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The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), Nobel Peace Laureate 2017, congratulates the Japanese Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations Nihon Hidankyo on receiving this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. This well-deserved and extremely important recognition comes at a crucial moment when the threat of use of nuclear weapons is as high as it’s ever been.
BREAKING NEWS
— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 11, 2024
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2024 #NobelPeacePrize to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo. This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is receiving the peace prize for its… pic.twitter.com/YVXwnwVBQO
The hibakusha, the survivors of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the catastrophic impacts of nuclear weapons and push for their total elimination.
ICAN is honoured to work alongside Nihon Hidankyo and the hibakusha to push for the prohibition and total elimination of nuclear weapons. Their testimonies and tireless campaigning have been crucial to progress on nuclear disarmament in general and the adoption and entry into force of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in particular.
Melissa Parke, Executive Director of ICAN, welcomed this decision by the Nobel Comittee : “This is fantastic news and so well deserved. We congratulate Nihon Hidankyo. It is extremely important that the hibakusha - the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki - have been recognised for their lifelong work to bring the world’s attention to what nuclear weapons actually do to people when they are used. It is particularly significant that this award comes at this time when the risk that nuclear weapons will be used again is as high, if not higher, as it has ever been.”
She added: “ICAN is honoured to have been able to work alongside Nihon Hidankyo and the hibakusha to push for the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Their testimonies and tireless campaigning have been crucial to progress on nuclear disarmament in general and the adoption and entry into force of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in particular. We call on the nuclear-armed states and their allies which support the use of nuclear weapons, including of course Japan, to heed their call to abolish these inhumane weapons to make sure what they have been through never happens again.”
This recognition from the Nobel Peace Prize committee should reawaken the global public to the extreme danger that nuclear weapons pose to humanity. Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the catastrophic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It is more important than ever that the voices of the survivors and their urgent calls for action are heard and acted upon. All countries should immediately heed their call to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.