U.N. Conference on Disarmament Issues opens in Hiroshima
Sep. 4, 2015
by Kyosuke Mizukawa, Staff Writer
The U.N. Conference on Disarmament Issues opened in Hiroshima on August 26. In attendance to discuss concrete measures for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation are 83 diplomats and experts on disarmament from 23 nations and five international organizations. The Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), held this past May, failed to reach agreement on the final document, stalling progress toward a world without nuclear weapons. During the three-day U.N. conference, the participants will explore ways to forge a breakthrough by focusing on the inhumane consequences of the use of nuclear weapons and civic movements. This is the fourth such conference held in Hiroshima and the first in 19 years.
During the opening events, Thomas Markram, head of the U.N. Office for Disarmament Affairs in Geneva, stated that the conference should be an opportunity to express renewed determination and innovative ideas to advance nuclear disarmament. Six people from Hiroshima, Japan’s foreign ministry, and nuclear weapons states exchanged views on the theme of realizing a world without nuclear weapons.
Sunao Tsuboi, chair of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, stressed, “The suffering of the A-bomb survivors, caused by radiation from the bombings, will be with them until the end of their lives. I will do everything in my power to seek the abolition of nuclear weapons until my last breath.” Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said, “Discussion should be held on concrete measures to turn the current growing recognition of the weapons’ inhumanity into a legal framework.” Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki added, “Security which relies on nuclear weapons is not justifiable ethically and morally.”
William Perry, the former U.S. secretary of defense, said nuclear disarmament is sliding backward, citing current conditions in which the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty has not been ratified. He encouraged the participants to invite people who are not aware of the horrors of nuclear weapons to Hiroshima. Des Browne, the former U.K, secretary of state for defense, said policymakers who are aware of the consequences that the use of nuclear arms would create must take leadership.
Many participants urged that the leaders of the nuclear weapons states, including U.S. President Barack Obama, be invited to Hiroshima while visiting Japan next May to take part in the summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations (Ise Shima summit). Both Mr. Perry and Mr. Browne expressed support for this idea. In the afternoon, the participants laid flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
The conference is sponsored by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific. It has been held in Japan almost every year since 1989, with this year marking the 25th meeting. Hiroshima previously hosted this conference in 1992, 1994, and 1996.
(Originally published on August 27, 2015)
The U.N. Conference on Disarmament Issues opened in Hiroshima on August 26. In attendance to discuss concrete measures for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation are 83 diplomats and experts on disarmament from 23 nations and five international organizations. The Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT), held this past May, failed to reach agreement on the final document, stalling progress toward a world without nuclear weapons. During the three-day U.N. conference, the participants will explore ways to forge a breakthrough by focusing on the inhumane consequences of the use of nuclear weapons and civic movements. This is the fourth such conference held in Hiroshima and the first in 19 years.
During the opening events, Thomas Markram, head of the U.N. Office for Disarmament Affairs in Geneva, stated that the conference should be an opportunity to express renewed determination and innovative ideas to advance nuclear disarmament. Six people from Hiroshima, Japan’s foreign ministry, and nuclear weapons states exchanged views on the theme of realizing a world without nuclear weapons.
Sunao Tsuboi, chair of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations, stressed, “The suffering of the A-bomb survivors, caused by radiation from the bombings, will be with them until the end of their lives. I will do everything in my power to seek the abolition of nuclear weapons until my last breath.” Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui said, “Discussion should be held on concrete measures to turn the current growing recognition of the weapons’ inhumanity into a legal framework.” Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki added, “Security which relies on nuclear weapons is not justifiable ethically and morally.”
William Perry, the former U.S. secretary of defense, said nuclear disarmament is sliding backward, citing current conditions in which the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty has not been ratified. He encouraged the participants to invite people who are not aware of the horrors of nuclear weapons to Hiroshima. Des Browne, the former U.K, secretary of state for defense, said policymakers who are aware of the consequences that the use of nuclear arms would create must take leadership.
Many participants urged that the leaders of the nuclear weapons states, including U.S. President Barack Obama, be invited to Hiroshima while visiting Japan next May to take part in the summit of the Group of Seven industrialized nations (Ise Shima summit). Both Mr. Perry and Mr. Browne expressed support for this idea. In the afternoon, the participants laid flowers at the Cenotaph for the A-bomb Victims in the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park.
The conference is sponsored by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific. It has been held in Japan almost every year since 1989, with this year marking the 25th meeting. Hiroshima previously hosted this conference in 1992, 1994, and 1996.
(Originally published on August 27, 2015)
