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Mayors for Peace plans extensive lobbying campaign at NPT Review Conference

by Sakiko Masuda, Staff Writer

Mayors for Peace, which calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons, plans to gather mayors from around the world to meet in New York and carry out an active campaign in conjunction with the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference slated for May.

Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba, president of the organization, shared his determination with regard to the New York campaign, saying, "I would like to seize this opportunity to make full use of the building momentum for the abolition of nuclear weapons" at a press conference held at Hiroshima City Hall on April 15.

Mayors for Peace has proposed that the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol, which provides a road map for the abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020, be adopted at the NPT Review Conference. On May 4, they will host a meeting inside the building of the United Nations Headquarters to advocate the adoption of the protocol. They will also lobby the representatives of each state. Currently about 170 people, including mayors and their staff members from roughly 70 countries, have pledged their participation.

Mayor Akiba will deliver a speech at a peace gathering for NGOs on May 1, and take part in a peace walk on May 2. On May 3, he will observe the opening session of the NPT Review Conference at U.N. Headquarters and also visit the A-bomb exhibition organized by the Japan Confederation of A- and H-bomb Sufferers Organizations. On May 7, he will speak at the NPT Review Conference.

At this point, it is unlikely that the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol would be adopted at the conference. At the press conference, Mayor Akiba stated, "I would like to use this opportunity to deepen solidarity with NGOs and governments sharing our vision and expand our efforts even further."

(Originally published on April 16, 2010)

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