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IPPNW World Congress closes in Hiroshima with an appeal for “no new hibakusha”

by Kentaro Yamamoto, Staff Writer

The 20th World Congress of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) closed at the International Conference Center Hiroshima, located in downtown Hiroshima, on August 26. At its conclusion, the congress issued the“Hiroshima Peace Appeal,”which calls for the abolition of nuclear weapons as well as an end to the creation of additional hibakusha, or sufferers of radiation exposure, as a result of accidents at nuclear power stations and through other means.

The appeal was read aloud by Keiichi Hiramatsu at the closing ceremony. Emphasizing his words, Dr. Hiramatsu, the president of the Japan branch of the IPPNW and the president of this World Congress, stated: “The entire nuclear chain--including uranium mining and processing, the production of energy from fissionable materials in dangerous reactors, contamination from nuclear waste products, and nuclear weapons themselves--is fraught with risks to health, our environment, and our security. ... There must be no new hibakusha!

Though congress participants had called for the IPPNW to address nuclear energy in the appeal, language arguing for an end to the use of atomic power was not incorporated in the statement. At a press conference held after the congress, Ira Helfand, the new IPPNW co-president, explained that IPPNW had been stressing the risks of nuclear energy all along.

On the final day, a plenary session which took an overview of the three-day congress was held in which the participants reaffirmed that the organization will address such undertakings as banning small weapons exports, a threat to peace, as well as seeking the early conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention.

In addition to this plenary session, two plenary sessions on the theme of nuclear energy were held. Lars Pohlmeier, IPPNW European regional vice president, from Germany, argued, “Accidents at nuclear power plants bring about health concerns for human beings on a global scale.” Doctors from Hiroshima also presented their medical response following the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 (Daiichi) nuclear power plant.

About 500 people from 45 countries including Japan took part in the congress. IPPNW’s international council held a meeting after the proceedings closed to determine that the next congress, in 2014, will be held in the city of Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan.

(Originally published on August 27, 2012)

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