UN official says civic society’s attendance is important for abolishing nuclear weapons

Japan Press Weekly

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UN official says civic society’s attendance is important for abolishing nuclear weapons

The Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo) requested that the U.N. increase efforts to get nuclear weapons abolished.

On October 8, a Japan Gensuikyo delegation led by Taka Hiroshi, the Japan Gensuikyo secretary general, met with U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Sergio Duarte and U.N. General Assembly First Committee Chairman Marco Antonio Suazo at the U.N. headquarters in New York.

Taka said that it is of great significance for the United Nations, which has nuclear weapons countries as its members, to reach an agreement banning nuclear weapons.

He asked for increased efforts to reach such an agreement and the implementation of steps to implement the agreement.

Duarte, who participated in the 2008 World Conference against A & H Bombs in August, told the delegation that the present-time is an important moment to make advances toward nuclear disarmament. He explained that U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon attaches great importance to disarmament as “a frontline task”.

Duarte also said that in order to make a success of the 2010 NPT Review Conference civil society has an increasingly important role to play.

The delegation handed Suazo a list of 22,238,389 signatures collected since 2005 as well as 60 Japanese municipal leaders’ and local assembly chairs’ signatures in support of the international signature drive, “For the Swift Abolition of Nuclear Weapons.”

Suazo thanked the delegation by stressing that civil society’s involvement is crucial in advancing disarmament efforts. Grassroots movements, including the signature drive, will help to supplement and support the efforts made by diplomats and U.N. staff, he said. - Akahata, October 10, 2008