“Nuclear weapons are meaningless. Three quarters of a century later, we must wonder what we have learned from the mushroom cloud that rose over this city in 1945,” he urged during a solemn event at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. attended by dozens of people, including hibakushayoung peace activists, the Prime Minister of Japan and other local governments.
The UN Secretary General warn that A new arms race is accelerating and world leaders are increasing stockpiles at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars with nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons currently held in arsenals around the world.
He warned: “…Severe nuclear-sounding crises are spreading rapidly – from the Middle East to the Korean peninsula, to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine… Mankind is playing with a loaded gun. “.
UN photo / Mitsugu Kishida
Hiroshima, shortly after a nuclear bomb was dropped on the city in August 1945.
Signs of hope
Mr. Guterres calls the present Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York a ‘sign of hope’.
“Today, from this sacred space, I call upon the members of this Treaty working urgently to eliminate stockpiles that threaten our futureto strengthen dialogue, diplomacy and negotiation, and support my disarmament program by removing these destructive devices,” he stressed.
He stressed that states with nuclear weapons must commit to “no first use” of them and assure other countries that they will not use – or threaten to use – nuclear weapons against surname.
“We must always see the horrors of Hiroshima, realizing that there is only one solution to the nuclear threat: no nuclear weapons at all,” he said.
Time to breed peace
Guterres emphasized that leaders cannot shirk their responsibilities.
“Let’s get rid of the nuclear option – good. It’s time for peace to flourish. Heed the hibakusha’s message: “No more Hiroshimas! No more Nagasakis! ,” he said, acknowledging that in 1945, two atomic bombs were detonated over Japan – the first over Hiroshima on August 6 and Nagasaki three days later, on August 9.
Mr. Guterres also sent a message to young people urging them to finish the work that hibakusha has started.
“The world must never forget what happened here. The memory of the dead – and the legacy of the survivors – will never be extinguished‘, he concluded.
The United Nations Secretary-General will be in Japan over the weekend, where he will meet a number of senior Japanese officials, including Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Britain will also meet a group of survivors of the atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and engage in dialogue with young activists who are leading initiatives for nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and non-proliferation. nuclear weapons change and other global issues.
