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For a Peaceful and Just Future Free of Nuclear Weapons and Wars: Call for Participation in and Support for the 2006 World Conference against A & H Bombs

In the earnest effort to eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons and open a future that is full of hope, the task of abolishing nuclear weapons is called for more urgently than ever. Firmly committed to developing the cooperation of people around the world as well as in Japan for this shared goal, we will hold the 2006 World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs from August 2-9 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. In order to make a success of this World Conference, we call on peace-loving people around the world to take part in and/or send their representatives to the 2006 World Conference.

With more than 20,000 nuclear warheads stockpiled or deployed on our planet, international peace and security continues to be at risk. The United States, the most powerful nuclear weapons state, is attempting to place the world under its control by using its military strength under the pretext of the danger of terrorism or nuclear proliferation, even though President Bush himself is unable to deny that the United States lied about the reasons for launching the war on Iraq and that the war has had disastrous consequences. What's more, the United States is promoting a war policy combining nuclear and conventional weapons and even preparing to put its nuclear war plan into practice. In 2005, the 60th year since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, at the NPT Review Conference in May and at the U.N. Summit in September, the United States flagrantly reneged on the unanimous ﾒunequivocal undertakingﾓ to eliminate nuclear weapons.

The international community will not condone these outrages. In December 2005, the U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution calling for the implementation of the promise to abolish nuclear weapons by an overwhelming majority vote, 153 in favor and 5 against. In Germany and Belgium, which are NATO members, the movement calling for the withdrawal of U.S. nuclear warheads from Europe is growing among the public and local governments. The new signature campaign launched by the Japanese peace movement ﾒFor the Swift Abolition of Nuclear Weaponsﾓ has started with strong support expressed from around the world.

The number of countries that keep troops in Iraq has decreased by half, and the majority of the U.S. public now opposes the war. In Japan, public criticism of the dangerous moves toward dragging Japan into U.S. preemptive wars is increasing. The movement to defend Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution is gaining momentum, so are residents' and local governments' protests against the plan to realign and strengthen the functions of U.S. military bases in Japan at the cost of public safety and peaceful living conditions.

The World Conference against A & H Bombs together with the Hibakusha has contributed to heightening popular awareness of the task of abolishing nuclear weapons. It now has an even greater role to play. Our movement has made major achievements during the last half century, including the more than 60 million signatures collected from Japanese citizens in support of the ﾒAppeal from Hiroshima and Nagasakiﾓ and the successful activities marking the 60th anniversary of the A-bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Let us build on these achievements to make further progress toward increasing public support and actions throughout the world, so we can block all dangerous attempts to use nuclear weapons and mark a sure step forward to a world without nuclear weapons. The 2006 World Conference against A & H Bombs will be a place where people from around the world, representatives of national/local governments, NGOs and organizations or individuals, will meet and discuss together, and further increase their cooperative efforts. It will be a conference to cement solidarity with the anti-war and peace movements across the world, movements in defense of a just world against the outrage of big powers, the Hibakusha and global nuclear victims, and with young people who are striving to create a future full of hope.

Let us make a great success of the 2006 World Conference against A & H Bombs by promoting internationally and in Japan the new international signature campaign and various other activities leading to the abolition of nuclear weapons and peace.

Provisional Schedule of the 2006 World Conference against A & H Bombs:

August 1: Information meeting for overseas delegates (evening)
August 2-4: International Meeting (Hiroshima)
August 4-6: World Conference against A & H Bombs - Hiroshima (Plenary sessions and Workshops)
August 8: International Forum/ Workshops (Nagasaki)
August 9: World Conference against A & H Bombs - Nagasaki

- Akahata, February 17, 2006