Hiroshima Prefectural Government and the organization composed of public and private sectors send personnel to international meetings, trying to incorporate nuclear abolition into U.N. post-SDGs goals
Jul. 27, 2022
by Fumiyasu Miyano, Staff Writer
Hiroshima Prefectural Government and “Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe),” composed of public and private sectors which include the prefectural government, have been sending their personnel to the international conferences on nuclear issues and the U. N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) one after another this summer, aiming to gain broad support for incorporating the elimination of nuclear weapons as one of the new U.N. goals replacing the current SDGs.
Three staff members and one expert visited Vienna, Austria, in June, when the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons were held, running a panel discussion in the related event organized by the non-governmental organization (NGO). Three young people from Japan and overseas confirmed that we should slough off security dependent on nuclear weapons, which has impact on a wide range of sectors such as the environment, education and health.
Hiroshima Prefecture’s view that nuclear weapons should be eliminated for a sustainable Earth, was also introduced in the exhibition at the venue of the meeting of States Parties. The exhibition, which had to be hosted by the governments of the state parties, was held with the support of the Jamaican ambassador to Japan, who is very concerned about nuclear disarmament and willingly accepted the role. They could not rely on the Japanese government, which has not ratified the treaty.
From July 4 to 9, six people, including Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki, went to the United States, and held a meeting about nuclear weapons and sustainability at U.N. Headquarters in New York, for which about 40 people joined, and many others viewed online. They plan to hold a similar activity at the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) scheduled for next month.
Using these opportunities, they are trying to encourage other groups to join the newly established organization that works toward post-SDGs goals, and is looking for a country to serve as chair for the first “Group of Friends” meeting, which they aim to hold next fiscal year with the participation of government officials of both nuclear-weapon states and non-nuclear-weapon states. Mariko Nishizawa, manager of HOPe, says, “We would like to enhance momentum toward the abolition of nuclear weapons by raising the issue to the international community.”
(Originally published on July 27, 2022)
Hiroshima Prefectural Government and “Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe),” composed of public and private sectors which include the prefectural government, have been sending their personnel to the international conferences on nuclear issues and the U. N. Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) one after another this summer, aiming to gain broad support for incorporating the elimination of nuclear weapons as one of the new U.N. goals replacing the current SDGs.
Three staff members and one expert visited Vienna, Austria, in June, when the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons were held, running a panel discussion in the related event organized by the non-governmental organization (NGO). Three young people from Japan and overseas confirmed that we should slough off security dependent on nuclear weapons, which has impact on a wide range of sectors such as the environment, education and health.
Hiroshima Prefecture’s view that nuclear weapons should be eliminated for a sustainable Earth, was also introduced in the exhibition at the venue of the meeting of States Parties. The exhibition, which had to be hosted by the governments of the state parties, was held with the support of the Jamaican ambassador to Japan, who is very concerned about nuclear disarmament and willingly accepted the role. They could not rely on the Japanese government, which has not ratified the treaty.
From July 4 to 9, six people, including Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki, went to the United States, and held a meeting about nuclear weapons and sustainability at U.N. Headquarters in New York, for which about 40 people joined, and many others viewed online. They plan to hold a similar activity at the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) scheduled for next month.
Using these opportunities, they are trying to encourage other groups to join the newly established organization that works toward post-SDGs goals, and is looking for a country to serve as chair for the first “Group of Friends” meeting, which they aim to hold next fiscal year with the participation of government officials of both nuclear-weapon states and non-nuclear-weapon states. Mariko Nishizawa, manager of HOPe, says, “We would like to enhance momentum toward the abolition of nuclear weapons by raising the issue to the international community.”
(Originally published on July 27, 2022)
