Sandeepp Saxena
It is totally unacceptable for states in possession of nuclear weapons to admit the possibility of a nuclear war, António Guterres underscored in Japan at a ceremony marking the 77th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
“Nuclear weapons are nonsense. Three-quarters of a century later, we must ask what we’ve learned from the mushroom cloud that swelled above this city in 1945”, he urged during the solemn event at Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park attended by dozens of people, including hibakusha, young peace activists, Japan’s Prime Minister and other local authorities.
The UN Secretary-General warned that a new arms race is picking up speed and world leaders are enhancing stockpiles at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars with almost 13,000 nuclear weapons currently held in arsenals around the world. “…Crises with grave nuclear undertones are spreading fast — from the Middle East to the Korean peninsula, to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine… Humanity is playing with a loaded gun”, he cautioned.
Guterres called the current Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in New York a ‘sign of hope’. He underscored that countries with nuclear weapons must commit to the “no first use” of them and assure other states that they will not use –or threaten to use—nuclear weapons against them.
“We must keep the horrors of Hiroshima in view at all times, recognising there is only one solution to the nuclear threat: not to have nuclear weapons at all”, the UN chief stated. Guterres stressed that leaders cannot hide from their responsibilities. “Take the nuclear option off the table — for good. It’s time to proliferate peace.
Heed the message of the hibakusha: “No more Hiroshimas! No more Nagasakis!”, he said, recognizing that in 1945, two atomic bombs were detonated over the skies of Japan – first in Hiroshima on August 6, and Nagasaki three days later.
Later in the day, the SecretaryGeneral met five surviving victims of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, known as hibakusha, and heard their stories. He expressed his admiration for them, acknowledging that they have suffered enormously but have overcome trauma with “enormous courage and resilience.”
