Hiroshima resolution, 2023 World Conference against A and H Bombs

Letter from Hiroshima to All Governments of the World

Assembled in Hiroshima on August 6 in the 78th year since the atomic bombing, we urge the leaders of all governments of the world to take urgent actions to achieve the elimination of nuclear weapons.

We are facing a grave threat of the use of nuclear weapons as Russia continues its aggression in Ukraine. A single atomic bomb indiscriminately killed tens of thousands of civilians and turned Hiroshima into a "hell" in an instant. Hibakusha who barely survived the bombing have suffered from radiation aftereffects and social discrimination. The use of even a fraction of today's modernized nuclear arsenal would lead to the annihilation of the human species. The use of nuclear weapons is absolutely unacceptable under any circumstances. We appeal to the international community to work immediately to eradicate the threat.

The G7 Summit Meeting held in Hiroshima in May openly endorsed the theory of "nuclear deterrence," saying that nuclear weapons "deter aggression and prevent war and coercion" ("G7 Leaders' Hiroshima Vision on Nuclear Disarmament"). “Nuclear deterrence" is nothing more than a threat to use nuclear weapons which would bring about the tragedies experienced in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We categorically reject this declaration, which taunts the A-bombed cities and the Hibakusha. The true message from Hiroshima should be that the use and threat of nuclear weapons must not be allowed and that a world without nuclear weapons must be realized without delay.

Precisely because a war in Europe is actually underway and military tensions are rising, it is imperative that progress on disarmament, especially nuclear disarmament, be made. We believe that the 1st Preparatory Committee for the 11th Review Conference of the NPT, currently underway in Vienna, Austria, should commit itself to implementing the following agreements reached so far in the past review conferences: Article VI, which provides for pursuing "negotiations on effective measures relating to nuclear disarmament"; the pledge for "the total elimination of nuclear arsenals" (2000); "to achieve the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons" and the establishment of a "framework" for that purpose (2010).

Our hopes have been raised with the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) which outlawed nuclear weapons for the first time in history and has entered into force and is gaining widespread support and participation. We sincerely welcome the First Meeting of States Parties adoption of a political declaration and an action plan, and the treaty is now in operation. The TPNW complements, and does not contradict, the NPT in achieving the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world. We urge all NPT states parties to support and join the TPNW.

As members of civil society, we express our determination to work together with governments and UN agencies to achieve a world without nuclear weapons. As delegates of the 2023 World Conference against A and H Bombs, we will do our utmost to urge the Japanese government to change its dependence on the "nuclear umbrella" and join the TPNW.

We sincerely hope that you will respond to this appeal from Hiroshima with action.

August 6, 2023

Hiroshima Day Rally, 2023 World Conference against A and H Bombs