In early 1961, with the help of a small group of activist friends, the Paulings drafted another petition, this once calling for a halt in plans to provide nuclear weapons to NATO, a move toward universal disarmament, and strengthening the United Nations as a force for world peace. Their "Appeal to Stop the Spread of Nuclear Weapons" was sent out to two thousand scientists who had signed their earlier petitions. Within a month Pauling collected more than seven hundred signatures, including those of thirty-eight Nobel laureates. He presented the results once again to the United Nations, and used the publicity to put out a call for several hundred thousand more signatures from around the world. A petition effort this large had never been mounted. But even that was not enough. Pauling immediately turned his attention to creating a new forum for discussion of his issues -- an international peace meeting in Oslo.