weapons illegal from January 22 2021, as well as immoral, so getting out of the industry that produces them is more important than ever. Even though Australia hasn’t yet joined the treaty, financial institutions should move ahead with a zero-tolerance policy for nuclear arms producers, in line with international law and the increasing norms of ‘avoiding harm’ and responsible investment,” he said.

A growing number of parliamentarians, local councils, unions, and religious and civil society organisations are calling for Australia to join the treaty, including Federal member for Cowan, Western Australia, Dr Anne Aly MP.

“Australia, we need to support the treaty. We need to show courageous leadership and demonstrate to our youth that strength isn’t in these destructive weapons. We can no longer be a proxy to the devastation and threat nuclear weapons pose,” Dr Aly said.

Crescent Wealth joins Future Super, Australian Ethical Superannuation, Verve Super, Christian Super and Bank Australia on the Quit Nukes Honour Roll. These efforts aim to create a deterrence and support the elimination of nuclear weapons.

About The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

Under The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), there are nuclear-weapon states and non-nuclear-weapon states. The former commit to pursuing general and complete disarmament, while the latter agree to forgo developing or acquiring nuclear weapons.

The nuclear-weapon states (NWS) consist of five states—China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and the United States—officially recognized as possessing nuclear weapons by this nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT).

With its near-universal membership, the NPT has the widest adherence of any arms control agreement, with only South Sudan, India, Israel, and Pakistan remaining outside the treaty.

In 2017, The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) won the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to “work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons” and their “ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons”, which further supports the United Nation’s NPT which entered into force in March 1970.