|
|
|
| |
| |
News Archive |
LAST UPDATE
September 6, 2008
|
|
|
| September 1, 2008 |
Remembering Hiroshima and Nagasaki – Peace Boat's Actions for Disarmament and Nuclear Abolition |
|
| |
 |
| Approaching Nuclear Abolition from Hiroshima – Empowering the World to Impact the 2010 NPT Review Conference |
In August, a number of ceremonies and conferences were held throughout Japan and the world to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombings, and confirm commitments to the abolition of nuclear weapons. Peace Boat actively participated in the series of events in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, through attending and speaking at conferences, participating in international campaigns, and co-hosting events and discussion sessions.
On August 2, the Chugoku Shimbun (newspaper) held an international symposium commemorating the launch of the Hiroshima Peace Media Center at the International Conference Center Hiroshima, to which Peace Boat executive committee member Kawasaki Akira was invited to speak. Experts from Japan and abroad, including Keynote Speakers Jayantha Dhanapala (President of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs and former UN Undersecretary General) and Rebecca Johnson (Executive Director of the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy), and Panelists Steven Leeper (Chair, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation) and Tashiro Akira (Executive Director of the Hiroshima Peace Media Center of the Chugoku Shimbun), proposed actions that citizens and cities should undertake to promote nuclear weapons abolition in the run-up to the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference to be held in 2010. Peace Boat's Kawasaki shared the successes and contents of the Global Article 9 Conference to Abolish War, speaking that the Hiroshima-Nagasaki experience and Article 9, which was created on the very experience of the atomic bombings and their tragic aftermath, can and should be utilized worldwide today to promote disarmament and achieve peace without relying on force. More information about this conference is available here. (www.hiroshimapeacemedia.jp/mediacenter/article.php?story=2008080811032830_en) |
site design imagesparkle.com |
 |
Scott Ludlam (seated, first from left), Felicity Hill (seated, second from left) and some of the participants in the discussion session at the Diet, August 7 2008 |
After the commemorations of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki on August 9, Peace Boat co-hosted a seminar with visiting guests, Australian Greens Senator Scott Ludlam and Felicity Hill of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF). With key activists from Japanese NGOs such as Peace Depot, WILPF Japan, Citizens' Nuclear Information Centre (CNIC) and the Citizens' Network for Nuclear Weapons Abolition in attendance, a lively discussion was had over the nuclear policies and movements of Australia and Japan, focusing particularly on the nuclear umbrella, the US-India Nuclear Deal, uranium mining, and the International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, recently established jointly by the two countries. Peace Boat also joined the two guests on their visits to meet with several Diet members and key government officials and discuss nuclear and energy issues, and future collaborations on nuclear disarmament. |
| |
 |
| Activities to campaign against the US-Inia Nuclear Deal have been spearheaded by the Abolition 2000 US-India Working Group |
The month of August has seen a great deal of civil society action against the US-India Nuclear Deal, a campaign in which Peace Boat is also actively engaged. On August 15, an international letter, signed by over 160 individuals and NGOs from 24 countries, was sent to the Japanese Foreign Minister Komura Masahiko, and members of Japanese NGOs then submitted demands to Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Nishimura Yasutoshi, concerning the US-India Nuclear Deal. The text of this letter can be seen on CNIC's website here. (http://cnic.jp/english/topics/plutonium/proliferation/usindiafiles/nsg15aug08.html) |
| |
 |
| Peace Boat is the Northeast Asian Regional Secretariat for GPPAC |
Peace Boat members working on disarmament and nuclear issues also participated and spoke at various other civil society events during August, including Kawasaki Akira at the Gensuikin (Japan Congress Against A- and H- Bombs) World Conference in Nagasaki on the topic of “Aiming for Peace and Nuclear Abolition without relying on Force” on August 8 2008, and Meri Joyce at the “Saitama Citizens for Disarmament – Local Capacity for Peace – Learning to Abolish War” civil society conference on August 30, 2008. Here, Meri introduced the activities of the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (GPPAC), and other regional civil society peace initiatives. |
| |
 |
| The 20th United Nations Conference on Disarmament Issues in Saitama |
Nuclear issues were at the forefront of the 20th United Nations Conference on Disarmament Issues in Saitama, held between August 27-29, 2008. Here, Peace Boat's nuclear abolition and peace initiatives were also given attention during the panel on “Cooperation with civil society (Disarmament and Non-proliferation Education). Speaker Jacqueline Cabasso (North America Coordinator of Mayors for Peace, Executive Director of Western States Legal Foundation) referred to Peace Boat's activities in her speech, and it was also referenced in Takahashi Kazuo's (Visiting Professor, United Nations University, Japan) distributed paper. Furthermore, Chair Kate Dewes (Disarmament and Security Centre, Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters) introduced Peace Boat's upcoming “Global Voyage for a Nuclear-Free World - Peace Boat Hibakusha Project”, where 100 survivors of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki will join the join its three-month global journey to share their testimonies of the experience of the atomic bomb with people around the world. |
| |
 |
| The “Global Voyage for a Nuclear-Free World – Peace Boat Hibakusha Project” logo |
This historic voyage, to take place between September 7 – December 18 2008, will be a unique chance to pass along the stories and memories of Hibakushas, their sufferings and their hopes for the future to present and future generations, both Japanese and internationally. Through direct interaction with youth, citizens, NGOs and victims of wars from other parts of the world, Hibakushas will not only act as peace and disarmament educators, raising awareness on the dangers of nuclear weapons and the human costs of war, but also forcefully add their voices to the call to abolish all nuclear weapons and create an alternative vision for peace and global security that does not rely on force. Please check the Peace Boat website for further information about this historical project, and regular updates throughout the voyage. |
| |
|
|
|
