Closing Plenary/ Hiroshima Day Rally
2024 World Conference against A and H Bombs
Miguel Mojedano Batel
First Secretary for Press, Embassy of Mexico in Japan
It is an honor to participate in the commemoration of the 79th anniversary of the tragic atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
Mexico pays tribute to the Japanese people, especially the survivors of the atomic bombs, the Hibakusha, whose voices and testimonies have been pivotal in raising awareness of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons.
The testimonies of the Hibakusha are a vital historical legacy, serving as a clarion call for promoting peace and ensuring a world free of nuclear weapons. We must guarantee that their thoughts, voices, and enlightening stories are preserved for present and future generations.
The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki demonstrated that nuclear weapons do not discriminate between combatants and civilians; they do not distinguish gender, age, religion, social status, ideology, or nationality. Their effects are indiscriminate.
Beyond immediate death and destruction, the bombings showed that nuclear detonations devastate socio-economic development and the environment. Suffering is widespread, with the vulnerable being the most severely affected. It takes decades to reconstruct infrastructure and regenerate economic activities, trade, communications, health facilities, and schools, causing profound social and political harm. Radiation exposure results in severe short- and long-term effects, including increased cancer risks and future hereditary pathologies. Thus, it is imperative to ensure that such a calamity never happens again.
Mexico reiterates its rejection and condemnation of any justification for the continued existence of nuclear weapons, regardless of their type or location, and any threat, veiled or explicit, of their use, by any actor and under any circumstance.
It is important to emphasize the illegality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons, as determined by the International Court of Justice in 1996. Any use or threat of use of nuclear weapons violates international law, including the Charter of the United Nations.
The risk of a nuclear weapon detonation, whether by accident, miscalculation, or design, concerns the security of all humanity. Achieving and maintaining a nuclear-weapon-free world serves both national and collective security interests.
Amid heightened tensions and growing risks of nuclear weapons use, the once unthinkable prospect of nuclear conflict is now within the realm of possibility. All states must consider the humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons. Preventing these consequences underpins our legitimate demand for progress in nuclear disarmament.
Mexico asserts that all states share the responsibility to achieve nuclear disarmament, prevent nuclear weapons proliferation in all its aspects, prevent any use or threat of use of nuclear weapons, and assist victims, redress harms, and remediate environmental damage caused by previous nuclear use and testing, in accordance with international law and bilateral agreements.
Mexico believes that to achieve nuclear disarmament, all States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) must commit to and exert all efforts for its effective implementation, including advancing multilateral negotiations on the matter.
In this context, Mexico is convinced that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is a crucial milestone on the long road toward the total elimination of nuclear weapons. It is a fundamental instrument that complements and contributes to compliance with the NPT, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), treaties establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones, and other multilateral efforts.
Mexico reaffirms its determination to contribute to the complete elimination of nuclear weapons and strive for the full and effective implementation of the TPNW.
I conclude by reaffirming our responsibility to ensure that a nuclear weapon detonation, like those in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, never happens again. Mexico will continue to strive for a safer world based on international law, international cooperation, and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
Mexico urges all states not party to the TPNW to join the treaty without delay and work with TPNW states parties in support of our shared goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.
Today, more than ever, the world needs the spirit of the Hibakusha to continue striving for peaceful coexistence and to avoid the catastrophic risks posed by nuclear weapons, for the very survival of humanity.