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World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates holds first three sessions

The first three sessions of “The 2010 World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates” were held on November 12. This article contains excerpts of these sessions.

First session

by Rie Nii, Staff Writer

Under the theme of “The Legacy of Hiroshima,” the panelists in the first session made successive appeals for the importance of continuing to convey the horror of the atomic bombing to the world. Following an A-bomb account related by Akihiro Takahashi at the opening ceremony, the 14th Dalai Lama said that he hoped a documentary film on the survivors’ experiences would be produced to enable people all over the world to learn about the peril of nuclear weapons.

Former South African president Frederik Willem De Klerk mentioned his nation’s success in dismantling and abandoning its nuclear arsenal, stressing that, given the will, the same could be done for the world’s nuclear stockpiles. He also referred to the need to seek the motives for why nuclear weapons are sought.

Mairead Maguire, a peace activist in Northern Ireland, emphasized the importance of dialogue, saying that clues for solving problems can be found when people sit down together at the same table, even if they are adversaries.

Tadateru Konoe, president of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva, Switzerland, shared the story of Dr. Marcel Junod of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Mr. Junod, a Swiss doctor, entered Hiroshima one month after the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima to deliver relief supplies and assist with relief efforts. Mr. Konoe said that the staff and volunteers of the Red Cross had witnessed firsthand the effects of nuclear weapons and nuclear tests on human beings and that such issues should be faced squarely and nations should be called upon to abide by principles of humanitarianism.

In response to a question from the floor about what should be done to share the legacy of Hiroshima with the people of the world, Thomas Stelzer, Assistant Secretary-General for Policy Coordination and Inter-Agency Affairs at the United Nations Department of Economics and Social Affairs, responded that he hopes the legacy of Hiroshima will be persistently conveyed, as the intensity of those experiences will never fade.

Mohamed ElBaradei, former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, added that nuclear issues are linked to the problem of poverty and that this reality should be put across.

Mr. De Klerk, stirring encouragement in the audience, stated that, as a former politician, politicians are sensitive to the voices of young people and he urged young people to act to help sway the political process.

Second session

by Uzaemonnaotsuka Tokai, Staff Writer

The second session explored the theme “A world without violence: does security need nuclear weapons?” Many of the panelists in this session expressed concern that, while massive sums have been spent on the development of nuclear weapons, comparatively little has been done to address the safety and education of people living in developing countries. These panelists stressed the importance of a “human security” which protects peoples’ lives and well-being, and they called for the creation of a treaty banning nuclear weapons.

Iranian human rights activist Shirin Ebadi drew attention to the fact that nations pour enormous effort into military development while neglecting to enact policies that promote education and alleviate the poverty of their citizens. She said that the international community must move away from a mode of thinking that places undue emphasis on military spending.

Jayantha Dhanapala, the former United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, echoed those sentiments and said the answer to the question “Does security need nuclear weapons?” is “No!” Amid growing concerns that nuclear weapons technology may fall into the hands of terrorists, he declared that the cause of the perilous state of international security is the very existence of nuclear arms themselves.

Also emphasizing the importance of a treaty banning nuclear weapons was Vappu Taipale, the co-director of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). She stated firmly that the current system, marked by an addiction to nuclear deterrence, needs to change. Dr. Mohamed ElBaradei, former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that the international community must first focus its efforts on drastically reducing the number of nuclear weapons in the world.

Meanwhile, Sergei Ordzhonikidze, director-general of the United Nations, noted that the road to the abolition of nuclear weapons will not be traveled easily. He spoke about the need for a system to verify, step by step, that the nuclear weapons states are undertaking the necessary actions to fulfill a pledge of disarmament, once such an agreement is made.

Dr. Rebecca Johnson, executive director and founder of the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy, stressed that efforts to abolish nuclear weapons should not be left to the governments of the nuclear weapons states. Rather, it is the citizens of all nations who must take the lead. She then called on the people of the world directly, saying that a future free of nuclear weapons is in their hands.

Third session

by Toshiko Bajo, Staff Writer

The theme of the third session was “Threats of nuclear weapons: regional conflicts, terrorism, unintentional use.” The panelists warned that the threat of a terrorist attack involving nuclear weapons has increased greatly since the terrorist attacks that took place in the United States on September 11, 2001.

Jody Williams, the American activist honored for her efforts to ban antipersonnel landmines, pointed out that the United States itself is perceived as a terrorist by its adversaries. She argued that as long as the United States possesses nuclear weapons, logic dictates that its adversaries will also seek to obtain nuclear weapons. She added that people cannot expect the president to change the world; citizens themselves must achieve this feat.

The 14th Dalai Lama recounted how, after the attacks of September 11, he sent a letter to George W. Bush, who was president of the United States at that time, encouraging him to respond to the attacks in a non-violent manner. He criticized the American response, saying that in starting the war in Afghanistan, among other decisions, the United States chose a policy of violence, and gave birth to new threats.

Frederik De Klerk, former president of South Africa, touched on his experience as a leader in Africa’s Nuclear Free Zone and said that if governments are not determined to disarm then the abolition of nuclear weapons can never be realized. He called on the citizens of the nuclear weapons states to press their governments to advance toward disarmament.

Jonathan Granoff, president of the Global Security Institute, a non-governmental organization in the United States, emphasized the danger of a terrorist attack involving a nuclear weapon. Such an attack, Mr. Granoff said, even if carried out in one city alone, could cause a complete shut-down of commerce and stock exchanges around the world, wreaking widespread confusion and chaos. He stressed that the world must focus more attention on this threat.

A question was then posed about the extent of the danger with regard to nuclear weapons falling into the hands of terrorists. Mr. De Klerk expressed his concern that the danger is very real. Ms. Williams went on to emphasize that if the abolition of nuclear arms can be achieved, there will no longer be reason to fear such an occurrence.

(Originally published on November 13, 2010)

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