Vienna, October 29th, 1985
Dear Sir:
Auspices 1st World Congress:
The Nobel Laureates and other distinguished participants of the World Congress "Peace - The Best Environment" that has just been held in Maastricht, Holland from October 25th to 28th, in conjunction with "KAOS Kongres", have unanimously passed the enclosed appeal. They have decided to present it through delegations of Nobel Laureates to President Reagan in Washington and to Secretary General Gorbachev in Moscow, before the Summit will be held in Geneva on November 19th and 20th, 1985.
Due to the pressure of time, please cable your agreement to have your name added to this appeal to: World Congress, 27-28 Graben, Wien, and return both copies signed. (2 appeals!)
If you are interested in going to Washington and/or Moscow as part of one or both of the delegations, please let us know immediately.
To cover the expenses any donations would be highly appreciated.
We remain, with kindest regards,
Yours very sincerely
World Congress
Alternatives and Environment
Alois G. Englander
Secretary General
An Appeal To President Reagan And Secretary General Gorbachev
Maastricht, Holland, Sunday, October 27th, 1985
You have an unparalleled opportunity to change the course of human history.
We call upon you not to leave Geneva until you have agreed to a concrete plan for comprehensive disarmament, including the following immediate steps:
We call upon you not to leave Geneva until you have agreed to a concrete plan for comprehensive disarmament, including the following immediate steps:
2. A Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, starting with a mutual moratorium on nuclear explosions;
3. Progressive de-militarization of outer space;
4. Meaningful reductions in present nuclear stockpiles as a beginning toward their early elimination:
5. Establishment of a joint framework for assessing the dangers of the accidental initiation of nuclear war.
As President Eisenhower said, the arms race is daily taking food from the mouths of the hungry.
Today security can be found only in disarmament and meeting the needs of a dignified human existence. The future demands a cooperative redirection of scientific and technological know-how.
World peace will require less emphasis on ideologies and more on tolerance as well as on the solution of problems which depend upon international cooperation.
Courage today is required not in war, but to make peace.  We call on you to begin the Peace Race.
Xavier Perez De Cuellar:
Message From The Secretary-General To The World Congress
Peace - The Best Environment
Maastricht, the Netherlands, Oct. 25-28 1985
Presented through the Assistant Secretary General Dr. Robert Muller.
It is a great pleasure for me to send my greetings to the distinguished scientists and other participants in the World Congress on Peace: the Best Environment.  I congratulate the organizers of the Congress on their most timely choice of the topic for its discussion.
You gather precisely at a time when, on the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations, its Member States are engaged in the vast exercise of drawing the balance sheet of peace.  The focus is on questions as to what has been accomplished during the last four decades in the effort to build a better world for all and what has not and why.  Answers to them involve an assessment of the fundamentals of the current human situation.
I attach very great importance to the scientists' part in this exercise.  There are gratifying signs of a process of earnest self-examination in their ranks.  Many eminent leaders of science are disturbed by the misdirection of the scientific talent that is represented by the ceaseless development of the technologies of destruction.  The relentless arms race has now reached the absurd limit of threatening the very existence of the human species and perhaps, the continued habitability of the planet even.   If man is not to suffer the fate of the dinosaur, the necessity of re-orienting the scientific and technological outlook towards the goals of averting the collapse of civilization and of enhancing human dignity and alleviating human suffering needs to be recognized - first of all, in the scientific community itself.  Gatherings of scientists like yours, imbued not only with compassion for the human race but also with a sense of urgency, can stimulate this process.
The proposition that peace provides the best environment for human betterment is itself axiomatic but its persuasive effect can be greatly strengthened by analytical exposition.  Scientists can make a contribution to it no less important than that of statesmen.  They know better than laymen what great advances for the reduction of disease, the elimination of poverty, the bringing about or an equilibrium between human society and its surroundings are within the reach of scientific ingenuity and how these advances can be realized only in conditions of just and stable peace.  Their observations on these questions, made with their characteristic regard to cold facts, cannot fail to have a beneficial impact on the political leadership of all societies.
In extending to you my warmest wishes for a productive congress, I am voicing the hope that your discussions will lead towards this most desirable goal.