×

Features

Hiroshima mayor to appeal for nuclear abolition at NPT Preparatory Committee

by Michiko Tanaka, Staff Writer

GENEVA--The Second Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2015 Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Review Conference will open on April 22 at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland. The meeting will bring together 190 NPT signatories to discuss nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy.

Major issues on the agenda include how to handle the nuclear ambitions of Iran as well as North Korea’s escalating provocations, which have also involved hints that it may launch a new type of ballistic missile. The session is likely to face difficult discussions over the concept of denuclearizing the Middle East, an idea which remains undefined due to the standoff between Israel and Arab nations.

Moves by nations to highlight the “inhumanity” of nuclear weapons as they seek to outlaw these arms will also be drawing attention. A joint communique to the effect that forbidding the use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances will aid the survival of the human race is expected to be announced at this session. How many more nations will support the statement, including the Japanese government’s response, will be closely watched.

On May 3, the final day of the session, the participants will adopt a report based on their discussions.

Mayors for Peace, for which Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui serves as chair, will take part in the gathering as an NGO. Mr. Matsui will appeal to the international community for nuclear abolition in a speech at an NGO session on April 24.

(Originally published on April 22, 2013)

Archives