February 16, 2011
The Japan Council against A & H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo) on February 15 held a rally in Tokyo and in the A-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to announce that it has launched a new international signature campaign called the “Appeal for a Total Ban on Nuclear Weapons.”
The appeal calls on “all governments to enter negotiations without delay on a convention banning nuclear weapons.” Signatures collected from citizens will be submitted to the U.N. General Assembly proceedings which are held in autumn.
Representing 118 organizations, 170 people from 31 countries sent to Gensuikyo messages in support of the newly-launched campaign. They include U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Sergio Duarte. This is the first time that the U.N. Secretary General gave official endorsement to an international signature-collection drive calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Peace activists on the same day took to the streets at various locations throughout the nation to call on passers-by to sign the new petition.
* * *
The following is the message from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon:
I am pleased to greet all those gathered in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Tokyo to launch a new campaign calling for the start of negotiations for a convention banning nuclear weapons.
I fully support your efforts. The history of multilateral disarmament shows the importance of citizens raising their voices to demand action by governments.
Your campaign is especially timely given recent significant developments, including the entry into force of the new START Treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States and the successful outcome of the 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We must all build on this momentum.
Last August, I attended the Peace Memorial Ceremony commemorating the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. That visit was among the most moving and memorable experiences of my life. I was humbled and inspired by the courage and fortitude of the many hibakusha I met in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hearing their experiences strengthened my conviction that we must do everything in our power to rid the world of nuclear weapons. As long as nuclear weapons exist, the threat exists. If we want to get rid of the threat, we need to get rid of the weapons.
In October 2008, I put forward a five-point proposal on nuclear disarmament, offering a practical approach to the elimination of nuclear weapons, including support for the idea of a nuclear weapons convention. I am heartened that at their recent summit in Hiroshima, Nobel Peace Laureates expressed strong support for this idea.
I hope people everywhere will sign your petition, thereby adding their voice to rising chorus calling for the start of negotiations. One day, we will rid the world of nuclear weapons. And when we do, it will be because of people like you. I wish you a most successful campaign.
* * *
The following is the message of support sent by U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Sergio Duarte:
The Japan Council Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs has a long and distinguished record of initiatives to advance global nuclear disarmament.
These initiatives have rested on an understanding that the firm will of the people offers the strongest possible foundation for achieving this great goal.
I am therefore both pleased and honoured to send this message to commend your new signature campaign to start negotiations on a nuclear weapons convention.
Your petition serves two very important purposes. First, it gives the general public—each individual citizen—an opportunity to participate personally in a wider process that is underway worldwide to eliminate the most dangerous weapons ever invented. Second, it focuses attention where it is most needed: on the need to bring the “rule of law” to disarmament, as proposed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
On an issue as important as nuclear disarmament, it is inconceivable that this will ever be achieved without binding legal commitments, whether in the form of a nuclear weapons convention or a framework of mutually-reinforcing instruments to achieve the same result.
The world must start thinking very seriously about what kinds of commitments and controls would have to be included in such a convention. Such work is not premature. Quite the opposite: it is long overdue.
This petition campaign is contributing to an outpouring of initiatives from civil society groups around the world, from both individual countries and through networks across national borders. With the energy of the “great wave” of Hokusai, these initiatives have the potential to create a tsunami of popular support for disarmament.
Leaders everywhere have recently witnessed how the will of the people can quite literally change history. A nuclear-weapon-free world would be the best possible gift we could pass along to future generations. It is not sufficient just to pass them the responsibility of achieving this goal. It is a cause worthy of our best efforts right now.
Please accept my very best wishes for a successful campaign.
* * *
The following is the text of the “Appeal for a Total Ban on Nuclear Weapons”:
Appeal for a Total Ban on Nuclear Weapons
In August 1945, two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki instantly turned the two cities into ruins and took the lives of about 210 thousand people. Even now, more than 200,000 Hibakusha, or A-bomb survivors, are carrying with them scars. Their tragedy should not be repeated anywhere on earth.
The call for the elimination of nuclear weapons is becoming ever widespread across the world. Citizens are taking actions, and many governments are endeavoring to reach this goal. The surest guarantee against there being another Hiroshima, or Nagasaki, is a total ban and the elimination of nuclear weapons.
In May 2010, the 189 parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), including the Nuclear weapons States, agreed “to achieve the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons”. Now is the time to act to accomplish it.
We call on all governments to enter negotiations without delay on a convention banning nuclear weapons.
The appeal calls on “all governments to enter negotiations without delay on a convention banning nuclear weapons.” Signatures collected from citizens will be submitted to the U.N. General Assembly proceedings which are held in autumn.
Representing 118 organizations, 170 people from 31 countries sent to Gensuikyo messages in support of the newly-launched campaign. They include U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Sergio Duarte. This is the first time that the U.N. Secretary General gave official endorsement to an international signature-collection drive calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Peace activists on the same day took to the streets at various locations throughout the nation to call on passers-by to sign the new petition.
* * *
The following is the message from U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon:
I am pleased to greet all those gathered in Hiroshima, Nagasaki and Tokyo to launch a new campaign calling for the start of negotiations for a convention banning nuclear weapons.
I fully support your efforts. The history of multilateral disarmament shows the importance of citizens raising their voices to demand action by governments.
Your campaign is especially timely given recent significant developments, including the entry into force of the new START Treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States and the successful outcome of the 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We must all build on this momentum.
Last August, I attended the Peace Memorial Ceremony commemorating the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima. That visit was among the most moving and memorable experiences of my life. I was humbled and inspired by the courage and fortitude of the many hibakusha I met in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Hearing their experiences strengthened my conviction that we must do everything in our power to rid the world of nuclear weapons. As long as nuclear weapons exist, the threat exists. If we want to get rid of the threat, we need to get rid of the weapons.
In October 2008, I put forward a five-point proposal on nuclear disarmament, offering a practical approach to the elimination of nuclear weapons, including support for the idea of a nuclear weapons convention. I am heartened that at their recent summit in Hiroshima, Nobel Peace Laureates expressed strong support for this idea.
I hope people everywhere will sign your petition, thereby adding their voice to rising chorus calling for the start of negotiations. One day, we will rid the world of nuclear weapons. And when we do, it will be because of people like you. I wish you a most successful campaign.
* * *
The following is the message of support sent by U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Sergio Duarte:
The Japan Council Against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs has a long and distinguished record of initiatives to advance global nuclear disarmament.
These initiatives have rested on an understanding that the firm will of the people offers the strongest possible foundation for achieving this great goal.
I am therefore both pleased and honoured to send this message to commend your new signature campaign to start negotiations on a nuclear weapons convention.
Your petition serves two very important purposes. First, it gives the general public—each individual citizen—an opportunity to participate personally in a wider process that is underway worldwide to eliminate the most dangerous weapons ever invented. Second, it focuses attention where it is most needed: on the need to bring the “rule of law” to disarmament, as proposed by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
On an issue as important as nuclear disarmament, it is inconceivable that this will ever be achieved without binding legal commitments, whether in the form of a nuclear weapons convention or a framework of mutually-reinforcing instruments to achieve the same result.
The world must start thinking very seriously about what kinds of commitments and controls would have to be included in such a convention. Such work is not premature. Quite the opposite: it is long overdue.
This petition campaign is contributing to an outpouring of initiatives from civil society groups around the world, from both individual countries and through networks across national borders. With the energy of the “great wave” of Hokusai, these initiatives have the potential to create a tsunami of popular support for disarmament.
Leaders everywhere have recently witnessed how the will of the people can quite literally change history. A nuclear-weapon-free world would be the best possible gift we could pass along to future generations. It is not sufficient just to pass them the responsibility of achieving this goal. It is a cause worthy of our best efforts right now.
Please accept my very best wishes for a successful campaign.
* * *
The following is the text of the “Appeal for a Total Ban on Nuclear Weapons”:
Appeal for a Total Ban on Nuclear Weapons
In August 1945, two atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki instantly turned the two cities into ruins and took the lives of about 210 thousand people. Even now, more than 200,000 Hibakusha, or A-bomb survivors, are carrying with them scars. Their tragedy should not be repeated anywhere on earth.
The call for the elimination of nuclear weapons is becoming ever widespread across the world. Citizens are taking actions, and many governments are endeavoring to reach this goal. The surest guarantee against there being another Hiroshima, or Nagasaki, is a total ban and the elimination of nuclear weapons.
In May 2010, the 189 parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), including the Nuclear weapons States, agreed “to achieve the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons”. Now is the time to act to accomplish it.
We call on all governments to enter negotiations without delay on a convention banning nuclear weapons.
