Hiroshima Prefecture establishes new group for nuclear elimination by combining domestic and international NGOs to affect next UN goals
Apr. 6, 2022
by Fumiyasu Miyano, Staff Writer
On April 5, the Hiroshima Prefectural government announced it had created a new group consisting of members of the public and organizations in Japan and overseas with the aim of having the concept ‘elimination of nuclear weapons’ be incorporated into the new goals of the United Nations scheduled to be put in place after the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) expire in 2030. As of its launch, the new group included the membership of 29 organizations and 38 individuals from 21 nations. The group will increase proponents of the group’s ideas through policy recommendations and campaigns designed to foster momentum toward government-level negotiations at the United Nations, beginning around 2025, for the development of the post-SDGs.
The group, named the “Global Alliance ‘Sustainable Peace and Prosperity for All’” was formally established on April 4. The Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe), composed of 20 groups such as the prefectural government and universities within Hiroshima Prefecture, serves as the group’s administrative secretariat.
Ten organizations in Japan have joined, including the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hiroshima Hidankyo, chaired by Toshiyuki Mimaki), the Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (HANWA), the Nagasaki Prefectural government, and Peace Depot, a non-profit organization based in Yokohama. From the United States, one of the world’s nuclear powers, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, known for its Doomsday Clock announcement, has signed on to the group. Other international member groups include the International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms, based in Germany, and organizations working on environmental and human rights issues.
The new group has identified nuclear weapons as being among the biggest threats to a sustainable future for humankind. The group will collaborate with the ‘Group of Friends,’ an affiliation of international government officials seeking the abolition of nuclear weapons, the first gathering of which the Hiroshima Prefectural government is now making preparations to hold in fiscal 2023. The group will urge the international community to incorporate the elimination of nuclear weapons by 2045, the 100th anniversary year of the atomic bombings, as one of the new UN goals replacing the current SDGs.
In conjunction with the summit meeting of the G7 (attended by the Group of Seven industrialized nations) to be held in Japan next year, the group will provide policy recommendations and strive to obtain qualification to participate in discussions at UN conferences. In addition, it is considering the option of attending the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), scheduled to take place this year in June, as well as events related to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, held in August.
At a press conference held on April 5, Hiroshima Prefectural Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki voiced his concern about how the international situation surrounding the nuclear weapons issue has become more dire due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Yuzaki said, “We will combine the collective power of the groups and individuals involved in the challenges facing society and work together to achieve a peace that is sustainable over time, which is humanity’s most fervent desire.”
Let’s join together and start a movement
The following are key questions and answers had with Mr. Yuzaki during the press conference after he announced the launch of the Global Alliance group.
What was the goal in creating the new group?
To make the issue of elimination of nuclear weapons an international consensus, we wanted to define it as one of the United Nation’s general goals set to go into effect starting in 2030, in conjunction with expiration of the current SDGs. We will increase the number of proponents of our approach in light of the fact that nuclear weapons will continue to have a dramatic impact on earth’s sustainability.
Does the Hiroshima Prefectural government need to lead such an effort?
Like the Mayors for Peace organization, our group will proceed with efforts aiming at the elimination of nuclear weapons as a non-governmental organization (NGO). The local government may not need to play a central role in that sense, but we wanted to take this approach because there are no other groups initiating such activities by redefining the nuclear weapons issue from the viewpoint of sustainability.
Why did you create a new group rather than utilizing existing organizations?
Various activities are underway from a sustainability perspective. We hope to integrate the power of all of them into one powerful movement. The strength and support of many people are necessary to achieve our goal of establishing the concept of elimination of nuclear weapons as being one of the post-SDGs. In addition to working at the public and NGO level, we ultimately will work to lobby national governments with respect to our goal.
How will decisions be made in the new organization?
In the near future, a steering committee will be established to develop the group’s articles of association, including the specific methods governing the group’s decision-making processes.
(Originally published on April 6, 2022)
On April 5, the Hiroshima Prefectural government announced it had created a new group consisting of members of the public and organizations in Japan and overseas with the aim of having the concept ‘elimination of nuclear weapons’ be incorporated into the new goals of the United Nations scheduled to be put in place after the current Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) expire in 2030. As of its launch, the new group included the membership of 29 organizations and 38 individuals from 21 nations. The group will increase proponents of the group’s ideas through policy recommendations and campaigns designed to foster momentum toward government-level negotiations at the United Nations, beginning around 2025, for the development of the post-SDGs.
The group, named the “Global Alliance ‘Sustainable Peace and Prosperity for All’” was formally established on April 4. The Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe), composed of 20 groups such as the prefectural government and universities within Hiroshima Prefecture, serves as the group’s administrative secretariat.
Ten organizations in Japan have joined, including the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations (Hiroshima Hidankyo, chaired by Toshiyuki Mimaki), the Hiroshima Alliance for Nuclear Weapons Abolition (HANWA), the Nagasaki Prefectural government, and Peace Depot, a non-profit organization based in Yokohama. From the United States, one of the world’s nuclear powers, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, known for its Doomsday Clock announcement, has signed on to the group. Other international member groups include the International Association of Lawyers against Nuclear Arms, based in Germany, and organizations working on environmental and human rights issues.
The new group has identified nuclear weapons as being among the biggest threats to a sustainable future for humankind. The group will collaborate with the ‘Group of Friends,’ an affiliation of international government officials seeking the abolition of nuclear weapons, the first gathering of which the Hiroshima Prefectural government is now making preparations to hold in fiscal 2023. The group will urge the international community to incorporate the elimination of nuclear weapons by 2045, the 100th anniversary year of the atomic bombings, as one of the new UN goals replacing the current SDGs.
In conjunction with the summit meeting of the G7 (attended by the Group of Seven industrialized nations) to be held in Japan next year, the group will provide policy recommendations and strive to obtain qualification to participate in discussions at UN conferences. In addition, it is considering the option of attending the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), scheduled to take place this year in June, as well as events related to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, held in August.
At a press conference held on April 5, Hiroshima Prefectural Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki voiced his concern about how the international situation surrounding the nuclear weapons issue has become more dire due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Mr. Yuzaki said, “We will combine the collective power of the groups and individuals involved in the challenges facing society and work together to achieve a peace that is sustainable over time, which is humanity’s most fervent desire.”
Questions and answers with Mr. Yuzaki
Let’s join together and start a movement
The following are key questions and answers had with Mr. Yuzaki during the press conference after he announced the launch of the Global Alliance group.
What was the goal in creating the new group?
To make the issue of elimination of nuclear weapons an international consensus, we wanted to define it as one of the United Nation’s general goals set to go into effect starting in 2030, in conjunction with expiration of the current SDGs. We will increase the number of proponents of our approach in light of the fact that nuclear weapons will continue to have a dramatic impact on earth’s sustainability.
Does the Hiroshima Prefectural government need to lead such an effort?
Like the Mayors for Peace organization, our group will proceed with efforts aiming at the elimination of nuclear weapons as a non-governmental organization (NGO). The local government may not need to play a central role in that sense, but we wanted to take this approach because there are no other groups initiating such activities by redefining the nuclear weapons issue from the viewpoint of sustainability.
Why did you create a new group rather than utilizing existing organizations?
Various activities are underway from a sustainability perspective. We hope to integrate the power of all of them into one powerful movement. The strength and support of many people are necessary to achieve our goal of establishing the concept of elimination of nuclear weapons as being one of the post-SDGs. In addition to working at the public and NGO level, we ultimately will work to lobby national governments with respect to our goal.
How will decisions be made in the new organization?
In the near future, a steering committee will be established to develop the group’s articles of association, including the specific methods governing the group’s decision-making processes.
(Originally published on April 6, 2022)
