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2024 July 31 - August 6 TOP3 [PEACE]

World Con. Int’l meeting: Let us launch grand campaign for abolition of nuclear weapons towards 80th anniv. of atomic bombings

The 2024 World Conference against A and H Bombs opened on August 3 with the International Meeting in Hiroshima City in Hiroshima Prefecture.

International Meeting

On the first day of the two-day International Meeting, Noguchi Kunikazu, a co-chair of the World Conference Steering Committee, delivered a speech on behalf of the organizer. He called for making this year’s world conference a conference that promotes the trend toward the elimination and abolition of nuclear weapons and urges the Japanese government to participate in the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). He also called for realizing a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula and building a peace structure on the peninsula.

During the meeting, Japanese and foreign activists discussed in sessions under three themes. In the session focusing on achieving a nuclear-free, peaceful and just world, activists from a nuclear weapons state of the U.S. as well as from nuclear-umbrella-dependent countries of Spain, South Korea, and Japan reported on their countries’ situations and their activities. U.K. activist Kate Hudson, Secretary General of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said that while the world has been pushed toward a new nuclear arms race, a transborder movement and solidarity has been developing among civil societies working to abolish nuclear arms.

In another session, representatives of antinuke/peace organizations in the U.S., Russia, France, and Japan spoke under the theme, “Solidarity and joint efforts/movements of civil society”. Participants exchanged views on ways to increase antinuke movements towards the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a joint action for a world without nuclear weapons, and other topics.

The International Meeting on the final day adopted a declaration (see below) which proclaims, “On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings in 2025, let us launch a grand campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons.”

Opening Plenary of the 2024 World Conference

The Opening Plenary of the 2024 World Conference against A and H Bombs - Hiroshima took place on August 4 in Hiroshima City with 3,200 people, including Hibakusha, several representatives of governments, and Japanese and overseas delegates, participating.

Tanaka Terumi, Co-Chair of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), delivered a speech on behalf of A-bomb survivors (Hibakusha). He said that in order to remove the risk of nuclear war which is at the highest point, Japan should play a role as the nation which experienced the atomic bombings in 1945 and has the pacifist Constitution.

As representatives of governments, Alexander Kmentt, Ambassador/Director for Disarmament, Arms Control and Nonproliferation Dept., Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs, Austria, and Maria Renata Hutagalung, Indonesian Vice Ambassador to Japan, delivered speeches.

A message from Hiroshima Mayor Matsui Kazumi was read out.

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The 2024 World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs
Declaration of the International Meeting

Seventy-nine years ago, the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the U.S. military created a “hell on earth”, which humankind had never before experienced. Citizens, including children, were indiscriminately slaughtered, and by the end of that year, a total of about 210,000 lives were taken. Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings. Hibakusha, who barely survived and have lived a life of hardship, are standing up with all their might in the current tense situation, calling for the “abolition of nuclear weapons to be achieved in our lifetime.” We, gathered in the A-bombed city, call on you to join us in taking action to turn the tide toward a peaceful and just world without nuclear weapons.

We are now on the brink of nuclear catastrophe: Russia, invading Ukraine, is repeatedly threatening to use nuclear weapons; the United States and some other nuclear-armed states maintain a policy of first use of nuclear weapons; some NATO members are openly voicing the need for nuclear weapons deployments or the consolidation and build-up of "nuclear deterrence.” Military expenditures for nuclear build-up up are grossly increasing. In the continuing attacks on Gaza, the use of nuclear weapons has also been suggested by some in Israel, and tensions and confrontations involving the nuclear powers continue in East Asia. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for nuclear disarmament with a strong sense of urgency, urging an “end to the nuclear madness.” It is clear that the post-WWII monopoly and control of nuclear weapons by the nuclear powers has brought us to the present crisis. Now is the time to present the prospect and take action to overcome this crisis.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is a "beacon of hope". It embodies the cause of human survival, and despite obstructions by nuclear powers, 93 countries have signed and 70 have ratified or acceded to the treaty. The treaty, having entered into force, is showing great strength. Even in the present dangerous situation where the use of nuclear weapons is threatened, the TPNW and the public opinion and movements that support it have a normative power that acts as a barrier against their use. The ethical power in outlawing nuclear weapons from a humanitarian standpoint is also evident, as seen in the decisions by many financial institutions to divest from nuclear weapons-related industries. Specific activities based on Article 6 and 7 of the treaty have also begun relating to support for victims of nuclear use and testing, and environmental remediation in areas where nuclear weapons were used or tested. The Third Meeting of the States Parties to the TPNW (March 2025) will advance this important work on victim assistance and environmental remediation. As the first nuclear disarmament treaty to incorporate a gender perspective, the TPNW has influenced the entire range of UN peace and disarmament efforts. By building on this treaty and by further developing public opinion and movements to undermine the pro-nuclear forces, we can open the way to the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Advocating "nuclear deterrence", the nuclear weapon states continue to maintain and strengthen their nuclear capabilities. “Nuclear deterrence" means to threaten to repeat Hiroshima or Nagasaki in their ostensible need, a glaring act against humanity. It is a grave violation of the UN Charter, which prohibits the threat or use of force. “Nuclear deterrence" accelerates the vicious cycle of nuclear versus nuclear and increases the risk of nuclear conflict, including by misunderstanding or by miscalculation. We urgently call for the abandonment of this dangerous notion. At the Third Meeting of the States Parties to the TPNW, overcoming the "nuclear deterrence" doctrine will be one of the key agenda items. Civil society movements must actively contribute to this task.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, where the five nuclear weapon states -- the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom, and France – are present, will be an important opportunity to press the pro-nuclear governments to abolish their nuclear arsenals. Preparations for the 2026 Review Conference have already begun.

The nuclear weapon states oppose the TPNW, claiming that it contradicts the NPT. However, the TPNW is the embodiment of NPT’s Article VI, which sets forth the obligation to negotiate measures for nuclear disarmament in good faith, and complements the NPT. We strongly urge the good faith implementation of Article VI and the other treaty obligations, as well as the "unequivocal undertaking" to abolish their nuclear arsenals and all other successive agreements of the NPT Review Conferences. We further appeal to them to support and join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Implementation of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty and further US-Russian bilateral arms reductions, entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states (negative security assurance), and agreement of no first use of nuclear weapons are also all important.

The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, now in its third year, has caused heavy loss of life for the citizens of both countries and is having a serious impact on the lives and economies of people around the world, as well as the climate crisis. The UN General Assembly, with the approval of 70% of the member states, has adopted a number of resolutions condemning Russia for violating the UN Charter and calling for a cessation of the use of force, immediate, unconditional and complete withdrawal of troops, and restoration of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. The G20 Summit (Indonesia in 2022 and India in 2023), in which the five nuclear powers also participated, "reaffirmed" the UN General Assembly resolutions and declared that “all states must refrain from the threat or use of force” and that "the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible”. Rebuilding and strengthening the international order based on the UN Charter is urgently needed for realizing a "peaceful and just world without nuclear weapons.”

At a time when global unity is required to uphold the UN Charter, the U.S. administration is bringing about a division based on the alleged values of "democracy versus despotism" and heightening and increasing the global danger of military alliances, such as the strengthening of alliances in Asia, including the U.S.-Japan, U.S.-South Korea, and U.S.-Australia, and the link between Asia and NATO. However, in many regions of the world, a trend for inclusion and against nuclear weapons is developing. In East Asia, there are a number of flashpoints, including the Korean Peninsula, the South China Sea, and Taiwan. All of these must be resolved through diplomacy and dialogue. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which has a nuclear weapon-free zone treaty, and the East Asia Summit (EAS), in which the United States, China, and Russia also participate, are leading the ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific (AOIP) initiative, which aims for peace and stability in the region. There are also inclusive regional communities of nations in Latin America and Africa, both of which have nuclear weapon-free zone treaties. Together with the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, Southern Hemisphere has a strong trend toward a nuclear-free and inclusive world. Civil society, governments, and intergovernmental and regional organizations must work together to develop this trend in East Asia and around the world.

We support all efforts to pursue denuclearization and peace on the Korean Peninsula in an integrated and phased manner. The creation of a “Middle East zone free of nuclear and all other weapons of mass destruction” is a decision of the NPT Review Conference (1995), and we call for its immediate implementation. This is of critical importance to the credibility of the NPT regime and to peace and security in the Middle East.

We call on Japan, the only country to have suffered the A-bombings in war, to promptly join the TPNW. It is unacceptable that Japan is complicit in the U.S. nuclear strategy, as evidenced by the joint exercises conducted by the Self-Defense Force (SDF) aircraft and U.S. strategic bombers, and the recent Japan-US ministerial meeting of extended nuclear deterrence. Japan must end its dependence on the U.S. “nuclear umbrella.”

The Nansei Islands, including Okinawa, and Kyushu are being militarized as frontline bases for the US strategy toward China. Furthermore, Japan is playing a central role in connecting Asia and NATO. At the root of all this is the Japan-U.S. military alliance. The Kishida administration has promoted a massive military buildup at the behest of the U.S. , and through the Japan-U.S. Joint Statement in April 2024 it further made historic changes to the Japan-U.S. military alliance, including placing the Self-Defense Forces under the command of the U.S. military. We stand in solidarity with the Japanese movement calling on the government to take actions befitting a country with a constitution that renounces war. We further strengthen our solidarity and cooperation with the anti-nuclear peace movements in Asia.

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings in 2025, let us launch a grand campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons:
- Never allow the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. let the humanitarian consequences of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as of nuclear tests conducted worldwide be widely known, and let public opinion for the abolition of nuclear weapons be greatly developed. Support Japanese and Korean Hibakusha and the victims of nuclear tests around the world, and cooperate with and contribute to activities to implement articles of the TPNW.

- Strengthen the campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons and for participation in the TPNW in particular. Strengthen this movement especially in the nuclear-armed countries and countries that rely on “extended nuclear deterrence”.

- Make the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, the Meeting of the Parties to the TPNW, and the NPT Review Conference as milestones to develop these campaigns in each country and develop international joint actions and cooperation between governments and civil society movements.

- Refuse military expansion, dismantle foreign military bases, dissolve military alliances, provide compensation and support to victims of war such as by Agent Orange and eradicate war-damages, promote peace education, end the war in Ukraine based on the principles of the UN Charter and diplomatic solution of the problems, stop genocidal attack on and blockade of Gaze by Israel, oppose terrorism by Hamas, and demand immediate ceasefire, and build wide-ranging cooperation with various peace movements working on these demands.

- Turn the tide of global conflict, division, and military expansion to build inclusive peace and redirect resources to solving the problems facing humanity. Call for the full implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, the recommendation of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and UN resolutions for Culture of Peace. Develop solidarity with diverse movements, such as those seeking to protect life, livelihood and human rights; No to nuclear power plants; ending the climate crisis, and promoting gender equality, freedom, and democracy.

We are the sovereign people who will decide the course of the world: war and nuclear catastrophe or peace, security and nuclear weapon-free world. Together with the A-bomb survivors and the younger generation, let us expand our voices and actions.

August 4, 2024
International Meeting, 2024 World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs