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2014 July 30 - August 12 [PEACE]

Anti-nuclear weapons World Conference in Hiroshima resolves to increase efforts toward 2015 NPT Review Conference

The 2014 World Conference against A & H Bombs in Hiroshima on August 6 adopted a resolution calling for creating a vast public movement at the grassroots level in order to turn the 2015 NPT Review Conference into a decisive milestone for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

In the annual anti-nuclear event held on the day marking the 69th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima, about 7,000 people participated.

United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Angela Kane read out the message of support from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (see separate item) and encouraged the participants to increase their efforts until a peaceful and just society without nuclear weapons is achieved.

Taka Hiroshi, representative director of the Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Japan Gensuikyo), handed to Kane 4,104,911 signatures collected from Japanese citizens, including local government heads, in the international campaign, “Appeal for a Total Ban on Nuclear Weapons”, drawing enthusiastic applause from the participants.

Representatives of three foreign governments delivered speeches of solidarity. They included Austria, which will host an international conference focusing on the inhumanity of nuclear weapons in December, and the Marshall Islands, which sued nuclear-armed countries in the International Court of Justice.

Japan Gensuikyo Secretary General Yasui Masakazu called on the participants to expand movements of A-bomb photo exhibition and Hibakusha testimonies as well as to strengthen the signature-collection campaign. “Let’s take a huge stack of signatures to New York next year,” said Yasui.

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Earlier in the day, the Hiroshima City-hosted peace memorial ceremony took place with about 45,000 people participating, including Hibakusha, bereaved families, and government representatives of 68 nations.

Hiroshima Mayor Matsui Kazumi in the peace declaration said that Hiroshima will “help strengthen international public demand for the start of negotiations on a nuclear weapons convention with the goal of total abolition by 2020.”

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Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on August 6 held talks with UN High Representative Angela Kane who attended the World Conference.

Thanking her for her participation in the Conference, Shii expressed his hope that at the next NPT Review Conference held in 2015, the 70th anniversary of the U.S. forces’ atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the international community will establish a consensus on the start of negotiations for a convention banning nuclear weapons.

The high-ranking UN official in response said that regarding the issue of the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, she attached value not only to civil societies’ efforts but also to government efforts of various nations, such as Norway, Mexico, and Austria.

The JCP chair responded, “To forcefully denounce the inhumanity of nuclear weapons will help to delegitimize the theory of nuclear deterrence.”

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Message of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
August 6, 2014

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent a message to the 2014 World Conference against A and H Bombs. On behalf of the secretary-general, Angela Kane, U.N. High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, read out the message on August 6. The full text follows:

I am honoured to greet all participants at the 60th annual World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs. I especially recognize Mr. Hiroshi Taka and his many colleagues who have worked so diligently over the years for the success of these Conferences.

I pay my deepest respects to the memories of those who perished here on this day 69 years ago. I also express my profound gratitude to the hibakusha for their tireless efforts to remind the world of the inhumanity of these horrible weapons of mass destruction. I will never forget my meetings with these resilient and principled individuals who have done so much for our collective future.

By helping millions of people to understand the tragic human consequences of using these weapons, the hibakusha have contributed to a broad-based campaign of diverse groups in civil society joining forces to rid the world of nuclear arms.

Thanks in no small part to their efforts, we have witnessed a growing outpouring of concern shared both by the public and most governments about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons.

Getting rid of these weapons would benefit all people everywhere, offering the only absolute guarantee against any future use. Realizing this goal would free us from another nuclear nightmare while unleashing immeasurable social, economic, environmental, human rights and security dividends.

I commend each of you for your contributions to this great cause and wish you every success as we continue our shared struggle to realize a world free of nuclear weapons.