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Mexico City joins Mayors for Peace

by Uzaemonnaotsuka Tokai, Staff Writer

Mexico City, the largest city in Central and South America, has joined Mayors for Peace, which boasts more than 3,100 member cities. Greater Mexico City has a population of 18.2 million. Mayors for Peace, for which Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba serves as president, expects that Mexico City’s decision may encourage other Central and South American cities to follow suit.

Mayor Akiba visited Mexico City from September 8 to 13 to attend the 62nd Annual Conference for Non-Governmental Organizations organized by the Department of Public Information of the United Nations. During a meeting with the Hiroshima mayor, Mexico City Mayor Marcelo Ebrard agreed to join Mayors for Peace and signed a registration form. At their meeting, Mayor Akiba appealed for the abolition of nuclear weapons by the year 2020, an aim advocated by Mayors for Peace, and Mayor Ebrard promised to lend his full support to this effort.

Mayor Akiba also met with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in Mexico City. Mr. Ban offered high praise for the initiatives by Mayors for Peace and assured Mayor Akiba of his support. In regard to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference, Mr. Ban reportedly stated, "Let's work together. As this is such an important occasion, we must spare no effort for its success."

The secretariat office for the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelalco), to which 33 countries are signatories, is located in Mexico City. As of September 1, Mayors for Peace has 144 member cities in Central and South America.

(Originally published on September 19, 2009)

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