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Ahead of the G7 Leaders’ Summit taking place in Hiroshima in May, ICAN convened the G7 Parliamentarian Forum for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons in Tokyo and Hiroshima. The adopted statement urges the G7 governments to recognize the humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons, condemn threats to use nuclear weapons and to recognise the TPNW as a the comprehensive and effective legal tool for the abolition of nuclear weapons. See the full statement and list of participants below.
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We parliamentarians from G7 countries reiterate our commitment to nuclear disarmament on the occasion of the G7 Summit in the city of Hiroshima, a city that is marked by nuclear obliteration due to the dropping of the first atomic bomb on August 6, 1945. We are reminded of the 140,000 lives lost in the city as well as over 70,000 lives lost in Nagasaki, by the end of 1945 and the ongoing physical, social, and psychological suffering of the Hibakusha. Their fate remains at the centre of our political agenda towards complete global nuclear disarmament.
We recognize that the risk of nuclear war increases over time as long as nuclear weapons exist. The repeated missile tests and continued nuclear programs of the DPRK have dangerously and irresponsibly increased this risk. We condemn Russia’s illegal war of aggression on Ukraine, which exposed the unacceptable risks associated with nuclear weapons. The Russian plans to station nuclear weapons in Belarus highlight the importance of halting and reversing such actions and ensuring that nuclear weapons are never again used as tools of aggression and intimidation. The ongoing nuclear arms race, in which all nuclear weapon states are involved, increases the risk of the use of these weapons either by accident or design, with devastating consequences for humanity and the planet and must therefore be stopped as a matter of international urgency.
In order to strengthen the norm of not using and not threatening to use nuclear weapons, we condemn any and all nuclear threats and reiterate that the only guarantee of non-use is the total elimination of nuclear weapons. To this end, we commit to strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which provide the crucial, mutually-reinforcing framework for achieving a world free of nuclear weapons. We underline the importance of Article VI of the NPT, which calls for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, and we welcome the TPNW’s comprehensive provisions as an important reinforcement of the nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation regime especially in a time of heightened risks. Complementary to the TPNW’s explicit prohibition of nuclear weapons testing, the norms of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) must be upheld.
As representatives of their peoples, parliamentarians have a vital role to play in building support for disarmament and ensuring that our governments prioritise the elimination of nuclear weapons. Let us collaborate with states parties to the TPNW and civil society to achieve our shared goal of a safer and more peaceful world, free from the threat of nuclear war. We encourage all non-signatory states to observe the second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW and urge our governments to explore options to collaborate with states parties, particularly in the area of victim assistance and environmental remediation, as set out in Article 6 and 7 of the TPNW. We will intensify our political efforts to encourage our countries to sign and ratify the TPNW, with the goal of achieving its universalization at the earliest possible time.
In the upcoming Hiroshima Summit, we urge the leaders of the G7 to meet with and listen to the Hibakusha, to acknowledge the devastating harm caused by the use of nuclear weapons on people and the environment, to unequivocally condemn any and all threats to use nuclear weapons, and to recognize the significance of the TPNW in advancing global nuclear disarmament efforts. We maintain that all countries should engage in sincere and constructive negotiations to achieve the total elimination of nuclear weapons so that never again will any person be subjected to the fate endured by the Hibakusha.
Participants of the G7 Parliamentarian Forum on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons:
Boldrini, Laura / Camera, Partito Democratico, Italy
McPherson, Heather / House of Commons, NDP, Canada
Satouri, Mounir / European Parliament, Green, France/EU (video message)
Spellerberg, Merle / German Bundestag, Green, Germany (video message)
Ribeiro-Addy, Bell / House of Commons, Labour, UK (video message)
Inoguchi, Kuniko / House of Councillors, LDP, Japan
Minoru, Terada / House of Representative, LDP, Japan (video message)
Hiraguchi, Hiroshi / House of Representatives, LDP, Japan
Taniai, Masaaki / House of Councillors, Komeito, Japan
Hiraki, Daisaku / House of Councillors, Komeito, Japan
Kusaka, Masaki / House of Representative, Komeito, Japan
Fukuyama, Tetsuro / House of Councillors, CDP, Japan
Morimoto, Shinji / House of Councillors, CDP, Japan
Tamaki, Yuichiro / House of Representative, NDP, Japan
Nishioka, Hideko / House of Representative, NDP, Japan
Soramoto, Seiki / House of Representative, Nippon Ishin, Japan
Shii, Kazuo / House of Representative, JCP, Japan
Kasai, Akira / House of Representative, JCP, Japan
Inoue, Satoshi / House of Councillors, JCP, Japan
Kushibuchi, Mari / House of Representative, Reiwa Shinsengumi, Japan
Fukushima, Mizuho / House of Councillors, SDP, Japan