2007 World Conference against Atomic & Hydrogen Bombs

Declaration of the International Meeting

The International Meeting of the 2007 World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs was held on August 3-5 in Hiroshima, with the participation of 250 delegates from over 20 countries. We, the participants, hereby call on all the people of the world to take action together to build a peaceful and just world free of nuclear weapons.

The abolition of nuclear weapons has developed into a world opinion. The overwhelming majority of the governments are also calling for it.

Nevertheless, there are still close to 27,000 nuclear warheads stockpiled or deployed, with many of them placed on hair-trigger alert. As evidenced by the tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the use of nuclear weapons is a crime against humanity. Humans cannot coexist with nuclear weapons. The elimination of nuclear weapons is a vital task with consequences for the survival of the human race.

Having pursued a policy of preemptive attack on the ground to counter terrorism and the threat of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the US Government is facing criticism and isolation at home and internationally.

But the US and its allies are still engaging in war operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and causing a huge number of casualties. The withdrawal of the foreign troops is urgently needed. Pursuing the threat and the actual use of �gfull range of military capabilities, including both nuclear and non-nuclear strikes�h, the US is continuing the development of new nuclear warheads and the improvement of existing weapons. The ongoing deployment of �gMissile Defense�h networks to supplement the first strike operation and the global realignment and reinforcement of military bases are posing serious threats to world peace.

The policy to pursue security or peace by nuclear weapons is both deceptive and disastrous. We do not accept that any country should develop nuclear weapons for any reason whatsoever. However, as warned by people who were in the center of diplomacy and military policy of nuclear powers, the superpowers�f postures of clinging to their nuclear arsenals are serving as an incentive for nuclear proliferation. The nuclear superpowers must take steps to reduce nuclear armaments. The fundamental solution to nuclear proliferation can be found in a total ban on nuclear weapons.

The implementation of the �gunequivocal undertaking�h to eliminate nuclear weapons, accepted by the nuclear weapons states at the 2000 NPT Review Conference is urgently required.�@The civil society must join forces beyond all differences of opinion, culture and political status, to achieve this goal, working together with the governments committed to nuclear disarmament. Looking to the next NPT Review Conference in 2010, we urge all governments in the world to commit themselves to actions for the swift abolition of nuclear weapons, and make a decision at the U.N. General Assembly to start consultations for a treaty totally banning nuclear weapons. In particular, we urge the nuclear weapons states to make a bold decision to commence this process.

We demand that the nuclear weapons states, declared and undeclared, renounce the policy to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons; de-alert their nuclear warheads; provide non-nuclear states with security assurances; cancel the plans to develop new warheads or to replace old systems with new ones, and stop the deployment of �gMissile Defense�h networks.

We call on all parties concerned to implement the agreements reached so far in good faith, including the peaceful resolution of North Korea�fs nuclear development and the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and turning the Middle East to a nuclear weapon-free zone as agreed on at the 1995 NPT Review Conference.

World military spending exceeds 1.2 trillion dollars. This is making it difficult to achieve the U.N. Millennium Development goals, and resolve the poverty, destitution and other global problems. A drastic cut in armament is an important obligation for all governments, and for the nuclear superpowers in particular, who account for more than half of the world military expenditures.

�@As the only country to have suffered the calamity of nuclear war and to have renounced war by its Constitution, Japan should take the lead in abolishing nuclear weapons in international politics, while strictly implementing the three Non-Nuclear Principles at the same time. We are deeply concerned by ongoing developments, including a deepening dependency on the �gnuclear umbrella�h; positive arguments on the possession of nuclear weapons; the acceptance of the past atomic bombings; the attempted justification of past aggression; the reorganization and the consolidation of the US bases in Japan and moving on the path to the revision of the Constitution.

�@Noting the growing opposition of the Japanese people to these developments, we support their campaign for a Declaration of a Nuclear Weapon-Free Japan, and extend solidarity with the movement to defend Article 9 and establish a nuclear weapon-free and peaceful Japan.

The desire of the Hibakusha for �gNever again Hiroshima or Nagasaki�h is heard throughout the world. We must spread their message even wider. By cooperation between popular movements, civil society and committed governments, we must bring change to international politics. Let us increase our action, using the 62nd session of the U.N. General Assembly, the 2nd NPT PrepCom meeting next spring, and the G8 Summit Conference in July 2008 in Hokkaido, and many other opportunities.

Let us promote diverse campaigns, including the signature campaign for the �gSwift Abolition of Nuclear Weapons�h; photo and other exhibitions around the world on A-bomb damage and other nuclear sufferings; learning, inheriting and carrying forward the stories of Hibakusha, and peace marches. Let us develop our solidarity with other movements against war, for peace, sovereignty, the dismantling of bases, and for a just society.

A nuclear weapon-free, peaceful and just world is possible. Let us rise to action now, together with the young generation who bears our future.

No More Hiroshimas! No More Nagasakis! No More Hibakusha!

August 5, 2007

International Meeting,
2007 World Conference against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs

Give back my father, give back my mother;

Give grandpa back, grandma back;

Give my sons and daughters back.

Give me back myself,

Give back the human race.

As long as this life lasts, this life,

Give back peace

That will never end.

An Anthology of A-Bomb Poems, Toge Sankichi

At 8:15 on 6 August 1945, an atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. It completely destroyed the city and claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people within the next few months. It left those who narrowly escaped death with deep scars on their bodies, minds, and lives, scars which continue even after sixty-two years. The voices of Hibakusha, demanding �gNo more Hibakushas�h and �gAbolish nuclear weapons,�h has merged into world opinion, and an overwhelming majority of governments also call for the same demands.

As a country that has suffered nuclear destruction and that has constitutionally renounced war, Japan should strictly observe its Three Non-Nuclear Principles: not to possess, not to produce, and not to allow nuclear weapons to be brought into its territory, and should take a leading role in the international community in pursuit of the abolition of nuclear weapons.

The recent string of official statements advocating Japan�fs nuclear armament have enraged Hibakusha and the public, and public indignation forced the Minister of Defense to resign when his said that the dropping of atomic bombs could not have been avoided. The Abe administration tries to justify Japan�fs past war of aggression, pushes to revise the Constitution, cooperates with the U.S. in reorganizing and transforming U.S. military bases in Japan, vigorously pursuing its efforts to turn Japan into a country that will �gwage war with the U.S.�h

Now is the time for us to make great strides in our movement. Let us reinforce our grassroots actions and expand our cooperation to achieve a nuclear weapons-free, peaceful, and just world, and a nuclear-free and peaceful Japan where Article 9 of the Constitution prevails.

The movements for the abolition of nuclear weapons are now rising to intensify their actions with the 2010 NPT Review Conference approaching. Let us urge the United Nations and all its member states, especially the nuclear possessing states, to take actions towards the abolition of nuclear weapons and to adopt resolutions for the commencement of negotiations on a convention totally banning all nuclear weapons.

Let us multiply our efforts to promote the signature campaign �gFor the Swift Abolition of Nuclear Weapons�h in our communities, places of work, and school campuses, and let us expand it across the world.

Let us develop the campaign for a Declaration of a Nuclear Weapon-Free Japan, with which Japan will commit itself to the abolition of nuclear weapons and to the strict observation of the Three Non-Nuclear Principles, into a nationwide campaign, especially targeting local assembly sessions which start in September.

Let us strengthen nationwide actions and cooperation for the defense of Article 9, a world treasure, with all our might. Let us oppose the ongoing realignment and build-up of U.S. military bases in Japan, an effort integral to U.S. policies of preemptive strike and of the use of nuclear weapons. Let us work in solidarity and support of those struggling against the military build-up in Okinawa, in Iwakuni, in Yokosuka, and in many other places. Let us urge the government to withdraw the Japanese military forces from Iraq and the Indian Ocean.

Let us mobilize nationwide support for victory in Hibakusha lawsuits and for a drastic change of the government A-bomb disease recognition policies. Let us listen to Hibakusha�fs testimonies, inherit their messages, and pass them on to others and to future generations. To that end, let us organize A-bomb photo exhibitions, disseminate A-bomb photo panels, and hold film screenings, theater productions, musical performances, and other cultural events. Let us work to preserve the A-bomb ruins, as a reminder of A-bomb destruction for future generations.

We will move forward to achieve the goal of creating a peaceful and just world without nuclear weapons and without war together with Hibakusha, younger generations and seasoned generations holding hands.

No more Hiroshimas! No more Nagasakis! No more Hibakushas! No more War!

Special Resolution:

2007 World Conference against Atomic & Hydrogen Bombs - Hiroshima

We Demand a Fundamental Resolution to
the Problems of A-Bomb Disease Recognition

Victorious rulings have been achieved since last year in all six district courts of Osaka, Hiroshima, Nagoya, Sendai, Tokyo, and most recently at Kumamoto, in the collective lawsuits filed by the Hibakusha, who called for the government to recognize their health problems as A-bomb-related. All of these court decisions sternly criticized the unjust A-bomb disease recognition policy by the government and the current screening standards, which underestimate the effects of radiation. The court decisions admonished the government not to mechanically apply the current screening standards and urged it to examine Hibakusha's applications by taking into consideration the more general and comprehensive conditions of the applicants, including their particular experiences of the A-bombing and their histories of health conditions. We call on the government and the Ministry of Health to finally accept the judicial decisions this time, after their sixth defeat.

Sixty-two years have passed since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is absolutely unacceptable to force the Hibakusha, A-bomb survivors, to continue to bear the pain of the bombings unassisted after their health and their lives were destroyed and their family members were killed. Already, thirty-five out of the 266 plaintiffs of the lawsuits have died. Time is not on their side. The government and the Ministry of Health and Labor must immediately stop their insistence on improper standards for screening. We demand that they abolish the current recognition standards, which ignore the actual conditions of the Hibakusha and mechanically turn down their applications. We urge them to give official recognition to their health problems and illnesses, as long as the effect of radiation cannot be absolutely excluded, and to revise the screening system into one that conforms to the real situations of the Hibakusha.

Behind the government�fs underestimation of A-bomb effects we can find its tacit acceptance of the atomic bombings, as evidenced by the remarks made by the former Defense Minister. We reiterate our demand that the government change its improper position and take fundamental measures to solve the problems of the A-bomb disease recognition program. In addition, we urge the government to make drastic improvements to measures to aid the Hibakusha, including state compensation for A-bomb harm, the expansion of areas officially designated as A-bomb affected zones, a system which would enable Hibakusha living outside Japan to obtain Hibakusha certification and to file applications for A-bomb-related disease recognition, and the creation of programs to help the second generation of Hibakusha.

Further, we call on the government of Japan, as the only country to have suffered the damage from nuclear weapons, to play a positive role in the international community for achieving the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Call from Nagasaki

On August 9, 1945, one atomic bomb turned Nagasaki, an international city of culture, into a hell. Heat rays, blasts and radiation took the lives of more than 70,000 people, leaving on those who barely survived deep scars that have never gone away 62 years since the bombing.

The tragedy of Nagasaki and Hiroshima, and the suffering of the Hibakusha teach us a lesson: Humans can never coexist with nuclear weapons. With his remarks that the dropping of the atomic bombs could not be helped, the former Defense Minister, whose constituency is Nagasaki, ignored that lesson, and virtually showed tolerance to the use of nuclear weapons. The Minister was forced to resign due to the strong will of the Hibakusha and the people of the atomic bombed country who never accept the existence, let alone the use, of nuclear weapons.

The outcry of the Hibakusha for the abolition of nuclear weapons has now become a global call, shared by the people and an overwhelming majority of the governments across the world. Toward the NPT Review Conference in 2010, people are increasingly committed to pressing the nuclear weapons states to fulfill their �gunequivocal undertaking�h to accomplish the elimination of their nuclear arsenals, by strengthening solidarity between grass-roots movements, civil society and committed governments.

The U.S., having pushed ahead with its preemptive attack strategy, including the use of nuclear weapons, on the premise of preventing �gterrorism and nuclear proliferation�h, is now bogged down in the war in Iraq and faces severe criticism from home and abroad, becoming more and more isolated in the international community. In Japan, the people rendered a severe judgment on the Abe government in the recent House of Councilors Election, giving a major blow to its attempt to adversely revise Article 9 with a view to making Japan a �gcountry that will wage war together with the U.S.�h

Now is the time to raise our voices: �gAbolish Nuclear Weapons!�h, �gAchieve a Nuclear-free, Peaceful Japan!�h, and �gDefend Article 9!�h, and to powerfully develop nationwide actions. We extend our call from the atomic bombed city of Nagasaki:

- Toward the NPT Review Conference in 2010, let us widely develop public opinion and actions for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Let us urge the United Nations and the governments to start negotiating on an international treaty for a total ban on nuclear weapons.

- Let us take the opportunities of United Nations General Assembly and the NPT PrepCom to promote the signature campaign for the Swift Abolition of Nuclear Weapons. Let us strengthen our day-to-day efforts such as Monthly 6th & 9th Day Actions in communities, workplaces and schools.

- Let us develop the campaign for a �gDeclaration for a Nuclear Weapon-Free Japan�h by lobbying all local assemblies in their upcoming sessions in September to urge the national government to declare its commitment to the abolition of nuclear weapons and to the strict observance of the Three Non-nuclear Principles.

- Let us further develop nationwide actions and cooperation to preserve Article 9.

- Let us expand the struggles in Okinawa and other places in Japan against the plan to realign and strengthen U.S. bases, and the struggle against the deployment of a nuclear aircraft carrier in Yokosuka. Let us bring the Japanese Self-Defense Forces back home from Iraq and the Indian Ocean.

- Let us urge the government to bring a total solution to the collective lawsuits for A-bomb disease recognition and carry out a fundamental improvement of the recognition system.

- Let us hold A-bomb photo exhibitions throughout the world, including the one now planned in Egypt this coming October. In solidarity with Hibakusha, let us further strengthen our effort to inherit Hibakusha�fs experiences and aspirations to hand them down to the next generation and to the rest of the world.

A �gnuclear weapon-free, peaceful and just world�h is possible. Let us now join our forces together to stand up for action.

No More Nagasakis! No More Hiroshimas! No More Hibakusha!

August 9, 2007

Letter from Nagasaki:

We, the people who work for a nuclear weapon-free, peaceful and just world together with the Hibakusha of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, call on all governments to act with renewed determination, for the swift abolition of nuclear weapons and adopt a resolution at the United Nations General Assembly on the commencement of negotiations leading to a conclusion of a treaty totally banning nuclear weapons.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki demonstrate that the use of nuclear weapons is a crime against humanity and civilization. The tragedy must never be repeated. However, close to 27,000 nuclear weapons exist on earth today, either stockpiled or deployed, and some superpowers openly advocate their use. The reliance on �gnuclear deterrence�h is setting off nuclear proliferation and causing new tensions and instability. A total ban on and the abolition of nuclear weapons is an urgent task to be achieved to ensure the safety of all states and their peoples across the world.

It holds a significant meaning that the U.N., which had been established to �gsave succeeding generations from the scourge of war�h, adopted as its first resolution �gthe total elimination of atomic weapons from national arsenals�h. At the 2000 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, all States parties to the Treaty, including the nuclear weapons states, took the �gunequivocal undertaking�h to achieve the elimination of nuclear weapons. The �hU.N. Millennium Declaration�h adopted by the Millennium Summit stipulated the need of working for the abolition of nuclear weapons. These commitments must be implemented in good faith.

It is incumbent upon all states, especially the nuclear weapons states, to make a firm determination to live up to their promise as we approach the next NPT Review Conference in 2010. We call on all governments to act together in the forthcoming 62nd Session of the U.N. General Assembly to confirm the urgent need for a total ban on nuclear weapons and to that end, start negotiations for the conclusion of a treaty to ban all nuclear weapons.

Grass-root movements, civil society, governments, and the United Nations must work together in achieving a nuclear weapon-free, peaceful and just world. Determined to do our part in further mobilizing the public and developing movements to achieve the goal, we sincerely call on the U.N. and all the governments to take sincere and courageous actions to achieve the cause of the abolition of nuclear weapons.

August 9, 2007

2007 World Conference against Atomic & Hydrogen Bombs - Nagasaki