UNITED NATIONS, Oct 11 (IPS) – United Nations Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres congratulated Japanese grassroots group Hidan Kyo for profitable the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.
“The survivors of the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also called atomic bomb survivors, are selfless, soulful witnesses to the horrific price of nuclear weapons to humanity,” he mentioned in a press release.
“Though their numbers are lowering yr by yr, the tireless efforts and resilience of atomic bomb survivors are the spine of the worldwide motion for nuclear disarmament.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the 2024 Peace Prize “for its efforts to attain a world with out nuclear weapons and for proving by witness testimony that nuclear weapons mustn’t ever be used once more.”
The committee mentioned the worldwide motion arose in response to the atomic bomb assault in August 1945.
“The testimonies of the atomic bomb survivors—the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki—are distinctive inside this bigger context. Through the use of private tales to create schooling primarily based on their experiences, these historic witnesses have helped to create consciousness world wide. and understanding of ache and struggling that solidified widespread opposition to nuclear weapons.
It singled out Hidan Kyo of Japan (who reportedly cried after the announcement), in addition to different representatives of atomic bomb survivors who had contributed significantly to establishing the “nuclear taboo”.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee acknowledged an encouraging truth: “Nuclear weapons haven’t been utilized in battle for almost 80 years.”
The award comes because the world prepares to mark the eightieth anniversary of two U.S. atomic bombs that killed an estimated 120,000 residents of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Over the next months and years, a big variety of individuals died from burns and radiation accidents.
“Right now’s nuclear weapons are much more harmful. They will kill thousands and thousands of individuals and have catastrophic results on the local weather. Nuclear battle might destroy our civilization,” the committee mentioned.
“The destiny of those that survived the hell of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was lengthy obscured and ignored. In 1956, native atomic bomb survivor associations joined with victims of Pacific nuclear weapons testing to kind the Japan Federation of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Victims’ Organizations .
The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize fulfills Alfred Nobel’s need to acknowledge efforts that convey the best profit to humanity.
Guterres mentioned he “will always remember the numerous conferences he had with them through the years. Their unforgettable dwelling testimony reminds the world that nuclear threats should not confined to historical past books. Nuclear weapons nonetheless pose a transparent and current risk to humanity.” The risk seems once more in historical past.
He mentioned that the one option to eradicate the specter of nuclear weapons is to fully eradicate nuclear weapons.
IPS United Nations Workplace Report
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