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81 years is enough: it is time to end nuclear weapons forever
2025 marked the 80th anniversary of the invention of nuclear weapons and their first use in New Mexico, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The threat that nuclear weapons could be used again in conflict or by accident is as high - if not higher - as it has ever been. Over 80 years of living under this existential threat is enough. We must eliminate nuclear weapons before they eliminate us.
Why is this so important?
The US attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the detonation of the first bomb in New Mexico showed that nuclear weapons cannot be used without causing catastrophic intergenerational harm. The threat that nuclear weapons could be used again in conflict or by accident is as high - if not higher - as it has ever been. Geopolitical tensions involving nuclear-armed states provide a stark warning, this is not the time to reduce our ambitions.
Learn more about Hiroshima & Nagasaki
To mark the anniversary of the US nuclear attack on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ICAN has launched an online memorial honouring the estimated 38,000 children killed. It features more than 400 profiles with details of the children’s lives, their agonising deaths and the grief of surviving family members. The children range in age from infants to teenagers.
An estimated 38,000 children were killed in the US nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 80 years ago.
— Tim Wright (@TimMilesWright) July 1, 2025
Today we launched a website with profiles of more than 400 of them: https://t.co/KFXWjQHrIm pic.twitter.com/Ih35Pl9EVC
Visit the Children's Peace Memorial
Public pressure works to defund, delegitimise and defeat nuclear weapons. Every action for a world without nuclear weapons builds up the pressure to disarm. 80 years of living under the nuclear threat is enough, the time to act is now.
What can I do?
Nuclear weapons affect all of us, so it’s up to all of us to make sure people understand the truth- these are weapons designed to inflict maximum harm on civilians. Together we can make sure that the legacy of those harmed by the first uses of nuclear weapons are not forgotten, and amplify their call for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
ICAN is also encouraging people to mark this occasion by folding a paper crane and personalizing it with the name of a survivor whose story moved you then let that memory guide your next step. We’ve built a simple tool to make all of this easier. Share your crane using #CranesOfMemory. Because remembrance is not passive it’s a promise to carry their legacy forward.
It’s time to stop the madness. Join the movement.
It's 80 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The threat of nuclear war is growing — but so is our movement.
ICAN is driving global change. Hundreds of cities, thousands of elected officials, and entire countries are coming together to end nuclear weapons.
But to keep building momentum — and to be heard where decisions are made — we need your support.
The threat of nuclear war is growing — but so is our movement.
ICAN is leading global efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons. To keep growing and influencing change, we need your support.
This moment matters.
Help us make nuclear weapons part of the past — before they define our future.