Hiroshima mayor to appeal for nuclear abolition at PrepCom for NPT Review Conference
Apr. 22, 2014
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
On April 17, the City of Hiroshima announced that Mayor Kazumi Matsui will deliver a speech at the third session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In his speech at the PrepCom, which opens on April 28 at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Mr. Matsui will emphasize the inhumanity of nuclear weapons and appeal to the representatives of member states to bring about a nuclear weapons convention at the earliest possible date.
The mayor will be traveling for seven days from April 26 to May 2. On April 29, he will speak in English at the PrepCom’s NGO session as president of Mayors for Peace, presenting scientific data that show nuclear weapons are an “absolute evil.” He will also convey the aspiration of A-bomb survivors and call for the joint efforts of various nations with NGOs and civil society from around the world to abolish nuclear weapons.
On April 29, Mayors for Peace will also hold a “youth forum” for the first time at U.N. Headquarters. Eight high school students from Hiroshima and Fukuyama will visit the United States to join Mayors for Peace and convey their peace messages with Mr. Matsui to U.N. officials. An A-bomb poster exhibition will also be held.
At a press conference, also on April 17, Mr. Matsui referred to the meeting of foreign ministers of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI), held in Hiroshima on April 11 and 12. He stressed that the meeting had been productive and said that the participants shared their commitment to achieving the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. He added, “I hope this sense of commitment will also spread among the members of the PrepCom.”
(Originally published on April 18, 2014)
On April 17, the City of Hiroshima announced that Mayor Kazumi Matsui will deliver a speech at the third session of the Preparatory Committee (PrepCom) for the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). In his speech at the PrepCom, which opens on April 28 at United Nations Headquarters in New York, Mr. Matsui will emphasize the inhumanity of nuclear weapons and appeal to the representatives of member states to bring about a nuclear weapons convention at the earliest possible date.
The mayor will be traveling for seven days from April 26 to May 2. On April 29, he will speak in English at the PrepCom’s NGO session as president of Mayors for Peace, presenting scientific data that show nuclear weapons are an “absolute evil.” He will also convey the aspiration of A-bomb survivors and call for the joint efforts of various nations with NGOs and civil society from around the world to abolish nuclear weapons.
On April 29, Mayors for Peace will also hold a “youth forum” for the first time at U.N. Headquarters. Eight high school students from Hiroshima and Fukuyama will visit the United States to join Mayors for Peace and convey their peace messages with Mr. Matsui to U.N. officials. An A-bomb poster exhibition will also be held.
At a press conference, also on April 17, Mr. Matsui referred to the meeting of foreign ministers of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI), held in Hiroshima on April 11 and 12. He stressed that the meeting had been productive and said that the participants shared their commitment to achieving the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. He added, “I hope this sense of commitment will also spread among the members of the PrepCom.”
(Originally published on April 18, 2014)
