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2021 August 4 - 10 TOP3 [PEACE]

Aug.9, Nagasaki Day rally held

The Nagasaki Day rally took place online on August 9 as the closing event of the 2021 World Conference against A and H Bombs, releasing the "Letter from Nagasaki to All Governments in the World (see below)" calling for their participation in the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

On the sidelines of this year's Hiroshim/Nagasaki Days, "Peace Wave" events took place in 16 countries and at more than 300 locations in Japan.

Syed Hasrin Aidid, permanent representative of Malaysia to the UN who will chair the UN Disarmament Committee of the NPT Review Conference next year, and Melba Pria, ambassador to Japan from Mexico which worked to have the TPNW adopted at the UN General Assembly, took part in the Nagasaki Day rally.

On behalf of the rally organizers, Ritsumeikan University Professor Emeritus Anzai Ikuro called on participants and viewers, "Let us expose the inhumane nature of the use of nuclear weapons and develop our cooperation to establish a Japanese government which signs and ratifies the TPNW!"

The Malaysian government representative emphasized that it is indeed possible to establish a peaceful and just world without nuclear weapons if the cause of the total abolition of nuclear weapons is promoted and all parties concerned make united, consistent efforts to achieve total abolition.

The Mexican ambassador expressed her determination, saying that she will continue to urge all countries advocating the elimination of nuclear weapons to ratify and put the TPNW into action without delay.

Tanaka Yasujiro of the Nagasaki A-Bomb Survivors' Council and Lee Gyu-yeol, president of the Korean Atomic Bomb Casualty Association, gave testimonies about their experiences in the bombing, demanding Japan's participation in the TPNW. Nagasaki City Mayor Taue Tomihisa delivered a greeting address.

Representatives from the International Peace Bureau (IPB), the Asia-Europe People’s Forum (AEPF), and the World Conference of Religions for Peace made speeches on the theme of “Joint efforts for a nuclear weapons-free world”. Peace activists from the U.S., Belgium, Vietnam, and Japan reported on their nations’ grassroots movements.

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2021 World Conference against A and H Bombs
Nagasaki Day Rally

Letter from Nagasaki to All Governments in the World


On the occasion of the commemoration of the 76th Nagasaki Day of the atomic bombing, we participants in the 2021 World Conference against A and H Bombs, call on all governments around the world to take immediate action to achieve a “nuclear weapon-free, peaceful and just world.”

The use of nuclear weapons shows a total disregard for human lives and dignity, which the Hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki) have described in testimonies of their tragic experiences. It is totally unacceptable for any reason whatsoever to use nuclear weapons but over 13,000 nuclear warheads still exist in the world and humanity is exposed to the threat of nuclear annihilation. It is therefore a duty for all governments to achieve a total ban on nuclear weapons and their elimination without delay. We welcome the entry into force of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in January 2021, that rendered nuclear weapons illegal, and we call on all governments to make further efforts to advance the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Today, the world is required to join forces to address pressing global risks such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis and an increase in poverty, and to protect people’s lives and livelihoods. The nuclear powers should immediately stop threatening other countries by military might. Peace and security cannot be ensured with nuclear weapons and there can be no winner in a nuclear war. Now is the time to renounce the “nuclear deterrence” policy, which is based on the assumption of the use of nuclear weapons.

The first resolution of the UN General Assembly, calling for the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons, marked the starting point of the abolition of nuclear weapons in postwar international politics. The obligation to pursue negotiations for nuclear disarmament under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was unanimously accepted by all States parties including the nuclear-weapon states. They have to fulfill, in good faith, the obligations of the NPT and agreements reached at its Review Conferences.

In conclusion, we call on all governments to take the following actions:

- Actively promote efforts to raise awareness about the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons; support the activities of the Hibakusha, nuclear test victims and civil society movements for this purpose.

- Support, sign and ratify the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons without delay.
- Immediately halt all activities that oppose nuclear disarmament, such as the reinforcement and modernization of nuclear arsenals, and renounce the policy of nuclear deterrence.

₋Engage positively and in good faith in opportunities of international deliberations and negotiations on disarmament, including the 76th UN General Assembly, for advancing the elimination of nuclear weapons.

- Reaffirm and implement the agreements reached at previous NPT Review Conferences, including the “unequivocal undertaking” by nuclear weapon states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals; the “special efforts to establish the necessary framework to achieve a world without nuclear weapons” and the establishment of a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Middle East, as well as the obligation to pursue negotiations for nuclear disarmament under Article 6 of the NPT.

- Observe the United Nations Charter and abide by international law, and put an end to armed conflicts and all actions leading to them.

Collaboration between governments and civil society is essential for achieving a nuclear weapon-free, peaceful, just, sustainable and gender-equal world. We will work together with you to reach that goal.

August 9, 2021
Organizing Committee of the World Conference against A and H Bombs