Japan Press Weekly

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2007 August 1 - 21 [ANTI-N-ARMS]

Letter from Nagasaki

We call on the United Nations and all governments to commence negotiations leading to a conclusion of a treaty totally banning nuclear weapons.

We, the people who work for a nuclear weapon-free, peaceful and just world together with the Hibakusha of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, call on all governments to act with renewed determination, for the swift abolition of nuclear weapons and adopt a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly on the commencement of negotiations leading to a conclusion of a treaty totally banning nuclear weapons.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki demonstrate that the use of nuclear weapons is a crime against humanity and civilization. The tragedy must never be repeated. However, close to 27,000 nuclear weapons exist on earth today, either stockpiled or deployed, and some superpowers openly advocate their use. The reliance on “nuclear deterrence” is setting off nuclear proliferation and causing new tensions and instability. A total ban on and the abolition of nuclear weapons is an urgent task to be achieved to ensure the safety of all states and their peoples across the world.

It holds a significant meaning that the U.N., which had been established to “save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”, adopted as its first resolution “the total elimination of atomic weapons from national arsenals”. At the 2000 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, all States parties to the Treaty, including the nuclear weapons states, took the “unequivocal undertaking” to achieve the elimination of nuclear weapons. The “U.N. Millennium Declaration” adopted by the Millennium Summit stipulated the need of working for the abolition of nuclear weapons. These commitments must be implemented in good faith.

It is incumbent upon all states, especially the nuclear weapons states, to make a firm determination to live up to their promise as we approach the next NPT Review Conference in 2010. We call on all governments to act together in the forthcoming 62nd Session of the U.N. General Assembly to confirm the urgent need for a total ban on nuclear weapons and to that end, start negotiations for the conclusion of a treaty to ban all nuclear weapons.

Grass-root movements, civil society, governments, and the United Nations must work together in achieving a nuclear weapon-free, peaceful and just world. Determined to do our part in further mobilizing the public and developing movements to achieve the goal, we sincerely call on the U.N. and all the governments to take sincere and courageous actions to achieve the cause of the abolition of nuclear weapons.

August 9, 2007
2007 World Conference against Atomic & Hydrogen Bombs - Nagasaki