Great success of the World Conference and the events marking the 75th anniversary of Hiroshima and Nagasaki with the support of Center Delàs
‘Hibakusha’ is the Japanese term used for the survivors of the atomic bombs that devastated the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th 1945, where 100,000 people died immediately after the explosion and a further 60,000 were mortally wounded.
This year, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombs’ dropping on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has held a series of conferences under the slogan “With the Hibakusha, let us achieve a peaceful and just world free of nuclear weapons for the future of humanity and our planet”. These events are aimed at keeping alive the message launched by the Hibakusha: “Humanity cannot coexist with nuclear weapons”.
Thus, during the past 2nd and 9th of August, a series of online conferences were held with the support of the Centre Delàs d’Estudis per la Pau, as an active member of ICAN, to continue working for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons and to overcome the devastating human, ecological and social consequences derived from it.
The commemorative event was divided into four special sessions: 1) Solidarity with the Hibakusha and the victims of Agent Orange/dioxin; 2) Solidarity with Okinawa and the dismantling of foreign military bases; 3) A nuclear-free and peaceful Northeast Asia and the role of peace movements; and 4) Supporting the Hibakusha, inheriting and spreading their stories.
The World Conference also featured related events by women’s groups, youth and scientists. These events, held for the first time online, had as many participants as the thematic sessions held face-to-face in the past. The success of these events demonstrated that, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, it was possible to maintain our strength and build a new expansion and development of the movement by our own efforts.
Another objective of the campaign was to encourage civil society to become aware of the efforts being made at the forefront of international politics, including the United Nations, for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons, peace and security, and to understand and mobilize people to work towards a world without nuclear weapons from the grassroots level, in order to strengthen cooperation with diverse and broad-based movements to protect the human race and the planet, and to increase the participation of young people, the bearers of the future, in the movement.
In parallel to the World Conference, the international joint action “Wave of Peace”, organised from August 6th to 9th, achieved a resounding success. Making the elimination of nuclear weapons the common goal and the “International Campaign of Signatures in Support of the Hibakusha Call” the common form of action, numerous activities were carried out with creativity and diversity, both online and in person, in more than 24 countries around the world and in the main cities of the 47 prefectures of Japan.
Read the Organization’s Statement.
Read the Letter from Nagasaki to all Governments.
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