(1) Two hundred and sixty delegates from 20 countries have come together at the International Meeting of the 2003 World Conference against A & H Bombs to discuss how to achieve a world without nuclear weapons and without war.
During the last year, the world was shaken by the greatest ever protest actions in human history in opposition to the war on Iraq by the U.S. and the U.K., which brought together peace campaigns with whole new movements on a diverse range of economic and social issues. Linking the desire for peace against war with our long standing and successful efforts to transform the appeal "Hiroshima and Nagasaki Never Again" into a major global current for the abolition of nuclear weapons, we pledged to each other to make this anti-nuclear peace upsurge grow and develop even further. Even now, some 30,000 nuclear weapons are stockpiled on the planet and the danger of their use and development is increasing. We call on all the people of the world to take action together to eliminate the danger of nuclear weapons and achieve a future of hope.
(2) Led by the American and British forces, the war on Iraq killed and maimed numerous innocent citizens. This outrage was committed in violation of the principle of resolving international conflicts by peaceful means through the United Nations, a principle established by the peoples of the world, after the scourge of two world wars. During this period, both in people's movements and in the arena of diplomacy, the demand for a halt to the war and defense of the U.N. Charter was widespread. In the U.N., too, ever-greater efforts were made to solve the problem through peaceful means. Moreover, there is growing suspicion that the evidence on Iraq's "development of weapons of mass destruction", excuse used by the U.S. and the U.K. to justify military action was a frame up, and that the war was therefore doubly and triply unjust.
A cause for grave concern is the fact that the Bush administration repeatedly refused to rule out the possibility of using nuclear weapons in its war against Iraq, and is upholding its plan to employ preemptive strikes and nuclear attacks as what it calls "countermeasures to terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction". It named 7 countries, including non-nuclear states, as targets, and is even promoting the development of "usable" low-yield nuclear weapons.
The threat of another Hiroshima and another Nagasaki is emanating from this outrage of U.S. hegemonism. No action could be more inconsistent and hypocritical than to maintain vast quantities of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, turning a blind eye to the nuclear weapons development of Israel and others, while at the same time threatening to launch preemptive attacks, including nuclear, against other countries on the ground that they may develop and possess these same weapons, all the while abandoning the possibility for peaceful settlement. Never before has the U.S. been so isolated as it is now in the midst of the storm of criticism that is raging against it throughout the world.
(3) As hopes and actions for a peaceful world without nuclear weapons spread, the demand for the implementation of the "unequivocal undertaking to abolish nuclear weapons", agreed in the 2000 NPT Review Conference by the nuclear weapons states and others, is growing stronger and stronger. By overwhelmingly reinforcing the movement and the public support, which yielded this agreement, and by further developing solidarity and joint efforts with the non-nuclear governments of the Non-Aligned Movement and the New Agenda Coalition, we will reject the machinations of the pro-nuclear forces and press for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Let us also block all moves towards nuclear arms buildup and reinforcement of the nuclear war-fighting posture: moves such as the development of new nuclear weapons, resumption of nuclear tests, the missile defense program and the weaponization of outer space. We oppose military use of nuclear energy and demand complete transparency of its development.
For world peace and in order to remove the danger of nuclear war, it is essential to establish an international rule for peace, and to prevent the destruction of the order of peace based on the U.N. Charter. Let us work in solidarity with the various actions being developed in opposition to the arrogant behavior of the superpower and build a world where the purposes of the U.N. Charter are fully realized. We offer no after-the-fact endorsement for the illegal war on Iraq. We demand an immediate end to the unlawful military occupation, and demand that the rehabilitation of the country be carried out by the people of Iraq themselves, supported by other countries under the auspices of the U.N.
North Korea's moves to develop nuclear weapons is a threat to the peace and security of both Asia and of North Korea itself. We strongly urge North Korea to immediately abandon its nuclear arms development program. The international community opposes the military threat posed by the U.S. and must work diligently to solve problems by peaceful means through negotiations.
(4) From the experience of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan proclaimed the "Three Non-Nuclear Principles" as national principles, and after critically reviewing past war of aggression, it declared its renunciation of war in Article 9 of the Constitution. As such, people are looking to Japan to take the lead in contributing to world peace and the elimination of nuclear weapons. However, the Japanese Government, under the Japan-U.S. military alliance, is ever more actively following the U.S.; it supports the U.S. policy of preemptive attack and of actual use of nuclear weapons. As seen in the war on Iraq, already strong U.S. bases in Japan are being consolidated as sortie bases. In spite of opposition of citizens, the so-called contingency laws have turned Japan into a "country where war is legitimate", and preparations for the revision of the Constitution are being accelerated. In addition to the responsibility to further develop the campaign for the elimination of nuclear weapons, it is also the international duty of the Japanese people and their peace movement to develop further the opposition to the imminent dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces in support of the U.S. occupation of Iraq and to oppose other moves running counter to world peace.
(5) The tragedies of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the still continuing agonies and hopes of the Hibakusha, the A-bomb sufferers, and other nuclear victims around the world must be made known in every corner of the world. This effort is the driving force spreading the determination and the actions needed to create a nuclear weapons-free world. We appeal for support for the struggle demanding compensation for damages and improvement of relief measures. We also appeal for initiatives in solidarity with campaigns to reveal the damage from depleted uranium shells and other inhumane weapons as well as from biological and chemical weapons such as defoliants, to make clear the calamity of war itself.
(6) A peaceful 21st century without nuclear weapons and without war can be made a reality through international solidarity and cooperation between peoples and governments that share this as their common desire irrespective of difference of race, nationality, religion, ideology, belief and social system. The swell of opposition to the war on Iraq circled the globe and demonstrated that it is just such solidarity and cooperation which are the decisive force that will move the world forward.
We are inextricably in solidarity with diverse campaigns against growing military spending, to eradicate hunger, poverty, evils of globalization led by big powers, destruction of the environment, discrimination against women and social injustice.
The year 2005, the 60th year of the A-bomb tragedy, will be an important year in determining the course of history. To make that year a turning point for the abolition of nuclear weapons, we appeal for intensified actions all around the world. Let us develop the signature campaign for the Appeal, "Abolish Nuclear Weapons Now! - Let there will be no more Hiroshimas and no more Nagasakis", proposed at this international meeting.
Let us act now to create a peaceful world without nuclear weapons and without war!
No More Hiroshimas! No More Nagasakis! No More Wars! And No More Hibakusha!
August 5, 2003
International Meeting, the 2003 World Conference against A and H Bombs