Hiroshima mayor urges NPT member states to start negotiations for nuclear weapons convention
May 11, 2015
by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer
NEW YORK--Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, visiting New York to attend the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), met representatives from the United Nations and member states and urged them to exercise leadership in launching negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention as soon as possible.
On April 28, Mr. Matsui met Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, at United Nations headquarters. As the meeting began, Mr. Matsui expressed appreciation for the Austrian government’s efforts to realize a ban on nuclear weapons. Then, behind closed doors, Mr. Matsui asked Mr. Kurz to urge other member states at the Review Conference to adopt a document that will advance the international community closer to concluding a nuclear weapons convention, if only slightly.
According to a city official, Mr. Kurz promised to make efforts to meet Mr. Matsui’s request, and asked Mr. Matsui to visit Vienna, the capital of Austria. “I’ll create an opportunity for the mayor of Hiroshima to convey a message of peace, which will have an impact not only on ordinary citizens but also on the member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (which are reluctant to ban the use of nuclear weapons),” Mr. Kurz said.
On the same day, Mr. Matsui met with Taous Feroukhi, the chair of the NPT Review Conference. He will also meet a government representative from the United States, a nuclear super power, during his visit to New York. On May 1, Mr. Matsui will make an address at the non-governmental organization (NGO) session of the Review Conference.
Meanwhile, on April 29, Mr. Matsui attended a meeting of Mayors for Peace, which he chaired, and expressed “profound concern” over current conditions in which negotiations to outlaw nuclear weapons have not yet begun. At the meeting, a statement calling for stronger efforts to advance the abolition of nuclear weapons was adopted and will be delivered to government representatives taking part in the Review Conference.
(Originally published on April 30, 2015)
NEW YORK--Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, visiting New York to attend the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), met representatives from the United Nations and member states and urged them to exercise leadership in launching negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention as soon as possible.
On April 28, Mr. Matsui met Sebastian Kurz, Austria’s Federal Minister for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs, at United Nations headquarters. As the meeting began, Mr. Matsui expressed appreciation for the Austrian government’s efforts to realize a ban on nuclear weapons. Then, behind closed doors, Mr. Matsui asked Mr. Kurz to urge other member states at the Review Conference to adopt a document that will advance the international community closer to concluding a nuclear weapons convention, if only slightly.
According to a city official, Mr. Kurz promised to make efforts to meet Mr. Matsui’s request, and asked Mr. Matsui to visit Vienna, the capital of Austria. “I’ll create an opportunity for the mayor of Hiroshima to convey a message of peace, which will have an impact not only on ordinary citizens but also on the member nations of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) (which are reluctant to ban the use of nuclear weapons),” Mr. Kurz said.
On the same day, Mr. Matsui met with Taous Feroukhi, the chair of the NPT Review Conference. He will also meet a government representative from the United States, a nuclear super power, during his visit to New York. On May 1, Mr. Matsui will make an address at the non-governmental organization (NGO) session of the Review Conference.
Meanwhile, on April 29, Mr. Matsui attended a meeting of Mayors for Peace, which he chaired, and expressed “profound concern” over current conditions in which negotiations to outlaw nuclear weapons have not yet begun. At the meeting, a statement calling for stronger efforts to advance the abolition of nuclear weapons was adopted and will be delivered to government representatives taking part in the Review Conference.
(Originally published on April 30, 2015)
