Disarmament in Review
24 April 2013 — High Representative Angela Kane and Ambassador Feruta of Romania, Chair of the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee of the 2015 NPT Review Conference, met with a delegation of 17 members from the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs (Gensuikyo) and a survivor of the Hiroshima bombing from the Japan Confederation of A and H Bomb Sufferers Organization (Nihon Hidankyo).
Speaking with the Japanese delegation at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, High Representative Kane emphasized the vital role played by civil society organizations in promoting disarmament and non-proliferation and in mobilizing public opinion to demand concrete progress in this field.
Gensuikyo, one of Japan’s largest anti-nuclear and peace movement organizations, has been working since 1965 for a total ban on nuclear weapons and in support of radiation victims. Nihon Hidankyo comprises Hibakusha organizations from 47 prefectures in Japan. The organization has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize several times for its tireless work in advocating the total abolition of all nuclear weapons.
Earlier in the day the representative of Hidankyo had delivered a statement at the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee of the NPT, where he had made an appeal for the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
At the end of the meeting, Gensuikyo presented Ambassador Feruta and Ms. Kane with a symbolic signature of the appeal for a total ban of nuclear weapons. Ms. Kane thanked the representatives of both organizations for travelling to Geneva to follow the deliberations of the NPT Preparatory Committee.
