The 8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace

Opening Ceremony
Keynote SpeechAugust 3 (Sat), 2013 13:00-14:30
International Conference Center Hiroshima (Phoenix Hall)

Marimba Performance:

Hiroshima Junior Marimba Ensemble

Opening Speech： Kazumi Matsui
President of Mayors for Peace
Mayor of Hiroshima
Guest Remarks：

Hidehiko Yuzaki
Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture

Message：

H.E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon
United Nations Secretary-General
Delivered by the MC
M.A.Chernyshyov
President of the Union of Russian Cities
Mayor of Rostov-on-Don
Delivered by the MC

Keynote Speech：“A World without Nuclear Weapons: From Dream to Reality”
Angela KaneUN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs
Distribution of the Printed Text of the Keynote Speech（ Ms. Kane’s trip to Japan was cancelled due to exigent circumstances
at UN headquarters.）

Marimba Performance: Hiroshima Junior Marimba Ensemble
Hello everybody, we are the members of Hiroshima Junior Marimba Ensemble. We will
do our best to perform in search for the global peace. Good afternoon. You just listened
to Le Nozze di Figaro (overture) by Mozart. Please enjoy the second music, “Festivalsof Japan.” Please enjoy.
(Performance)
We, Hiroshima Junior Marimba Ensemble, are certified as Hiroshima international
peace and culture promotion organization performing overseas as well starting at
Carnegie Hall New York, Hong Kong, Russia, France, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam forthe international friendship and goodwill. This is going to be the last music—very
rhythmical Latin music “Kumana.” I hope you can enjoy Latin percussions as well.
Please enjoy.
(Performance)MC
Thank you very much, and please give a big applause to Hiroshima Junior Marimba
Ensemble members. Now we will open the 8th General Conference for Mayors for
Peace. I will be serving as MC today. Mihoko Ooshita, I would like to ask for your kind
support. We have some announcements to make. After the opening ceremony, we were
to have a keynote lecture by Ms. Angela Kane, the High Representative of UN for
Disarmament Affairs, but it is not to be held because she canceled the visit because ofsome urgent businesses. We are sorry for the change because we understand that wehave been looking forward to the presentation, and the high representative herself isvery sorry she couldn’t make it to Hiroshima. We have the printout of the presentation
prepared by Ms. Kane, and you’ll find the printout at the entrance of this hall.

Opening SpeechMCSo, as we open the 8th General Conference for the Mayors for Peace, on behalf of theorganizer, President of Mayors for Peace and the Mayor of Hiroshima Kazumi Matsui isgoing to address you.

1Mr. Kazumi Matsui, President of Mayors for Peace, Mayor of Hiroshima
It is a great pleasure to open the 8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace with somany participants gathering together. On behalf of 1.18 million citizens of Hiroshima
city, I would like to extend my heartfelt welcome. As the President of Mayors for Peace
and the mayor of the hosting city of Hiroshima, let me say a few words. Ladies andgentlemen, soon the 68th Peace Memorial Day of Hiroshima will come. Hibakushas,
victims of the first atomic bomb dropped on the humanity 68 years ago have sufferedindescribably, but have overcome hatred, sorrow, and difficulties and conveyed theirmessages from the bottom of the heart that “no one else should ever again suffer as wehave.” But hibakushas are 78 years old on average, so we must realize abolition of
nuclear weapons while we can directly listen to their messages. With this determination,
the General Conference has chosen as the theme “Toward a World without Nuclear
Weapons －Conveying the Spirit of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the World－”. It states
that, “The goal of the Mayor for Peace is to maintain environment enabling citizens tolead safe, cultural lives to contribute to the attainment of lasting world peace, to makeevery effort to create an inter-city solidarity transcending national borders andideological differences in order to achieve the total abolition of nuclear weapons, andavert the recurrence of Hiroshima/Nagasaki tragedies.”
Currently, 5,712 cities from 157 countries and regions have joined the Mayors for Peace
representing 1/7 of the total global population, or about 1 billion. So maximizing theimpact of this global network, Mayors for Peace, must aim to create a security system
which is rooted in a feeling of brotherhood as fellow members of the human race, and istherefore capable to replace the security based on the nuclear deterrence and its conceptof peace maintained by the nuclear threat. I am convinced that we can abolish nuclear
weapons when we keep the hibakushas messages deep in our own hearts and act
together.
Starting at the first session of the preparatory committee for the 2015 NPT Review
Conference, the momentum to highlight the inhumanity of the nuclear weapons and a
lot of them have been accelerating. Exactly the same direction is aimed by 2020 Vision
launched by Mayors for Peace to abolish nuclear weapons by 2020. One of the rolls that
the Mayors for Peace must play is strengthen the voice of the citizens urging for
concrete measures toward nuclear weapons abolition to governments of different
nations in the world, and raise the international public awareness calling for nuclear
weapons abolition. Efforts must be further enhanced for early realization of our nuclear
weapons convention.
2

In this general conference, there will be decision about the action plan of the Mayors for
Peace, and the adoption of the Hiroshima Appeal. In order to make this global networkof Mayors for Peace into a more effective and stronger entity, there will be discussion
on how we can strengthen the management system. I would like to repeat my request
for you to give us a good support. I would like to urge you to put all your wisdom
together and take actions toward abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020, wishing thatyou’re going to have a wonderful general conference, I would like to conclude mywelcoming remark. Thank you very much.

Introduction of Guest Participants and Representatives of Local Governments
MC
Ladies and gentlemen, let me now introduce to you the distinguished guests and theleaders of local government groups. When your name is called, please receive a lei of
cranes and then come up to the stage.
Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, Mr. Hidehiko Yuzaki.
Director of Finance and Treasurer of AFCDRP, France Association of Communes
Department, Mayors for Peace France, Mr. Eddie Ait.
Chairperson of the UK & Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities, Mr. Mark Hackett.
Thank you.
Introduction of Executive CitiesMC
Now I would like to introduce to you the distinguished delegates of executive official
cities of Mayors for Peace. When your name is called, please receive the lei of papered
cranes and then come up to the stage.
Vice President Mr. Tomihisa Taue, Mayor of Nagasaki.
Vice President Mr. Bernd Strauch, Alderman, here on behalf of the Mayor of Hannover.
Vice President Mr. Michel Cibot, Special Adviser to Mayor of Malakoff.
Vice President Marissa Cole-Rongavilla, Head of International Affairs Office ofMuntinlupa.
Vice President Mr. Sean Morris, Principal Policy and Research Officer of Manchester
City.
Vice President Mr. Dominique Dehaene, Alderman of Ypres City Council.
Vice President Ms. Jasminka Bailo, Mayor’s Counselor of Biograd na Moru.
Vice President Mr. Josep Mayoral, Mayor of Granollers.
3

Vice President Mr. Khder Kareem, Mayor of Halabja.
Executive member Rosa Rodriguez, also the Secretary of Social Development of
Mexico City.
Executive member Mr. Thore Vestby, Mayor of Frogn.
And President Mr. Kazumi Matsui, Mayor of Hiroshima.
The paper cranes they have were made by members of the lets spread the “Paper Cranes
Project,” of the Koudoukan hall of Hiroshima Economic University and also membersof the junior and senior high school peace club sponsored by Hiroshima Peace
Memorial Museum.
Guest RemarksMC
Now we would like to call upon Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki for a congratulatory remark.
Mr. Hidehiko Yuzaki, Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture
Thank you for the kind introduction. I am Hidehiko Yuzaki, Governor of Hiroshima.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for traveling all the way to Hiroshima. On
behalf of citizens of Hiroshima, I would like to warmly welcome you all. Sixty eight
years have passed since the atomic bombing. I am delighted and honored that the 8thGeneral Conference of Mayors for Peace is being held in Hiroshima, a city filled withprayers for peace with the attendance of so many people from Japan and other countries.
First, I would like to express my greatest respect to members of Mayors for Peace for
their ongoing efforts across the world to raise citizen’s awareness of the need to abolishnuclear weapons on a global scale, and thereby achieve the abolition and lasting world
peace through closer collaboration among cities. Two years ago, the Hiroshima
Prefecture Government drafted the Hiroshima for Global Peace Plan. This defines a
mission and a role of Hiroshima which was devastated by the first atomic bomb in thehistory of mankind, and rose up from the ashes of destruction to re-launch efforts
centered in Hiroshima to build a peaceful international community free from nuclear
weapons. Based on this plan, Hiroshima Prefecture Government has been working on acomprehensive process towards the abolition of nuclear weapons as well as thereconstruction and peace building. The activities undertaken by Mayors for Peace areinvaluable and reassuring in helping us to achieve our mission. Mayors for Peace has
been working to mobilize respective city’s capabilities and citizen’s wishes for peace
into a large movement to change the world, and thereby achieve the common goal of4abolishing nuclear weapons. This conference will discuss the creation of a new action
plan requiring countries to become signatories to a nuclear weapons convention to
fulfill the objective of the 2020 Vision Campaign that Mayors for Peace are working
toward.
I sincerely hope that this conference will achieve its objectives and make great progress
through wide ranging discussions, and that Mayors for Peace will go from strength tostrength. For ten days, through music, the message for peace is being communicated to
the world. Peace Project is ongoing, and we have held several music concerts. One artist
described Hiroshima as follows: “Hiroshima, because of the atomic bombing, suffered alot. But hatred and anger were to be quite natural for Hiroshima. But hatred and anger
were transformed into prayer for peace. That’s what Hiroshima has done. Hiroshima andNagasaki—prayers from these two cities through all of you, should be communicated
all of the world with this strong wish, and wishing a greater health and prosperity for all
the cities represented here, I would like to conclude my remarks. Thank you very much.
MC
Thank you very much Governor Yuzaki.
MessageMC
Now ladies and gentlemen, in the opening of the General Conference, we have received
a message from the UN Secretary Mr. Ban Ki-moon. Allow me to read it out.
Message from H. E. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General
Today, our thoughts turn once again to the horrors that befell Hiroshima and Nagasaki
in 1945. The atomic bombings demonstrated that nuclear weapons are truly the mostdestructive and indiscriminate weapons against humanity. I will never forget my visit toboth cities three years ago, where I had the honor of hearing the firsthand testimony of
the hibakusha who continue to bear valuable witness to that tragic event. I will continue
to do all I can to build a world free of nuclear weapons. That is why I launched a five
point proposal on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. It calls for negotiations on
a nuclear weapons convention or agreement on a framework of separate mutually
reinforcing instruments with verification.
It also seeks deep cuts in nuclear arsenals, security assurances, greater transparency andaccountability, and attention to related concerns such as missiles, conventional arms,
5space weapons, and terrorism involving weapons of mass destruction. Governments andcivil society around the world have joined in a common effort to raise the priority of
nuclear disarmament on the global public agenda. Mayors for Peace has been at theforefront of this great cause. Since its establishment in 1982, Mayors for Peace has
worked to strengthen inter-city solidarity around the globe, generate awareness of theneed to abolish nuclear weapons and build lasting peace. I commend your dedicationand leadership. I wish you all the best in all your work, especially your 2020 Vision
Campaign. The United Nations will continue to serve as a central forum for theadvancement for nuclear disarmament at the global level, and as your partner for peace.
MC
Next, we have received the message from Mr. Chernyshyov, the Mayor of
Rostov-on-Don, on behalf of the Union of Russian Cities.
Message from Mr. M.A.Chernyshyov, President of the Union of Russian Cities,
Mayor of Rostov-on-Don
In the opening of the 8th Mayors for Peace General Conference, on behalf of the Unionof Russian Cities, I would like to congratulate the opening of the conference. We were
faced with the conflicts among the nuclear weapon nations, as well as the nuclear
possible conflicts in the regions. Your activities are quite peaceful, positive, and real one.
We also said the same principal peace, nuclear weapons disarmament in the Union of
Russian Cities. As long as there is the existence of the nuclear weapons, there is always
the possibility of atrocity you have experienced in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to beexperienced by the other regions. There is always the possibility for the globe to beannihilated. We know that, but there are some people who do not understand that. That
has to be also understood by the others together with the Mayors for Peace Union of
Russian Cities share the same will for peace.
I paid esteemed respect and deep understanding to the broad activities by the Mayors ofPeace. Many of the Russian cities, as the members of the Mayors for Peace haveexperienced the catastrophe such as wars and the destructions. The fighting, sorrows,
and pains of the human beings—there are not many cities which have not experiencesuch loss in the world unfortunately. We need to cling on to our compassion and peace,change our mindset from destruction to creation, bring about healthy and wholesome
life to creating alternative energy, and protect the globe from excessive exploitation andregain our ecosystem. Only if we are successful in so doing, we can put a break toincreasing the destructing processes of the Earth. We know that it’s almost impossible to6accomplish the abolishment of the nuclear weapons immediately, but we also know it is
the only way forward.
MC
We have received such a message from Mayor Chernyshyov from Rostov-on-Don, on
behalf of the Union of Russian Cities. Thank you very much.
This concludes all the agenda prepared for the opening ceremony. The next program is
the a-bomb survivor testimony. There will be a few minutes before we prepare somearrangements on the stage. Thank you.
Please leave the stage.

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Keynote address

A World Without Nuclear Weapons:
From Dream to Reality

By

Angela Kane

High Representative for Disarmament Affairs

8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace
Hiroshima, Japan
3 August 2013

Mayor Matsui, Mayor Taue, Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
It is both a privilege and an honour for any visitor just to come to Hiroshima—and evenmore so to have an opportunity to speak on the issue of nuclear disarmament at this 8th General
Conference of Mayors for Peace.
Of course, the United Nations and Mayors for Peace have long stood on common groundwhen it comes to nuclear disarmament.
On 5 May 2009, my predecessor, Sergio Duarte, addressed a gathering of Mayors for
Peace at the United Nations. He noted that your membership then stood at 2,800 cities in 134
countries. As of this month, your numbers have grown to 5,712 cities—fully double thenumber 4 years ago—and you are now represented in 157 countries.
This impressive achievement is due to the growing recognition by the public andgovernments of the importance of nuclear disarmament, and it is also due to the enlightened
leadership in your organization, especially from the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
I fully understand that as mayors and other representatives of city government, you have
many urgent demands from your constituents on a very broad range of issues of daily
concern—including issues relating to the economy, jobs, the environment, labour, education, andmany other such areas. It is surprising—given all these competing demands—that you havesucceeded in raising the public’s awareness of the importance of progress in nuclear
disarmament.
Yet it really should not be a surprise to find mayors and city governments interested inthis issue, because if nuclear weapons are ever used again, cities will likely figure prominently
among the likely targets. This means that the horrific effects from the use of such weapons will
be faced most immediately by the citizens of cities and their governments, for they are the ones
that will have to fight the fires, care for the wounded, bury the dead, and slowly manage the longand difficult process of reconstruction.
One of your ancestors, Senkichi Awaya, was Mayor of Hiroshima on 6 August 1945.
On that day, he and his family lost their lives due to the atomic bombing. He was the firstmayor to have perished in a nuclear attack on a city. How moving it is that 68 years later we aremeeting here to demonstrate the solidarity of over 5,000 representatives of cities around theworld, all united in the twin common causes of preventing another use of such weapons and ofachieving their total elimination.
Of course, your interest as mayors in nuclear disarmament extends far beyond the
avoidance of nuclear war. You are also trying to meet the social and economic needs of yourpeople. You keep hearing that funding is not sufficient to meet these needs. Yet when
considering the trillions of dollars that have been spent world wide on nuclear weapons, and theestimated additional trillion that is expected to be spent in the coming decade, such a claim only
begs the question: have we not better uses for such funds in meeting human needs?

2Consider this. In 1998, the U.S. Brookings Institution published a lengthy study1 on the
total historic cost of the nuclear weapons programme of the United States—the figure was $5.8
trillion. Brookings calculated that this amount—if stacked as one-dollar bills—would go fromhere to the moon and almost all the way back.
Now consider that this figure was calculated 15 years ago—and it only represents theexpenditure in one country. This makes nuclear weapons a humanitarian disaster in a double
respect: first the devastation they cause when they are used, and second the tragic opportunity
costs of diverting vast financial and human resources away from meeting the real needs ofcitizens.
Overall, global military spending remains quite high—over $1.7 trillion last year. Thisis astonishing, given that the world is in a financial crisis. And even though the Cold War
ended almost 20 years ago, this spending is actually higher in real terms than during the peak of
the Cold War. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute publishes annual estimatesof this expenditure. Most recently, they found that while spending did decline last year in somecountries, it rose in Asia, Eastern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa, and Latin America.
Together, members of NATO alone spent a trillion dollars for military purposes last year.
The investment of a small fraction of that expenditure would go far in helping the world
to meet its Millennium Development Goals—goals of social and economic development thatwould be of substantial benefit to the cities of the world. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has
drawn global attention to this issue—in his words, “The world is over-armed and peace isunder-funded.”
One of the most eloquent statements of this problem came from former US President
Dwight Eisenhower, who said in 1953—
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final
sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are notclothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its
laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children.2
I have emphasized today this issue of military spending because I know that many of you,as Mayors, have indirectly had to pay the price for these wasteful investments—as measured by
the number of bridges, roads, schools and hospitals that could not be built due to budget
constraints. This all serves to illustrate how far the world has drifted from the solemn words of
the UN Charter, whose Article 26 called for the “least diversion for armaments of the world’s
human and economic resources.” It is time we drifted back to the Charter—and to its language
on disarmament, the regulation of armaments, the peaceful settlement of disputes, and the
avoidance of threats or use of force. Is it really so difficult to imagine that this could actually
happen? Is global nuclear disarmament really achievable?

1
2

Atomic Audit (Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1998).
“The Chance for Peace,” speech to American Society of Newspaper Editors, Washington, D.C., 16 April 1953.

3
In his Message to your 7th General Conference (2009), Secretary-General Ban stated that
“A world without nuclear weapons may be distant, but it is no longer just a dream.” He added,“I look forward to continuing to work with governments and global citizens to realize this sharedvision.”Converting this dream into reality will require great political will, and this is growing,
thanks to the work of Mayors for Peace and countless other groups working for the common
good through disarmament.
Let me be frank here: the obstacles we all face are considerable. Almost 20,000
nuclear weapons reportedly still remain—though the exact number is unknown given the lack oftransparency over these various stockpiles. While it is true that large reductions have been
declared, they have not been verified. Today, all possessor states have robust, well-funded,long-term programmes underway to modernize their warheads or their delivery systems. The
contagious doctrine of nuclear deterrence continues to be maintained by countries representing amajority of the world’s population—and I am referring here to the States possessing such arms
along with those covered by the nuclear umbrella through alliance commitments.
Meanwhile, efforts to advance nuclear disarmament have confronted stubborn resistancein each of the three key multilateral arenas that have mandates to make progress in this area:
the UN Disarmament Commission, the General Assembly’s First Committee, and the Conference
on Disarmament in Geneva. The annual resolution in the General Assembly in support ofcommencing negotiations on a global nuclear weapons convention, for example, still receives
about 50 votes in opposition or in abstention—even though nuclear disarmament negotiations are
an explicit obligation in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and are a duty affirmed by theInternational Court of Justice.
In such an environment, is it surprising that many citizens who genuinely care about
eliminating nuclear weapons are frustrated and angry not just about their own future but the
future of our planet? Must humanity live forever under the dark shadow of nuclear terror?
And if nuclear weapons really do provide security and status, then by what reasoning will it bepossible to deprive any country of the right to acquire such weapons? In this sense, the lack of
disarmament becomes an engine of proliferation, because the division of the world into nuclear
haves and have-nots is simply unsustainable—as it has always been, even when there was only
one nuclear-weapon state.
Yet this undercurrent of frustration does not tell the whole story. The fact is that people
everywhere have consciously chosen not to yield to despair. They have recognized that greatchallenges require great efforts to overcome them. Thousand mile journeys are not completed
by complaining about the road conditions or the heat. They are completed through persistent
hard work focused on an unshakable goal. Though compromises and flexibility are certainly
required over the selection of the means to achieve that goal, there can be no compromising on
the goal itself of achieving global nuclear disarmament.
We are in fact witnessing today a groundswell of public interest in advancing thisissue—not just by the peace groups, who have had to bear these burdens for so many years

4virtually on their own—but now they have the support of mayors, national legislators,
environmentalists, human rights activists, religious leaders, womens groups, lawyers, labourgroups, engineers, and countless other sectors of society.
I was pleased to learn that nuclear disarmament has been growing as an interest of
mayors in the United States. On 26 June, the U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously adopted
a resolution calling for U.S. leadership in the global elimination of nuclear weapons and theredirection of military spending to domestic needs.
On the level of national parliaments, I warmly welcome the work that theInter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has done to advance this cause —through its resolutions,focused gatherings and reports. The subject, “Towards a nuclear-weapon-free world: thecontribution of parliaments”, is on the agenda of the IPU Assembly’s next meeting in
October—and the Assembly will address this issue again in 2014.
Together, these activities are helping to shape the global debate on nuclear disarmament.
Public expectations for progress are becoming clearer and they are being advanced as a higher
priority in countries across the globe.
One of the most encouraging signs of progress in recent years has been the growing
public awareness of the humanitarian consequences from using such weapons, a theme that is
helping to strengthen public interest in disarmament. This issue figured prominently at the2010 Review Conference of the parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (NPT), and it has been (or will be) emphasized in three multilateral arenas this year.
First, this theme was the focus of the Oslo conference hosted last March by thegovernment of Norway. Though the five nuclear-weapon States did not attend, over 120
governments participated at that event. That conference provided an opportunity forgovernments, UN agencies, other international organizations and civil society to analyze thehumanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons. In his closing summary, the Foreign
Minister of Norway recognized that no State or international body could adequately address thehumanitarian emergency caused by a nuclear weapon detonation; that nuclear weapons havedemonstrated their devastating immediate and long-term effects; and that such effects will not be
constrained by national borders, and will have regional and global impacts. In an action
signifying that this conference will not be a one-off event, the government of Mexico hasannounced that it will hold a follow-up meeting to continue this discussion, most likely to beheld in the first part of 2014.
The second noteworthy multilateral initiative this year relates to the deliberations in theOpen-Ended Working Group on nuclear disarmament, which is meeting this summer. This
working group was established by a General Assembly resolution on “taking forward multilateral
nuclear disarmament negotiations.”3
Its mandate is focused on proposals “for the achievement
and maintenance of a world without nuclear weapons”. The Working Group has held two
sessions in May and June this year and will hold its final session in August. All UN Member
States are entitled to participate and contribute, although the Working Group does not have a
3

General Assembly Resolution 67/56, 3 December 2012.

5
negotiating mandate. I would like to note here that Mayors for Peace made a statement at theWorking Group’s first session, as did several other non-governmental organizations. The
deliberations have taken place on various panels devoted to issues relating to nuclear
disarmament, nuclear-weapon-free areas, perspectives on the necessary framework to achieve
and maintain a nuclear weapons free world, and the role of parliamentarians in advancing
nuclear disarmament. Specific proposals have been submitted in working papers both by
Member States and by representatives of civil society. The working group’s final report will befinalized in August and submitted to the General Assembly’s First Committee in October.
The third multilateral event I would like to note is the High-Level Meeting on nuclear
disarmament, which will take place at the General Assembly on 26 September. The resolution
creating the Meeting was introduced by Indonesia on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement andcalled for a one-day meeting to “contribute to achieving the goal of nuclear disarmament” and to
draw greater attention, at the highest political level, to the priority of nuclear disarmament. 4This will be the first such high-level meeting on this particular topic that has never been
convened by the General Assembly. While some nuclear-weapon States have expressed doubt
over the value added by such a meeting, all are expected to attend. The President of theGeneral Assembly will prepare a summary outcome document of the meeting.
The very fact that such gatherings are continuing to occur is itself an encouraging sign.
They symbolize the world community’s firm commitment not to give up on this great cause of
disarmament. We are continuing to see some interesting new coalitions, civil society initiatives,and imaginative campaigns to move this agenda forward.
Through its resolutions and reports, for example, the International Committee of the Red
Cross has been extremely helpful in educating the public and governments about thehumanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons. One should not be surprised theywould take such an interest. After all, the local head of the ICRC delegation in 1945 was Dr.
Marcel Junod, who was one of the first to report on the medical effects of the nuclear attack on
Hiroshima.
In a circular sent to its National Societies on 5 September 1945, the ICRC wrote withdeep conviction that “The greater the destructive power of war, the greater the necessity—inprotest against this reversal of values—to spread the light of humanity, no matter how small, into
the infinite darkness.”
Yet nobody has more eloquently and meticulously described the terrible human effects ofthese weapons than the hibakusha, who have brought their testimonies to audiences throughout
the world. I am proud that the United Nations has recognized the importance of translatingthese testimonies into many other languages so people everywhere can learn of their first-handexperiences with the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. With the help of
universities in Japan and NGOs, my own Office for Disarmament Affairs is trying to expand theaudience for such testimonies by making them available through links on our web site.5
4
5

General Assembly Resolution 67/39, 3 December 2012.
http://www.un.org/disarmament/content/slideshow/hibakusha/.

6
I am convinced that the deeper the public understands the awful humanitarianconsequences of these weapons for civilian populations and even future generations—and the
exorbitant economic costs of such weapons in the face of real human needs—the greater will be
the pressure to eliminate them. Remembering the nightmare of using these weapons is clearlyan essential step in moving the public consciousness from a dream of a nuclear-weapon-freeworld to a reality.
Secretary-General Ban is certainly not one who believes that disarmament is just a dream.
He once stated, “Some say nuclear disarmament is utopian, premature, a dream. I say the illusion
is that nuclear weapons provide security.”6
Unfortunately, the dream theory is not the only argument used by critics of disarmament.
They say disarmament is dangerous, by undermining nuclear alliances and encouraging
States to seek their own nuclear weapons once the nuclear umbrella is removed.
They say more urgent priorities exist—some say non-proliferation, other say
counter-terrorism.
They say disarmament is irrelevant, because it will have no effect upon what theydescribe as “rogue states” and “terrorists”.
They say nuclear weapons are valuable in keeping the peace, sustaining order, deterring
both nuclear and conventional war, strengthening diplomacy
They say disarmament is unenforceable, given the many challenges of responding toviolators.
They say it is unverifiable, given the impossibility of proving the absence of weapons.
They say it would open the door to a new age of conventional wars.
They say nuclear weapons offer cheaper way to prevent war than reliance on
conventional weapons alone.
They say nuclear weapons are only dangerous when “in the wrong hands”.
And they say nuclear weapons cannot be “disinvented”.
These twelve standard arguments—let’s call them the “dirty dozen”—have been incirculation almost as long as nuclear weapons have existed, and they continue to appear ineditorial commentaries, expert testimony, scholarly journals, and political speeches.

6

Ban Ki-moon, “The Pursuit of Peace at a Time of Global Transition”, Seoul, 29 October 2012. Available fromhttp://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2012/sgsm14609.doc.htm (accessed 11 June 2013).

7
What these arguments fail to do, of course, it to compare the risks associated with theelimination of nuclear weapons with the risks we continue to face in a world with thousands ofsuch weapons. Those risks we face today are much graver than many realize. Consider for a
moment that one nuclear missile submarine has roughly eight times the explosive firepower as
all the bombs dropped in World War II. The world stood in awe as the cities of Hiroshima andNagasaki were destroyed by single bombs—think of the risks in a world with thousands of such
weapons, many ready to launch at a moment’s notice. Think of the risk of accidents—and there
have been many of them, including cases where the high explosives in nuclear weapons havedetonated, scattering fissile material over landscapes. There have even been incidents where
nuclear weapons have been lost—several remain on ocean floors around the world. There areother risks based on misperceptions or wars based on faulty information—a serious concern thatis compounded by the rapidly growing field of cyber warfare. The cost of cleaning up theenvironmental hazards left over from the production of nuclear weapons will also be enormous,
certainly in the tens of billions of dollars—this is a cost not of disarmament, but of possession.
In his address to Mayors for Peace on 4 May 2010, Secretary-General Ban stated afundamental truth—in his words, “We reduce the risk of nuclear weapons to zero by reducing thenumber of nuclear weapons to zero.” He added that the United Nations should therefore be“the new ‘ground zero’ for nuclear disarmament.” The reasons are clear. As long as such
weapons exist, there will be the deadly risks of wilful or accidental use, risks of proliferation,and risks that terrorists will one day acquire and use such weapons. Atomic bombs beget
atomic bombs—this is the sad reality of our times.
All of these considerations help to explain why so many efforts are now underway tocreate a new reality—a reality of security without nuclear weapons.
Advocates of disarmament fully understand that security must be protected throughout
the disarmament process—nobody is seriously proposing disarmament based on blind trust.
The process of nuclear disarmament requires strict verification, transparency over both weapons
and fissile materials, controls to ensure the irreversibility of commitments, universal membership,and binding legal commitments. After comparing the security benefits of disarmamentarrangements satisfying these standards with the risks of a world filled with nuclear weapons,
one can see that the genuine realists are those who support disarmament. The critics are theones relying upon recycled old arguments from their own fantasy world.
You, the members of Mayors for Peace, have certainly had to confront your own critics ofyour stance on nuclear disarmament. Yet you have fought on, expanded your numbers, reached
out to new cities, helped to mobilize a younger generation, stimulated media attention, and yourviews are no doubt reaching national governments around the world.
You understand the great value of ensuring that official national commitments—in thiscase disarmament—are deeply rooted in the legal and political systems of countries. Citizens
must understand what those commitments are, who has made them, what the benefits they standto gain from their achievement, and what dangers must be confronted if disarmament does notoccur. When it comes to nuclear disarmament, there is no distinction between the global

8interest and the national interest—disarmament offers the only absolute guarantee against the useof nuclear weapons.
I am therefore very pleased to recognize the fine work that you have done at Mayors for
Peace to achieve this great goal and can confirm here today that you certainly have an ally in thisgreat cause at the United Nations. Please accept my best wishes for the success of all yourongoing and future initiatives in this field.

The 8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace

A-bomb Survivor Testimony
August 3 (Sat), 2013 14:45-15:45
International Conference Center Hiroshima (Phoenix Hall)

Keijiro Matsushima

MC
Now we would like to have the A-bomb testimony and the speaker is Keijiro
Matsushima. He was 16 years old, a student of Hiroshima Industrial College when he
was A-bombed in the center of Hiroshima. After the war, he worked as an English
teacher of a junior high school and with that skill, he has spoken about his experience inEnglish, and again today, he will speak in English to convey his message. Mr.
Matsushima, please.
Mr. Keijiro Matsushima
Honorable mayors, ladies, and gentlemen, it is a great pleasure and honor for me tomeet you all, such important and influential persons from many countries of the world
and to talk to you about my experience on the A-bombing. Surely, we, all the citizens ofHiroshima, welcome you all and we appreciate greatly your visit to Hiroshima because
we believe it is very important for us all to learn from the past, even if it was such a
bitter experience, we should learn a lesson. A little about my background, my city. You
can see the map of Hiroshima here. Hiroshima is a delta city with many rivers like this.
There used to be several rivers – these days there are six. We combined two to each one.
And surrounded with small mountains like this. This is open to inland sea. Here is the
harbor, Hiroshima Harbor. And you see a railroad line. The main line runs this way,
Hiroshima, Yokogawa, and Koi stations. And two lines go north and a street car runs
this way and that. That is almost everything about our city.
As you see, the US Air Force has succeeded to hit the real center of the city, here. The
A-bomb detonated about 500 meters above ground zero. As you see, this circle zone of
two kilometer radius circle zone was destroyed completely. When you see such amodern city of today, Hiroshima, it is very difficult to imagine the devastation just after
the bombing. But once this city was just a field of ash.
I was born here, on the east side of the city at the foot of this small mountain. Parents
and three boys and I was the youngest. And we were brought up here. Before the war,
Hiroshima was just a middle sized, quiet city. Population was around 400,000. Quiet.
Not so rich, a poor city. But we were happy anyway, and we were brought up here. But
when I was in elementary school, the war in China started. I didn’t think much at thattime, I was just a little kid. But when I graduated from elementary school and I entered
middle school in the year 1941, that year in December, the war in the United States andAllied Forces started. That was a very bad war. Sorry, at that time we were just excited.
Very successful attack to Pearl Harbor, we boys were just excited.
1And the war started and continued on. A long war, 1941, 2, 3, 4, 5. My middle schooldays were full of war. My two brothers went to the Navy and to the war. But as you
know, Japan began to lose the war and the situation became worse and worse. My
middle school days were just miserable I think. A shortage of all kinds of material andfood was more and more difficult of course. One year before the end of the war, 1944,
in the summer time, most of the islands in the Pacific Ocean were occupied by USforces and they immediately built air bases on these islands. And in the fall, they started
the direct bombing to mainland Japan. That year, we school students were all mobilized
to work in factories – no more schooling. Imagine hungry and work, real hard days.
In 1945, the last year of the war, the situation was the worst. As you know, on the 10th ofMarch, Tokyo was bombed completely and over 100 thousand citizens were killed in abig, big air raid. But you see, this kind of big air raid continued to most of the big cities
throughout Japan; Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Osaka, Kobe, Okayama, all flattened anda lot of citizens were killed. But somehow, very strange, Hiroshima was okay. No
bombing. Only once or twice, one or two bombers came in, but I don’t know exactly.
Hiroshima was safe.
But that year, springtime, very bad in my family too. My father died because he was illand only my mother and I were in this city. But because many cities were being bombed,
my mother decided to leave the city to my father’s hometown in the farm country, about
40km to the north of the city. But you see, that was good for her. She could survive. And
I was left alone in this city. That springtime, I graduated from middle school and I
entered the Hiroshima Technical College, but still no schooling and we had to continue
working. But from the 1st of August, somehow our teacher told us, “You guys come toschool for brief schooling. We will start schooling again.” And usually I was lazy anddid not like to study so much. But at that time we were very pleased. “Hey, we can goback to school. That sounds very nice.”
So we began going to school from the 1st of August. Six days after that, we werebombed. That was the situation in those days. That morning, we new students went toschool as usual. Our school had located here, the south side, just 2km from the
hypocenter here. In those days, we were staying in a dorm near the station and we
commuted to school by streetcar every morning. A man’s fate is very mysterious. We
were very, very lucky because our school started at 8am so we were already at school
here at 8:00. Imagine, the bomb was dropped at 8:15. If our school had started at 8:30 or
9:00, we must have been in the street cars going to school, almost in the central area.
2

We must have been burned and killed instantly in the streetcars. How lucky we were.
The first period math class had already started in our classroom, which was located on
the second floor of a two-story wooden building. I think there were over 70 boys in theroom and I was seated in the extreme front row, south side corner here. Again, I wasvery, very lucky. My seat was very nice. Imagine, which is closer to the hypocenter,
north side, south side, even in the same classroom, my position was much better. Later, I
learned that. After the bombing, I didn’t go back to the same school again and I don’tknow much about my classmates or what happened to them. Maybe some were dead I
guess but I don’t know. Recently I heard one case about a guy who was sitting in thenorth side in our classroom. This guy could survive after all but he had a very hard timeafter that. I hear that he was badly burned and wounded and he became unconscious.
Later, he was taken out. But until he could recover, he had a hard time for many years.
So the north side, south side, even in the same classroom, my position was very nice.
Later I learned that.
15 minutes after the class started, at 8:15, I happened to see outside the window. It was avery, very beautiful sunny day and blue skies. Very beautiful. When I looked up, I could
see two American B-29 bombers flying very high in the air, over 10 thousand meters
high. I hear that there must have been three or four planes, but I remember two of them.
One might have already dropped the bomb and left. I have no idea. I just felt, “Oh, they
are coming again.” In those days, Japan didn’t have any more fighter planes to attack
them anymore. No Japanese planes went up and even antiaircraft guns, they can neverreach so high. So American planes were flying at any time at their will so we didn’t pay
much attention either. There were only two of them. They are doing some routine workor something like that. I just felt, “Beautiful planes shining in the morning sun. Silver
white planes.” But the next moment when I turned my eyes back to the textbook – thatwas the moment of the explosion. A very strong flash and shockwave of explosion, andheatwave. These things attacked me at the same moment. A strong flash, shockwave,
and heatwave.
At a 2km position and inside the building, the heat must have been much lower than thatof the center. I hear that the heat in the center, it was over 4 thousand degrees centigrade.
I hear that I would melt at 1,500 degrees. Can you imagine any living being exposed tosuch strong heat for one or two seconds? People in the streets in the central area musthave been burned and killed instantly. I hear there was a man sitting on the step stone of
the entrance of a bank near the center. Now this guy’s shadow was printed on the step
stone for many years. What strong heat. Very horrible. I just can’t imagine.
3

At a 2km position, the heat must have been much lower, but still I felt hot. But at thatmoment, everything was decided to each of all the citizens in Hiroshima. How far fromthe hypocenter, in the streets, outside the building, or inside, or even in the shadows ornot, that decided, at that moment, everything. Real horrible. But at that moment, I
realized it was a bombing and I covered my ears and eyes and jumped under the desk.
Then a huge noise followed. Hundreds of thunders, a big, big noise. And after the big
noise, it became so quiet. Imagine, there were many boys but no one screamed. No
voice, no sound, and it became so dark. Real pitch black, almost like midnight. Realmiserable, I was just crawling around on the floor like I was blind and I was bleedingfrom head to feet. Shirts had been torn, real miserable, real hell. I felt, “Oh I am dying, I
will be killed.” And of course I prayed, “Help me mother” or “Help me Buddha.” Yousay, “Help me God.” Same thing.
How long was I crawling around on the floor? One minute or two minutes? Soon a little
light came in and I could understand that the whole structure of the roof or ceiling fellon our heads. But somehow around me, fortunately the floor was rather tough and myposition was very close to the door. Somehow, I could sneak out and the staircase wasstill okay. How lucky.
Somehow I could sneak out of the building. Everyone at that time, one bomb was
dropped here beside me. I was such an unlucky guy in the world. In those days wedidn’t have any idea about such a big bomb and everyone believed one bomb was
dropped here beside me. I also believed the enemy dropped a bomb beside me and I wassuch an unlucky guy in the world. But when I could get out of the building, I was soshocked to see all the school buildings had been destroyed badly and there were somany wounded students around there. No one was in ordinary shape. Hundreds of them
badly wounded or broken bones, bleeding, and lying or sitting on the grass in theplayground. So I was confused. “Why are they so badly burned?” Only two bombers.
“What did they do?” No idea, see.
But at that time I realized my injury was not so serious. Again, how lucky I was. I was
bleeding a lot but they were all caused by a lot of small cuts and by the small pieces ofwindow pane or small debris, but my bones were okay and I could walk. How lucky myinjury was not so serious. At that time one of my friends asked me for help. He had a
big cut on his head. I thought of taking him to the Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital. That
hospital, even today, the picture is located here, about 200 meters to the north of ourschool. So I took him and both of us walked out of the school gate. Now everyone,4

again we were shocked to see all the houses around there had been destroyed badly anddebris scattered around there. There was a streetcar road around our school, but alreadythe streetcars had stopped here and there, and electric poles leaned or had fallen down,
wires dangling. And already the whole city was on fire. Fires had started everywhere
and the street was full of smoke whirling. I couldn’t understand what happened.
Above all, in the smoke, I had to see hundreds of hundreds of people were coming andwalking in a long line from the central area, this way. They were the people bombed in
the central area. These people intended to evacuate out of the city to every direction.
That is why we had to witness those people coming this war. These people were justmiserable. Unbelievable. Their hair had stood up straight like a small mountain. Some
had lost hair, burned and gone. Many of them were so badly burned from head to feet.
Their skin was charcoal grey and some of them almost peeling from their faces andnecks, breasts, arms, so badly burned. And their clothes were torn and singed. Somewere almost naked, leaving just some cloth around their waist. And some of them had
swollen up like pigs. Because their skin was peeling, their skin was hanging from theirchin or arms and under the peeled skin I could see some of them, red muscle under thepeeled skin. These people were just walking, without exceptions, they held out theirarms forward like this. Maybe because of pain I think. They were walking slowly in along line. Exactly procession of ghosts. But on that day, all day long, wherever I went, I
had to see these people. We can’t count how many people were so badly burned at thatmoment.
I could never go into the center area. The whole city was on fire. At that moment,
countless people couldn’t walk anymore. They just crawled to the riverside asking forwater and died beside the rivers or drowned in the rivers. That is why, for many days
after that, these rivers were full of bodies. They just went up and down according to the
movement of the tide. Of course the streets were piled with bodies. But I could never go
into the center area. The whole city was on fire. Somehow, we got to the hospital, but
you see the hospital front area was full of those wounded or burned people, lying or
sitting. And even the doctors and nurses were wounded, and no help. I had to take myfriend back to school again.
This guy was fortunately picked up by a rescue truck, which came from the harbor later,and he was picked up here at the foot of this small bridge. And he was sent to the harborand later to another island and he could survive. That was all that I could witness justafter the bombing. Real hell. But you can understand, at that moment, 10 thousands of5very week and inflammable Japanese houses were destroyed in a moment and people
were buried, couldn’t get out. Some of them were burned and killed. Naturally, a lot of
people had to run away, leaving their loved ones under the smashed houses. Imagine,
parents had to give up their children under the buried houses. Otherwise, buried parents
told their children, “Go away, leave me here, fire is coming.” Real hell. These kinds ofthings happened in a moment. Real horrible bomb I think. After that, I should haveworked for rescue work, but in those days I was just a 16 year old, selfish young boy,and I wanted to leave the city as soon as possible. I decided to leave Hiroshima andstarted walking. I crossed this bridge. I could see both sides of the river on fire and thewhole city was on fire. A big cloud of smoke was covering the whole city and I could
feel, “Hiroshima is dying and maybe the Americans invented such a big bomb. It may
be difficult to win this war.” But this young boy didn’t believe in surrender either. I justwalked and walked this way, back to the dorm. The dorm had been smashed andHiroshima station was on fire. The trains had already stopped so I decided to walk all
the way, one or two more stations, over 10 km. But all the way, I had to see these people.
Real hell.
In the evening, I could get on the rescue train, and two or three more stations, got off the
train, and started walking, walking, walking. At almost midnight, I reached my mother’s
home and my long day was over. But you see, again, I was very, very luck, having aplace to go back home. On the contrary, a lot of people bombed here didn’t have places
to go. They just went to the elementary schools in the suburbs, or shrines, or temples, or
town halls. These places were full of those casualties that night and they just asked forwater, water, water in the dark. Before the next morning came, a lot of them died. Realsad. In my case, I was very lucky, again. I had a place to go back home.
Of course my mother was so pleased to see me. “You were alive.” She said they saw themushroom cloud among the mountains while she was working in the rice paddies.
Rumors spread out that Hiroshima was bombed by a big bomb and people died. She had
believed I was dead so she was very pleased to see me. As for me, from the next day, I
became very ill because of high fever and diarrhea. These days, I think it might havebeen the immediate aftereffect by radiation because I was here at a 2km position musthave been exposed to a lot of radiation here. But I left the city very soon after that and I
didn’t stay here long. That was good for me. At that time, I didn’t know. But you see, I
left the city very soon and didn’t stay here long. That was good and I could recover after
one week or 10 days.
6

Since then, until today, I have become ill from time to time, but I am still alive anyway.
I should say, “Thank Buddha.” But even today, I still have some small cancer. But in mycase, some medicine does not work for me. One of these days, I asked my doctor why
the medicine doesn’t work for me. He said, “You have a problem about your blood. The
number of white cells is extremely low.” This is a very common phenomenon among ussurvivors I think, a very low number of white blood cells. Because of that, somemedicine does not work for me. Again I asked my doctor, “Do you think this is theinfluence of the A-bomb?” And he said, “I don’t know. So many things are still
unknown about A-bombs.” It was a very hot season and people’s burns and wounds
festered very soon. And even infested maggots and people had a very hard time. Moreand more people died in pain.
Even healthy people, seemingly no injury or no burns, quite alright, these people
suddenly became ill with a lot of strange symptoms, like sudden high fevers or suddenly
losing hair, or bleeding from gums, or suddenly many spots on their bodies, or diarrhea.
Many strange symptoms and then died. In those days, people didn’t have goodknowledge about radiation. Doctors didn’t know either. People just named it A-bombdiseases, that’s all. And people died one by one in pain. As you see, in that year, 1945,
over 140 thousand citizens died. And even many, many years after the bombing, still
people became ill suddenly and died. As you know, a couple of years later, leukemia or
many kinds of cancers started among us survivors.
In many ways, we survivors were bothered. For instance, pregnant ladies gave birth tomentally or physically retarded babies. People named them A-bomb babies. Did you
know that? We survivors had a very hard time about a kind of discrimination tosurvivors. Ordinary people were afraid of the genetic problem to the next generation of
the survivors, especially women had a problem about their wedding, naturally. And
some ladies couldn’t get married. A merciless rumor, very bad. In many ways, survivors
were to have very difficult times. Some of you might have heard about black rain. Afterthe explosion of the A-bomb, a great deal of ash went high, up and up. One or two hours
after the bombing, it became black rain which contained the black ash; fell. Mainly
black rain fell in the west suburbs, I think, in a very wide area. One or two hours after
the bombing and people got the black rain. Again, fortunately, I went to the east and I
didn’t get it. But those people who had the black rain, even today some of them havesome problems about their health. Maybe the influence of radiation, things like that.

7

As you see, I was one of the most fortunate survivors because of many reasons. As yousee, I am still alive anyway and in my family, I was the only one who suffered from the
A-bomb. But you see, in this city, a great many people lost their loved ones and theirfamilies. For instance, one of my friends lost six people in his family. His house was alittle to the east form the hypocenter here. This guy was working in a factory in thesuburbs that morning and he was alright. But he couldn’t come home on that day ofcourse. A couple of days after the bombing, he came back home, the place where hishome was, only to find six bones of his parents, brother, sister, and even grandmother.
He lost all of his family. This guy doesn’t want to talk about the bombing even today. I
can’t understand him. But you see, we have a great many of these families even today inthis city. In many ways, we have been bothered by the A-bombing even today.
Three days after Hiroshima, Nagasaki was bombed and our government told us
Nagasaki was bombed by another new type of bomb and we got some damage. Somedamage? It must have been huge damage. One week after that, Japan surrendered andthe war was over and we were told there was the atomic bomb. As for me, I was going
to be an engineer. That is why I was in the technical college. Somehow, I had to change
my course and I became a schoolteacher. Three years after that, I came back to the cityand I started teaching in junior high schools. I taught for over 40 years in this city andretired. But because I am still alive, I am doing this kind of thing. Perhaps Buddha tells
me, “You must be alive and tell more people what you experienced.” Maybe. But that is
almost all I have to tell you.
Finally, I hope that you can understand what cruel and inhuman weapon the A-bombwas. We must learn from the past and keep in mind the lessons which the A-bombtaught us so that we will never make the same mistake again. We, the citizens ofHiroshima, just want more and more people of the world to know the horrible reality of
the A-bomb and to learn that this bomb must never be used on any people at any placein the world again. I know that all of you are doing a great effort for the peace of theworld, and I ask you further dedication to abolish all the nukes from this world. I also
ask all of you to tell your people what you have learned here in Hiroshima and oursincere appeal to oppose all the nukes in the world when you return to your homes. May
the peace of the world come sooner and no more Hiroshimas. Thank you.
MC
Thank you very much Mr. Matsushima. Only the A-bomb survivors are able to testify.
Thank you indeed very much. You words have touched deeply on my heart. Now we8have a few minutes for questions and answers. Do you have any questions to Mr.
Matsushima to ask? Since he is one of the A-bomb survivors, hibakusha, I am sure there
were a lot of lessons he was able to learn. Any questions? Please wait for the
microphone.
Mr. Aaron Tovish, Executive Advisor, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation;
International Director, International Campaign Secretariat, Mayors for Peace
2020 Vision Campaign
I am wondering about the great fire that came after the attack. When you were walking
away from the city, you could look back and see this huge column of smoke rising into
the sky. Could you tell us more about that?
Mr. Matsushima
As I told you, when I crossed the bridge, I could see both sides of the river. The whole
city was on fire. But that is all I could witness. When I was walking on the streetcar
road, of course I tried to look at the central area but I couldn’t see; just flames and greatsmoke.
Ms. Jacqueline Cabasso, Executive Advisor, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation;
Mayors for Peace North American Coordinator, USA
Mr. Matsushima, I am Jacqi Cabasso, I had the pleasure a few years ago – or the honor.
It wasn’t really a pleasure – of touring the US nuclear weapons laboratory in Livermore,
California, with you. It was a very emotionally difficult experience for both of us, andsince it was very recent and this laboratory is continuing to develop nuclear weapons, I
wonder if you could share some of your recollections from what the laboratory people
said to you that day and what the experience was like for you?
Mr. Matsushima
As one of the citizens of Hiroshima, I am not an active activist of things like that. I can’trefer to the political problems, as you know, how to control nukes in the world is a very
difficult problem I think. As you know, there are still some leaders and countries whichwant to rely on nukes. Even big countries like the United States or Russia, they want torely on nuclear deterrents or such an idea. Such a political problem is very difficult tome. Fortunately, I understand President Obama of your country has a positive attitude toabolish nukes from this world. I just expect your country will be the leading country
about this problem. That’s all.
9MC
Persons who have any questions, please wait for the microphone.
Ms. Jasminka Bajlo, Mayor’s Counselor of Biograd na Moru, Croatia
Greetings to you all, and Good day to you and it was very nice listening to you. I am
from Croatia and I have no questions to ask, I just wanted to give you my impression.
We are having an A-bomb exhibition in the capital city in September and then the
exhibition is going to be transferred to Biograd na Moru, which I represent. Because I
am interpreter/translator, I do many things, so I translated all the posters of the A-bomb
exhibition that are going to be exhibited in Zagreb, which was very interesting. I learned
a lot. But I can say that a much better influence and a much better impression and amuch more heartbreaking impression is when the hibakusha come and when they speak
about their experiences like you spoke now. I listened to hibakusha also in Manchester
and I think that that leaves a much, much deeper impression than any A-bomb
exhibition. That’s all.
Mr. MatsushimaThank you very much. I am very glad to hear that. Thank you.
MC
Any other questions or comments or messages to Mr. Matsushima?
Mr. Khder Kareem, Mayor of Halabja, Kurdistan, Iraq
What is your best suggestion for no more Nagasaki, no more Hiroshima? And as theKurdish nation experienced chemical attacks on Halabja, such things trying to be in
Syria, from your experience, what is your best and simple suggestion for no morenukes? Thank you very much.
Mr. Matsushima
As you see, I am not a politician or something like that. What I can do as one of thecitizens of Hiroshima is just trying to tell more people of the world to tell the horrible
reality of nukes and ask people to have common public opinion to oppose all nukes.
Perhaps if people have very strong public opinion to oppose nukes, their government
can’t have nukes – I hope. That is all I can do. Sorry, I am not a politician. I don’t have agood idea. It is a very difficult problem.
Mr. Kareem
10Thank you very much.
MC
Thank you very much. Yes, please wait for a microphone. The person in the front row,please.
Mr. Yasuyoshi Komizo, Chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation,Japan
I will speak in Japanese. Thank you very much for your testimony. I think I had theoccasion to listen to your testimony several times before. What I would like toemphasize here today is the fact that there was not any more use of nuclear weapons isdedicated to the efforts by hibakusha saying, “No more Hiroshima and no more
Nagasaki.” You have been making very best efforts to communicate your experiences
and teaching the young generations. Those strong feelings of hibakusha. We should
never forget about it. We try to keep it in a deeper place of the heart. We need to expand
the voices of the citizens in search for peace and also for the new young generations,they have to be serious to put it into practice to realize the abolition of the nuclear
weapons. I shall make my commitment. As one of the listeners, I would like to share mycommitment together with you. Thank you indeed very much for your encouraging
words. I would like to ask for your support. Lots of luck, thank you very much.
MC
Please wait for the microphone to come to you.
Mr. Thomas Mathew, 2020 Vision Campaigner, India
I have had the privilege to invite seven hibakusha to India for the Peace Tour since 1990.
I heard your story. It is very touching. When you changed your profession as a teacher,
how do you feel about the new generation thinking about nuclear bombs or nuclear
deterrent? Working with a university in Tokyo, I know [inaudible] can send when wetalk about a nuclear world, especially in India and Pakistan, we are always trying to
make more sophisticated weapons. And we are very concerned. So when we talk about
the past about what happened in Hiroshima. That is a lesson for the whole world. Many
students, they said they had never been in Hiroshima. They are not so interested to learn.
What do you think? Because from the other side of the world, we are thinking, amessage from Hiroshima like you? The new generation is so important for the world tolearn how deterrent was Hiroshima and the nuclear bomb. Thank you.
11

Mr. MatsushimaThank you. You have a good opinion I think. Even in the city of Hiroshima, the younger
generation, unfortunately, some of them are quite careless about this problem. In otherwords, people forget things easily. It is a shame but even among us Japanese, who havevery bad memories of the A-bomb, might have been disappear little by little. In this city,
Hiroshima, we feel the necessity of peace education in elementary schools or juniorhigh schools, and we have special programs about peace education. We tried to teachyounger generations about the A-bomb and the horror of nukes. We are trying to. I am
afraid there are some people who are not so curious about the problem of peace or nukes.
That is very sorry but true. We have to try more and more.
MC
Thank you very much. Please wait for the microphone. I think we only have a minute or
two. I think this question is going to be the last question. We are sorry to say that.
Mr. Thore Vestby, Mayor of Frogn, Norway
You said you were walking towards the Red Cross or where the Red Cross used to bewith your schoolmate. But the Red Cross center was gone. Then you helped yourself.
Have you known that the International Red Cross are addressing the humanitarian
aspect of the nuclear blast? Can you tell us a little bit about how the rescue system wasinstalled or if there was a rescue system after the blast in Hiroshima? Even if you weresome kilometers away, you probably know a little bit about it? Thank you.
Mr. Matsushima
I think perhaps you are talking about some help to us survivors about our diseases orthings like that from our government. You mean something like that? Immediate rescue
work, of course I am interested in the Red Cross movement but I really don’t know somuch about this field. I am sorry.
MC
Sorry that we have to say this is going to be the closing of this session. This concludes
the question and answer period for the representative of hibakusha, Mr. Matsushima.
Thank you indeed for your input. And also my thanks go to Mr. Matsushima for yourvery impressive testimony. This concludes the A-bomb survivor testimony session.

12

The 8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace

SessionⅠ
August 4 (Sun), 2013 9:00-10:30
International Conference Center Hiroshima (Himawari)

Chairperson:

Kazumi Matsui
President of Mayors for Peace
Mayor of Hiroshima

Agenda Explanation:

Yasuyoshi Komizo
Chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation

MC
Ladies and gentlemen, we are going to start Session I. Session I is chaired by Mr.
Kazumi Matsui, mayor of Hiroshima.
Chairperson: Mr. Kazumi Matsui, President of Mayors for Peace; Mayor of
Hiroshima, Japan
Good morning. We would like to start Session I. There are five agenda items andyesterday all of these were approved by the executive conference. We would like to ask
the general conference to discuss and make a decision. This is Session I. This is a place
for the member cities to discuss and make decisions, so those who are representing
other than the member cities are invited as observers and I hope you are going to use
this as an opportunity to deepen your understanding. The first agenda is the executive
official’s explanation from the secretariat.
Secretariat: Mr. Yasuyoshi Komizo, Chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture
Foundation, JapanI am Komizo, a chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. Let me explain
Agenda Item I. Election of Executive Officials. Please see the first page of your handout.
First, I will outline the current situation after the last general conference four years ago.
The mayor Fongo-Tongo, Cameroon, the mayor of Montreal, Canada, the mayor of
Mexico City, Mexico, the mayor of Montevideo, Uruguay, and the mayor of Frogn,
Norway, were newly elected as executive officials. Therefore, the executive members of
the Mayors for Peace currently consists of the mayor of Hiroshima as president, and 13
vice-presidents, namely the mayor of Nagasaki, the mayor of Hannover, the mayor of
Volgograd, the mayor of Malakoff, and Muntinlupa, Manchester, Akron, Florence,
Ypres, Biograd na Moru, and Granollers, Halabja, and the mayor of Brussels; as well as
5 executives, the mayor of Fongo-Tongo, the mayor of Montreal, the mayor of Mexico
City, the mayor of Montevideo, and the mayor of Frogn. Those members can bereelected and we have contacted all those members, except three mayors who are notable to accept the reelection, all the other members including the newly elected
executive officials are ready to serve as the new vice chair and president. So let me justlist those names.
The mayor of Hiroshima as the president and the 15 mayors including the mayor of
Nagasaki as vice presidents. I will probably admit those things because you can see
those names in your paper. Out proposal is to request your approval on the new
Composition of the Executive Officials. Thank you very much Mr. Chairman.
1

Mr. Matsui
This was the explanation from the secretariat. On this agenda, are there any questions orcomments?
Mr. Komizo
I would like to, at this point, introduce to you two new vice chairs. Would you like tomaybe stand up? The mayor of Mexico City, please stand up. And the mayor of Frogn,
Mayor Vestby, those are the two new vice presidents so that you know that those are thenew vice presidents. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Matsui
For these proposed officials, if you are for the proposal, please give us a big hand.
Thank you very much. Until the 9th general conference in 2017, we would like to ask
the vice presidents to serve as the core members of the Mayors for Peace. Let us moveonto Agenda Item 2, Sub Item 1. Revision to the Covenant of Mayors for Peace,
Japanese version. Secretariat, please.
Mr. Komizo
Agenda Item 2. Revision to the Covenant of Mayors for Peace, only the Japaneseversion. I would just like to explain in English the meaning because in Japanese, shicho
currently put, only means mayors of cities. But we have members, leaders fromtownships and villages. In Japanese, in order to make sure that those leaders are also
included, we changed only the Japanese version from shicho to shucho. That covers all
those other leaders. That is the only change and it doesn’t affect the English version.
Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Matsui
Thank you very much. So the secretariat has given you the explanation. Any questions
or comments from the participants. I see none. Then I would like to ask you if you arefor, would you please show your approval by acclamation? Thank you very much. The
name of the Mayor for Peace for the Japanese version is going to be changed fromshicho to shucho to open the membership to many more local authorities in Japan. For
the Japanese participants who are here today, I sincerely hope that you will invite theneighboring local authorities who are non-members of the Mayors for Peace to join us.
As mayor of Hiroshima City, local authorities in Japan, I hope all of them will join ourorganization in the not too distant future. I would like to count upon your cooperation.

2

Now for Agenda Item 2, Sub Item 2. This is regarding a revision to the Covenant ofMayors for Peace, both Japanese and English versions. Secretariat please.
Mr. Komizo
Page 4 of your handout. As stated in Section 1. Revised. Proposals made to introduce a
new post under the secretary general to assist the secretary general and make otherrevisions to the provisions regarding the secretariat to respond to the recent increase in
the number of member cities and to better implement our initiatives. Please see Section
2. Contents of Revision. Article 11. Establishment of the Secretariat currently stipulates
that the secretariat shall be established in Hiroshima, which means the secretariat is
located in Hiroshima City. The proposal is to replace the term Hiroshima with theHiroshima Peace Culture Foundation to better reflect the reality. As a result, the newprovision will lead, secretariat shall be established in the Hiroshima Peace Culture
Foundation. This is the first point.
Then please look at Article 12. Secretariat staff are also subject to revision. Currently,
paragraph 1 of this article provides that the secretariat shall be comprised of a secretary
general and support staff. This will be revised to lead the secretariat shall be comprisedof a secretary general and support staff. This will be revised to read “The secretariat
shall be comprised of a secretary general, and secretary general, and support staff.” And
the Japanese version of the article, the title of the secretariat leader is changed fromjumukyokucho to jimusoucho, both of which are translated as secretary general.
Also, two new paragraphs are inserted after paragraph 1 of article 2 to support thechanges. They are, paragraph 2, the chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture
Foundation shall serve as secretary general. This is ex-official. Paragraph 3, theexecutive director of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation shall serve as
under-secretary general. Again, this is ex-official. By appointing these persons in thehighest and second highest positions of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, thatserves the secretariat to be secretary general and undersecretary general, theseprovisions aim to reinforce the structure for the secretariat. Accordingly, paragraph 2 inthe current covenant is revised as paragraph 4 to read, “The staff accept the secretary
general and under-secretary general shall be appointed by the president.”
This is followed by two additional paragraphs. They are paragraph 5, the secretary
general shall preside over the duties of the secretariat. And paragraph 6, theunder-secretary general shall assist the secretary general in case of the inability of the3secretary general to carry out the duties of the office or if the post is vacant. The
under-secretary general shall fulfill the duties of the secretary general. The newcovenant will enter into force on August 6, 2013, as shown in Section 3. For yourreference we have attached the revised covenant as a whole in the following pages.
One additional remark, in the discussion in the executive conferences, there wererequests informally that when the mayor appoints the chair and the director of officer ofthe Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, because this person is going to be thesecretary general for the Mayors for Peace, the vice president would like to be
informally consulted so that they would be comfortable that this person can also servein the Mayors for Peace effectively. That is the explanation I would like to provide.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Matsui
Thank you very much. Now, any questions or comments from the floor? None? If you
are for this proposal, please show your approval by acclamation. Thank you very muchwith this revision. I believe we were able to make the further improvement on thesecretariat. With your staff members, we hope that we will make further efforts to makethe further improvement. Now Agenda Item 3. Measures for Strengthening theManagement System of Mayors for Peace.
Mr. Komizo
Now Agenda Item 3. Measures for Strengthening the Management System of Mayors
for Peace. We are going to expand our activities and try to involve in the new initiatives.
This is something to support our own capacity in the secretariat and funding issues.
Please look at page 11 in your handout. For the Japanese version it is on page 9. Since
its foundation in 1982, Mayors for Peace has grown to an organization of more than
5,700 member cities from 157 countries and regions. The first point is to make thisnetwork a really workable one. One way is to focus on these cities. And then to financeissues.
The first measure is promoting regionalization and governization of regional activities
as regards paragraph 1. “Selection of these cities and their roles in order to encourage
proactive and independent activities appropriate to each region will promote thecreation of regional groups.” These are not very rigid regional groups. Depending upon
the situation, we cater to regional groups in a very flexible manner to be practical andeffective. First, we will select a number of lead cities to serve as chapters for the4

Hiroshima secretariat and to take the lead in the regional activities because each region,
while we have a very important common denominator of working towards the abolitionof nuclear weapons, each region has their own problems like poverty alleviation and soon. We would like to encourage those regional activities and the lead city can lead those
things. That is one important aspect. If also the non-executive cities become lead cities,
we feel appropriate that they will be appointed as an executive city. These activities willcommence from financial year 2015, two years from now.
The second measure is introducing membership fees, as 1) basic scheme formembership fees in order to build a system through which all member cities cooperate
to support their organization while maintaining membership. Each city will be asked to
pay an annual membership fee of 2,000yen. We will also welcome any voluntary
payments of more than 2,000yen of course if they are willing to do that. At the sametime, the city will not lose their membership automatically if they don’t pay the fee
because this is largely a voluntary thing but we would like to make sure that it isexpected. Each city will send a fee through a lead city or directly about the payment.
Each city can send, through a lead city or directly to the secretariat. But if the Hiroshima
secretariat agrees that there are special circumstances to be considered, such as thenecessity of using the funds for the chapter’s activities or an excessive remittancechanges to the Hiroshima secretariat. Cities can be exempt from sending the fee toHiroshima. In specific cases, there is a mechanism to exempt some of the members
from paying fees. Also when deemed appropriate by the Hiroshima secretariat after
consultation with a lead city, cities paying their share to another local governmentalorganization involved in initiatives for abolishing nuclear weapons in the same region
can be exempted from sending the fee to the Hiroshima secretariat. An example isNagasaki and also Ypres leading very effectively for the 2020 Vision Campaign. Thoseare some of the examples we can see.
Next, the fee sent to the Hiroshima secretariat will be primarily allocated to new
projects and continuing existing projects as listed in the action plan which we are goingto discuss later. If a surplus is expect however, it may be appropriated for the usual
running expenses of Mayors for Peace. In any case, the cities of Hiroshima andNagasaki confirm that they will continue to bear a portion of the running expenses,
moreover if necessary. Each region may carry out a fundraising campaign in order toexpand Mayors for Peace initiatives and secure a stable financial basis. So we are also
encouraging innovative ways of fundraising to make sure that our funding will be stable5

over a long, long time so we can carry our activities on long-term stability. Thank you
Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Matsui
Thank you very much. Now to listen to the explanation by the secretariat with respect tothis agenda. Any questions please? There are no questions? If you agree to this proposal,
please show your concurrence by way of acclamation. Thank you very much. Now that
we have concurred to the proposal on the measures for strengthening Mayors for
Peace’s management, we are going to introduce their regionalization and grouping of
the region as well as the membership fee. Those will be started in FY2015 and one after
another, the secretariat is committed to give you the report of the result. The next
agenda, number four.
From 2013-2017, Mayors for Peace Action Plan, another deliberation item. Deliberation
item number four.
Mr. Komizo
The Mayors for Peace Action Plan (2013-2017), it is another long document with details
so before I think I will just highlight only the important things and in order to make you
understand better, I would like to first focus on the four important thinking behind our
proposal.
The first point is although we welcome all activities towards nuclear abolition, but
Mayors for Peace would like to focus to give priority to launching negotiations andachieving a nuclear weapons convention at an early stage. So we will be focusing on
this one but at the same time we welcome all the other activities as well. Secondly, we
will enhance the framework of Mayors for Peace to effectively implement activities as
we have already discussed. We would like to strengthen our own membership andsecretariat and funding situation.
The third point, we would like to expand a network, Mayor for Peace’s good network.
But when we would like to go on to the effective campaign, we can cooperate withmany like-minded organizations and groups like the International Red Cross or the US
Conference of Mayors, and artist groups, even Sports and Peace composed of Olympic
gold medalists and others – also interested. And also the other cities and parliamentarianpeace groups. So we would like to expand our corporation with other like-mindedgroups. That is the third point.
6And the fourth point is the timing we are in right now. It is 68 years after the atomic
bomb. Hibakusha have been working very, very hard to appeal to the world to abolishnuclear weapons but they are aging. We need to listen to them because we don’t actuallyknow what happened at the ground explosion. We seem to feel we know but we don’t
actually. We need to listen to them and redouble our conviction and pledges to work
towards abolition of nuclear weapons to come up with a world on the understanding of
the belonging to the same human family so that we can actually change the grounds forthe security. Those are the four elements actually which we drafted.
Now, please look at page 13 of your handout. In Japanese it is page 11. This alreadyincludes some of the comments we received and this has been discussed. There are threemain elements. We are talking about. I will skip the parts I think I have alreadyexplained. One element I would like for you to draw attention of the major project
because this is something concrete. It is the second page. If you look at the second page,
two main projects. This is the contents. The first one is expanding membership andstrengthening Mayors for Peace management system. We start from our own capacity sothat we can do various things. And expanding membership, regionalization, andimproving secretariat functions. We are also trying to increase the international face ofthe Hiroshima Secretariat, for example.
The second point is hosting international public opinions for nuclear weapons abolition.
There are many concrete ideas included in this second comment. For example, ourmember cities can promote the A-bomb poster exhibitions or A-bomb survivor
testimonies can be done through Skype TV conferences. I found it very effective too.
Because of the aging situation of the hibakusha, they cannot travel too much. Also,
Hiroshima and Nagasaki peace study courses will be further expanded. There are such anumber of other activities – we are not going to continue but the focus is on the younger
generation.
The third one is the promotion of actions for early realization of nuclear weapons
convention. This is as I said. While we are trying to cultivate the groundwork of mutual
understanding and the sense of community as human beings, but we have to also tackle
the immediate goals to achieve nuclear weapons convention. This is about this, ourimmediate goal. That is our focus campaign. In this we also have listed a number of
events so that we can target those events and work with other groups and appeal to thegovernments and international community. And also we are going to select some of the2020 Vision Ambassadors for those prominent figures can send messages more7

effectively to them. Those are some of the things but please look at the paper. You canfind a number of very innovative and interesting concrete proposals included. But I
think I would just like to stop at this point just to explain the basic points.
In this one you have also additional papers. I hope you can find one page paper called“additional paper.” This is actually a paper in the executive conferences. We havediscussed salary of the action plan and two amendments agreed upon. Number one in
the main project, expanding membership and strengthening Mayors for Peace
management system, currently small fundraising, we have very simple wording. But
there is a proposal to change Mayors for Peace will seek to explore and use better andmore effective fundraising strategies to maximize fundraising beyond membership fees,for example. Specific events, joint projects with partners, and applications to funding
and revenue giving organizations. Members feel that we cannot only depend upon ourown funding but we can cultivate various innovative ways of fundraising to make ouractivities more vigorous. That is the first amendment.
The second one is, again the main project, number two. Fostering the international
public opinion for nuclear weapons abolition. Basically the addition is we will
especially strengthen and intensify our collaboration with Abolition 2000 and with theICAN. Those are the two major groups of activities that we have been and we are going
to be cooperating with. So we named those important ones. Those are the changes, bothof them along the line of the proposal but make it stronger. Thank you very much.
Mr. Matsui
Thank you very much. Now, explanation has been given by the secretariat, including thetwo revisions proposed and approved in the executive committee. Including these tworevisions, do you have any questions? If no further questions, let’s take a vote. As forthis agenda item, including the revisions made at the executive meeting, if you agree toapprove as it is, please clap your hands. Thank you for your cooperation.
Now based on this action plan, activities of Mayors for Peace will be enhanced andimproved so we look forward to your continued cooperation. Now we would like toconclude Session I.
By the way, this is a great opportunity for executive cities to gather under the same roof.
So from these executive cities that are sitting on stage, we would like to hear a few
words to introduce themselves. To my right, the mayor of Nagasaki please.
8Mr. Tomihisa Taue, Mayor of Nagasaki, JapanI am Taue, mayor of Nagasaki. Three days after the Hiroshima bombing the bomb was
dropped on Nagasaki, so together with Hiroshima aiming at the world free of nuclear
weapons. We are working very hard. The general conference of Mayors for Peace isgoing to be quite important for Nagasaki as well because the members of the Mayors for
Peace exceeded 5,000. Since then, in addition to the quantity, we decided to be better interms of the quality and the fundraising. We thought that we need to be a stronger
organization during the past years. Executive members have had a lot of discussion as to
how we can do it. In this general conference with your approval, we have these actions
ready for the future. Member cities should be proud of being a part of this big network
and in order to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons, it is quite important that theexecutive cities together with all the members would like to be the engine for the great
advancement.
Mr. Michel Cibot, Special Advisor to Mayor of Malakoff, France
Malakoff is close to Paris and the city of Malakoff is very happy to attend this meeting.
We also attended all the previous meetings in Hiroshima. We are aware that we arecoming into a new era. The massive disruptive power of weapons created by humans
should never be used. In that sense, we are going into a new chapter so the direction of
our organization is quite important. In France we have had lots of discussions on thisissue. Next person please?
Mr. Mark Hackett, Councillor of Manchester City Council, UK
I am Councillor Mark Hackett from Manchester. I am also representing the UK and
Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities. We have campaigned over many years fornuclear disarmament and we see this as part of an important process in a difficult world
to make sure the gains that Mayors for Peace has made in bringing together well over 5
thousand cities now is the time to deepen the campaign and to place it on a secure basis
so we can really engage millions and billions of people throughout the world in
campaigning for a world free of nuclear weapons. Thank you.
Ms. Jasminka Bajlo, Mayor’s Counselor of Biograd na Moru, Croatia
My name is Jasminka Bajlo and I represent the mayor of Biograd na Moru, a small town
on the Croatian coast of the Adriatic Sea. We have joined Mayors for Peace in 2007 so
we are a relatively new member. Very proud of also becoming one of the executive
members through the activities that we have tried to organize because Croatia is a young
country as you know, starting its democratic path about more than 20 years ago, but we9have suffered the scourge of war. So we think that our participation in this organizationis very important as it is very important for every country. And since we have become
members of Mayors for Peace, it has been six years now, the number has doubled. Now
maybe we can say that a billion citizens of this world are participating in Mayors for
Peace. We are very proud to be part of this organization and hope that it will leave an
influence on the world and the people and that they will really start thinking about
nuclear disarmament. Those are our hopes. Thank you.
Mr. Khder Kareem, Mayor of Halabja, Kurdistan, Iraq
Good morning everyone. I am the mayor of Halabja City which was attacked by thechemical bombs. I hope this conference and the members of this conference will bringpeace in the world and the world without nuclear and chemical bombs. I hope this willbring the peace, especially in our region, the Middle East, as you see, not many
problems that happen, and success to everybody. Thank you very much.
Mr. Thore Vestby, Mayor of Frogn, Norway
My name is Thore Vestby and I am mayor in Frogn in Norway. Norway has been taking
a lot of initiatives in peace for a long time, we are doing it now, and we will do it in the
future. And I feel privileged to represent the mayors of the country. I can tell you that
this thing is a non-partisan thing. I can tell you that on the 6th of August there will be anarticle in the main newspaper in Norway where seven mayors for seven parties – that’s
what we have, seven different parties in Norway – will make a statement about
disarmament. That will probably boost the membership and the focus on the issue. And
I feel very privileged to be here and now being elected as vice president, I feel very
privileged. Thank you very much.
Mr. Paul Schneider, Head of the International Unit of the Lord Mayor’s Office,Hannover, Germany
Good morning everyone. My name is Paul Schneider of the city of Hannover. I am
representing Mayor Bernd Strauch. He is present in Hiroshima but not present on thestage right now. We have two things to celebrate more or less. The one thing iscelebrating our 30th anniversary of the twin city relationship with Hiroshima and at thesame time we are having our 30 years membership with Mayors for Peace as well andhe is with another delegation in the city. I am representing as well about 400 mayors ofGerman members of Mayors for Peace. One mayor is inside this room from Stuttgart.
Coming to what Thore Vestby said before, yesterday we had in the two leading
newspapers in Germany a big advertisement for German Mayors for Peace and the10collaboration of NGOs, reminding our members of parliament in the days before theelection about our topic. Regionalization, which we agreed upon a minute ago, is amajor step forward in our organization and I really look forward to strengthen the
network of mayors among the mayors in this region towards nuclear abolition. Thankyou.
Ms. Marissa Cole-Rongavilla, Head of International Affairs Office of Muntinlupa,
Philippines
Good morning. I am Marissa Rongavilla from Muntinlupa City, Philippines. On behalfof our mayor, Attorney Jimmy Fresnedi, I would like to express a strong desire to bepart of this conference. However, we are just in the office barely a month after winningthe midterm election last May. Muntinlupa City is a very small city in the Philippines,
but we have something in common. We have a Japanese cemetery where the Japanesesoldiers who died during the war were buried. We strongly believe that we learned fromthe lessons of the past. Before now, we are good friends with the Japanese who always
visit our city. I am so honored to be part of this conference, learning a lot of things forthe first time, and I hope our vision in the year 2020 to have a nuclear free world will be
realized. Thank you all of you.
Mr. Dominique Dehaene, Alderman of Ypres City Council, Belgium
Good morning. My name is Dominique Dehaene. I am replacing our new mayor, Jan
Durnez. We had elections last year and a new city council and a new local government
came into place but that doesn’t in any way change the engagement of the city of Ypres
to the Mayors of Peace. Moreover, there is a new but younger generation coming up and
we are happy to take the relief and taking over from the continued efforts of our town
before. The upcoming period will be very important for Ypres with the remembrance of
WWI, 100 years ago. This will give us a window of opportunities to bring in the
spotlight to Mayors for Peace movement and the goals we set with this movement. The
more we engage of course, the implementation of the 2020 Vision Campaign, mainly by
the secretariat who is still in Ypres, which efforts we will gladly continue in theupcoming years. Thank you very much.
Mr. Josep Mayoral i Antigas, Mayor of Granollers, Spain
Good morning. We have a population of 60 thousand. It is in Catalonia, across from
Barcelona. We are very honored to be here at this general conference. This conference isquite important for us. Mayors for Peace now has more than 5,700 member cities andthis is the most important gathering of mayors and is a very important venue to achieve11peace for the world. Many people, many citizens, strongly with that Mayors for Peace
will achieve something quite important. We are going to abolish nuclear weapons, weare going to make peace for the world. Those are our objectives. We hope to make a big
step forward. We are faced with very difficult issues like organizational issues. There
are new needs that we have to take up and we need to deal with regional issues as well.
Therefore, this general conference is quite important for us and this shows that we arecoming into a new step and a new stage. We pledge to strengthen our activities.
MC
Mayor of Hiroshima and members of the Mayors for Peace, the Africa, Asia, andOceania city mayors, Miguel Angel Mancera Espinosa, the Mayor of Mexico City hassome greetings.
Ms. Rosa Icela Rodriguez, Secretary of Social Development of Mexico City,
MexicoIt is a great honor to be invited to attend the 8th General Conference of Mayors for
Peace. In this conference, our cities gathered together in order to achieve one common
objective, that is peace for the world. In the name of Mexico City, we gladly accept
being elected as the vice president and we wish to be the promoter of peace and exert
leadership to achieve a city without violence. Unfortunately, in our country, violence isa serious issue because of the social gap and poverty as well as issues of immigrationand too-low a level of living standards. In this situation, we would like to work hard
toward the 2020 Vision in order to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and it isachievable. In order to prevent violence in cities and in order to prevent the use of guns,
when I became mayor in 2010, we started a new program. With that program, we aim toeliminate violence from homes and guns from homes. We are taking initiatives. We haveeliminated 6,800 guns already. Four years ago we started this initiative and the new
mayor is going to continue this activity. And the churches and civic organizations arealso engaged. It is a great honor to be a part of this wonderful general conference.
Thank you very much
Mr. Pol D'Huyvetter, Executive Advisor, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation;
Director, International Campaign Secretariat, Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision
Campaign
Good morning. I am Pol D'Huyvetter, I am originally from Belgium. I worked for many
years with Mayors for Peace in Belgium and Europe. But I have been based in Latin
America and Brazil for the past four years to develop Mayors for Peace and the vision12

of a nuclear weapons free world in that part of the world. We have been successful thepast four years to receive support from a city like Mexico City and other leading cities,
Latin America has been historically a leader in the world for nuclear disarmament and,like this here. We did for example receive the full support of the heads of state, the threeheads of state from the region, towards a high level meeting which will take place in the
UN on the 26th of September. Moreover, I should mention as was mentioned by ourfriends from Mexico City that Latin American mayors are very keen to be part of thisorganization to support the aims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to never witness thishorror again, and we are with you and we will be working hard towards the 2020 Vision
Campaign. Thank you very much.
Ms. Jacqueline Cabasso, Executive Advisor, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation;
Mayors for Peace North American Coordinator, USAMy name is Jacqi Cabasso and I am an executive advisor to the Hiroshima Peace
Culture Foundation and serve as the North American Coordinator for Mayors for Peace.
As an American citizen who was born after WWII, I have worked my entire life for theabolition of nuclear weapons and I consider it to be an extreme privilege, honor, andresponsibility to actually work directly for the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation to
spread the message of the hibakusha, that what happened to them is so terrible, it mustnever be allowed to happen to anyone again. In that spirit, I would like to take amoment to acknowledge the loss recently of Senji Yamaguchi, who was a very
important leading hibakusha in the early days of the hibakusha movement. I do havesome encouraging news to report from Mayors for Peace in the United States. The US
Conference of Mayors, which is the national association of big US cities, recently
adopted a very strong and bold Mayors for Peace resolution, calling for US leadershipin global elimination of nuclear weapons and redirection of military spending to meetdomestic needs. And our US vice president, Donald Plusquellic, was unable to be here
today but he is arriving this evening and will be here through the 6th. Thank you verymuch.
Mr. Aaron Tovish, Executive Advisor, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation;
International Director, International Campaign Secretariat, Mayors for Peace
2020 Vision Campaign
My name is Aaron Tovish. I have been working for the Hiroshima Peace Culture
Foundation assigned to the 2020 Vision Campaign as its international director. This is
the 10th years of the campaign and in the next session we will review the progress thathas been made so far and the plans for the coming few years. It has been a great honor
13

to be able to be so closely associated with the city and the people of Hiroshima, but it
has also been a tremendous honor to be able to speak on behalf of a wider and wider
circle of cities. When I first came here, there were about 550 cities in Mayors for Peace.
In the 10 years since, we have increased that membership 10 fold. That is quite anaccomplishment but it also means that we have a much greater impact out there in theworld. I talked with diplomats, I talk with heads of governments, with foreign ministers,and I can see the difference between the access we get and the listening that we get fromthese people because of the increase in the membership and the solidarity the cities haveshown to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to the cause of the 2020 Vision all over the world.
So I thank you very, very much.
Mr. Matsui
The members of the executive cities have assured us of their strong determination forthe promotion of an important cause. Thank you very much. Thank you very much foryour cooperation for the smooth conduct of the meeting.

14

The 8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace

SessionⅡ
Future Initiatives of 2020 Vision Campaign
August 4 (Sun), 2013 10:45-12:15
International Conference Center Hiroshima (Himawari)
Coordinator:

Yasuyoshi Komizo
Chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation
Explanation of the Present Situation and Future Development of the 2020 Vision
Campaign:
Thore Vestby
Mayor of Frogn, Norway
Jasminka Bajlo
Mayor’s Counselor of Biograd na Moru, Croatia
Aaron Tovish
Executive Advisor, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation;
International Director, International Campaign Secretariat, Mayors for
Peace 2020 Vision Campaign
Jacqueline Cabasso
Executive Advisor, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation; Mayors for
Peace North American Coordinator, USA
Pol D'Huyvetter
Executive Advisor, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation; Director,
International Campaign Secretariat, Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision
Campaign
Dominique Dehaene
Alderman of Ypres City Council, Belgium
Mark Hackett
Councillor of Manchester City Council, UK
Presentation of Views:
Kenji Kitahashi
Mayor of Kitakyushu, Japan
Hajime Mikami
Mayor of Kosai City, Japan
Professor Eugen Eichhorn
Beuth Hochschule für Technik Berlin, University of Applied Science“Ten Years of Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Courses”
Thomas Mathew
2020 Vision Campaigner, India

Coordinator: Mr. Yasuyoshi Komizo, Chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture
Foundation, Japan
Good morning distinguished mayors and ladies and gentlemen. My name is Yasuyoshi
Komizo, chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. I am serving as
coordinator of Session II. Session II composes of two parts. The first part is focusing on
the theme of future initiatives of 2020 Vision Campaign and talks about the history andpresent situation and future of this campaign by activists and association carrying
forward this campaign. This is the first part. The members are on the stage already.
After this first part, we will invite some of the mayors and people who are engaging on
this campaign so it is kind of a case study. That is the idea. Targets set in the 2020 vision,
which are very ambitious, but this actually reflects the sincere wishes of aging
hibakusha, they have been working. And it is a long time already. I think I would like togive the chance for the people to speak. I just make it very short. I will just skip what I
originally wanted to speak. I would like to ask the mayor of Frogn, Mr. Thore Vestby, toserve as the moderator. Mayor Vestby, please. The floor is yours for 55 minutes.
Mr. Thore Vestby, Mayor of Frogn, Norway
Thank you Mr. Chairman for this introduction. In this session, we will review thehistory of the 2020 Vision Campaign and look at its future. We hope in doing so to give
you a good sense of the momentum that it is building and if you are not involved yet, toinspire you to join in. We will tell you a story, a lot of people up here, and I will
introduce to you first Jasminka Bajlo, vice chair of the board of directors in the
campaign association. That is you. And Aaron Tovish – probably know him now or all
the people know – he is an international campaign director and executive advisor. Jacqi
Cabasso and Pol D’Huyvetter. They are coordinators of North American and Latin
America and the Caribbean, respectively. They will give you, obviously, a lot of
information about what has been going on for 10 years now. So please, Jasminka, youstart off?
Ms. Jasminka Bajlo, Mayor’s Counselor of Biograd na Moru, Croatia
Thank you Mayor Vestby and good continuing session to you all. I hope you find it
interesting. I will start with as Chairman Komizo pointed out. This year we arecelebrating the 10th anniversary of the 2020 Vision Campaign. The history portion will
be handled in two parts. The first eight years benefitted of the dedicated leadership of
Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba and the Ypres Mayor Luc Dehaene. The recent years
have witnessed the breakthroughs on several fronts under the new leadership of Mayor
Matsui and Dehaene from Ypres. We tell the history through the activities of our top
1

leadership as a way of expressing our gratitude to the former leaders and welcoming thenew ones. But of course these leaders have not worked alone. Many of you here today
have worked and are working as part of the campaign leadership. We also thank you.
The floor is yours.
Mr. Aaron Tovish, Executive Advisor, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation;
International Director, International Campaign Secretariat, Mayors for Peace
2020 Vision Campaign
Just over 10 years ago, I was among the NGO representatives making presentations to
the government delegates to the non-proliferation treaty, or NPT preparatory committee.
We were lined up at a table in much the same way as we are here. When I finish myrather technical presentation, it was Mayor Akiba’s turn to speak as the last speaker. Hisannouncement that he intended to mobilize the cities of the world for nuclear abolition
was cheered not only by the NGOs but also the government delegates. Jacqi Cabasso
and I, and other civil society leaders rose to Mayor Akiba’s challenge to design acampaign plan which would be put to the executive conference of Mayors for Peace inManchester later that year. It was in Manchester that the 2020 Vision of ridding theworld of nuclear weapons by the year 2020 was first articulated. The vision and the plan
were adopted.
Ms. Jacqueline Cabasso, Executive Advisor, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation;
Mayors for Peace North American Coordinator, USA
Aaron and I were at the 2nd Nagasaki Global Citizens Assembly to abolish nuclear
weapons in late 2003 when the emergency campaign, as it was called then, was publicly
launched and enthusiastically received. In launching this campaign, Mayors for Peace
did humanity an important service by setting a firm and realistic deadline for the global
elimination of nuclear weapons. The deadline, set to coincide with the 75th anniversaryof the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki was intended to convey theurgency of the need to abolish nuclear weapons, not the eventual or ultimate way thegoal of nuclear abolition is usually described by national governments.
Mr. Tovish
The first objective of the campaign was to return to the NPT preparatory committee thefollowing year with an impressive mayoral delegation. Mayor Akiba led the group,
which included among others the mayor of Sarajevo, and the vice mayors of London
and Tel Aviv. In the NGO presentation, five mayors spoke, including Mayor Akiba who
spoke last. He showed the delegates partially melted eyeglasses found among the ashes2

of Hiroshima. He said the last thing seen through these distorted lenses was the blinding
flash of the atomic bomb. This represents the distorted fearful world we have lived inever since. Now we have another clear vision, the 2020 Vision of a nuclear weapon freeworld.
Mr. Pol D'Huyvetter, Executive Advisor, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation;
Director, International Campaign Secretariat, Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision
Campaign
Inspired by the events with Mayor Akiba in Geneva at the NPT PrepCom in 2003, theorganization I worked for in Belgium, Friends of the Earth, joined forces with the six
Mayors for Peace members in Belgium to organize the Hiroshima Nagasaki
Commemoration. With Ypres hosting and Mayor Dehaene inviting, over 50 Belgian
mayors took part in the event with the hibakusha we heard yesterday Mr. Keijiro
Matsushima. The potential for greater accomplishments in Belgium was evident.
Ms. Cabasso
In 2004, the US Conference of Mayors, led by Akron Mayor Donald Plusquellic,unanimously adopted a resolution calling on the US government to support thecommencement of negotiations and the 2020 Vision. At its winter meeting in 2005,
Mayor Akiba was able to report to the American mayors that this resolution had been
made the core of an international petition through which hundreds of mayors around theworld were calling upon their national leaders to use the NPT Review Conference toadvance the 2020 Vision. The Mayors for Peace presence at the 2005 NPT Review
Conference was by far the largest of any of the NGOs. At our invitation, Yoko Ono took
part in a special NGO event held in the Great Hall of the General Assembly, as did
Mayor Akiba and Pol as a civil society representative.
Mr. D’Huyvetter
Another early objective of the campaign was to increase membership dramatically. In
Belgium with leadership from Mayor Dehaene, a cross party approach was used. When
Belgian mayors saw that this was not a partisan issue, they joined in droves. With thisboost we were able to announce before the NPT Review Conference ended that globally,
the 1,000th city had affiliated with Mayors for Peace. In less than two years, with thehelp of civil society, especially the Abolition 2000 Global Network to eliminate nuclear
weapons, more cities had joined Mayors for Peace than in the previous 20 years. From
2004-2011, the small country of Belgium had more members than any other country in
the world. The 6th General Conference of Mayors for Peace, the first since the beginning3

of the emergency campaign, readopted to the 2020 Vision Campaign. The delegatescalled for the establishment of a campaign secretariat in Europe. Mayor Dehaene
indicated that Ypres would be willing to host it. Upon return to Ypres, the mayor
immediately began making preparations to house the secretariat in the historic city hall.
Mr. Tovish
Back in Geneva I was religiously attending the conference on disarmament every
Thursday morning despite the fact that it had been going nowhere for nine years. Afterthe failure of the 2005 NPT Review Conference, I proposed to a group of diplomats
from several countries that a UN General Assembly, mandated subcommittee, or
working group should be established to get the whole diplomatic community back towork in Geneva. They brought this idea to New York where it encountered vociferous
opposition from the nuclear weapon states. The group withdrew the proposal but
underscored their right to revive it if the situation in Geneva did not improve.
Ms. Cabasso
Civil society had spearheaded an international effort in the first half of the 1990s to get
the International Court of Justice to issue an advisory opinion on the legality of threat or
use of nuclear weapons. In 1996, the court, the judicial branch of the UN, and thehighest court in the world on questions of international law issued an authoritativeinterpretation of article six of the NPT when it unanimously found that there exists an
obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to
nuclear disarmament in all of its aspects under strict and effective international control.
Ten years on, there was a clear good faith deficit and Mayors Akiba and Dehaene led adelegation of mayors from around the world to the Peace Palace in The Hague tounderscore this problem and to proclaim cities are not targets.
Mr. Tovish
After public meetings in the city halls of The Hague and Brussels, the delegates went toYpres for the official opening of the campaign secretariat. A few months later I turned
the direction of the office over to Paul. Under Belgian law, being a subcommittee of the
Mayors for Peace Executive Conference wasn’t enough to conduct business in Belgium
and particularly to raise funds from abroad. We needed to get properly established.
Mr. D’Huyvetter

4Meanwhile, the Belgian recruiting success was rolled out in other European countries.
By early 2007, we reached the goal of 2020 Mayors for Peace in support of the 2020
Vision. Our claim to speak on behalf of cities worldwide was becoming irrefutable.
Mr. Tovish
As the five yearly NPT Review Process started up again, it looked like the conference
on disarmament might actually be headed back to work. Mayor Akiba used his address
to the NPT Preparatory Committee meeting in Vienna to urge heads of government tostep in and make sure this moment was not lost. Again, the reception was very positive
but the appeal was to no avail. The CD remained deadlocked. Civil society however was
not sleeping. While in Vienna, Mayors for Peace joined with the International
Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and other NGOs in launching theInternational Campaign against Nuclear Weapons.
Mr. D’Huyvetter
In early 2007, Mayor Dehaene launched the fundraising pilot project soliciting
donations from all Belgian member cities of Mayors for Peace and getting a very
positive response. Later this year, Mayor Leonardo Domenici hosted the executive
conference in the historic Palazzo Vecchio of Florence. It was agreed there to establish
the 2020 Vision Campaign Association in Belgium. Our work has been governed by its
statutes ever since. This more than doubled the intensiveness of our decision making byholding two board meetings and a general meeting every year. The executive conference
empowered the association to solicit funds from the membership as a whole using themodel developed in Belgium. The 2020 Vision Campaign Association now steadilyraises from cities worldwide over 100,000 euros a year. Hiroshima and Nagasaki
continue to contribute generously to the campaign in the form of the executive advisors,salaries, and travel costs.
Mr. Tovish
Mayors for Peace unveiled at Hiroshima Nagasaki Procol at the Geneva meeting of the
NPT Preparatory Committee. It was meant to provide a tool for civil society andgovernments to together confront the Bush administration’s relentlessly anti-multilateralpolicies designed for adoption either by the 2020 Review Conference or failing that as
an amendment to the NPT, the protocol attracted a lot of attention.
Mr. D’Huyvetter5

Mayor Dehaene hosted the first general meeting of the 2020 Vision Campaign
Association on the 19th Anniversary of the WWI armistice. On this day there was a
massive turnout for the last post ceremony The Mayors for Peace allegation led by
Mayor Akiba was honored to be selected to place memorials at Menin Gate. Mayor
Dehaene invited all the mayors to return to Ypres for the 100th anniversary of the firstgas attack in upcoming April 2015.
Ms. Cabasso
Plans we had developed to confront the anticipated anti-multilateralism of a potential
new republic and administration in the US had to be reevaluated when the Democrats
took the White House and President Obama reembraced multilateralism in his Prague
speech. While some of us were skeptical, hope generated by the Prague speech took thewind out of the sails of the Hiroshima Nagasaki protocol. The last NPT Preparatory
Committee meeting went smoothly and governments expressed optimism about theprospects for the 2010 NPT Review.
Mr. D’Huyvetter
The Seventh General Conference met in Nagasaki and was hosted by the new Mayor
Taue. A key decision was taken to end the restriction of Japanese membership to justHiroshima and Nagasaki. Thanks to the 2020 Vision Campaign, membership drives allover the world, membership was fast approaching 3,000 cities so there was no danger
that even a flood of Japanese cities could alter the international character of theorganization, and what a flood followed. Japan displaced Belgium as number one inmembership by 2011. A further executive conference decision was that I would be
assigned to develop Mayors for Peace in Latin America and the Caribbean. The
continent which has demonstrated historic leadership to free the world of nuclear
weapons.
Ms. Cabasso
I was the chief organizer of the large International Civil Society conference in Marchthat preceded the 2010 NPT Review Conference in New York. The conference for anuclear free, peaceful, just, and sustainable world was addressed by Mayor Akiba andUN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. A Mayors for Peace workshop was standing room
only. On the eve of the NPT Review Conference, Mayors Akiba, Taue, and Dehaene led
a large mayoral contingent in a march to the UN following directly behind a delegationof hibakusha and Nagasaki survivors. Several mayors spoke at the rally in Times Square,
New York. The Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign was also the beneficiary of a6fund raising event held in the home of John Catsimatidis, a current candidate for mayorof New York City. We were honored by the presence and words of Yoko Ono andMichael Douglas. It was the dream of a lifetime come true for me to meet and escort
Yoko Ono at that event.
Mr. Tovish
While certainly a success in comparison with the fiasco of 2005, the 2010 NPT Review
Conference narrowly missed being truly historic. The committee responsible for thedisarmament pillar of the NPT had been working on a draft of action points that
included empowering the UN Secretary General to convene an intergovernmental roadmap conference to work out the best way to establish a nuclear weapon free world. At
the 11th hour, all of the nuclear weapon states demanded that that point be removed.
Holding hostage the headway made on many other action points, they got their way.
Ms. Cabasso
Mayors for Peace and its civil society allies were determined not to get caught like thatagain, even if it meant having to go outside the NPT and UN framework. In July, Mayor
Akiba convened a conference in Hiroshima which called for the convening of a special
high level conference on nuclear abolition.
Mr. D’Huyvetter
With a timely visit by Mayor Akiba to Buenos Aires in Argentina, I was able to promotemajor membership growth in Latin America. We also were able to establish agreementsof cooperation with FLACMA, the Regional Mayor Association for Latin America andthe Caribbean and with several national associations. Through lobbying, governments
were being made aware that their mayors wanted a more proactive approach toeliminating the nuclear threat.
Mr. Tovish
No history of this early period would be complete without mentioning theever-strengthening relationship between Mayors for Peace and the United Nations.
Secretary General Kofi Annan addressed the 2005 first Mayors Conference at theUnited Nations. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon addressed the second in 2010, andlater that year endorsed the 2020 Vision as the perfect vision in connection with the first
address by a UN Secretary General here in Hiroshima at the commemoration.
Ms. Cabasso
7

Another high point was the inauguration of a permanent Mayors for Peace exhibit at
United Nations headquarters in New York. The exhibit displays stacks of Mayors for
Peace Cities are not Targets petitions, representing over 1 million signatures. It is thefirst ever civil society initiative to be the subject of a permanent UN exhibit. It was myhonor to speak at the opening on behalf of Mayor Akiba who could not be there.
Addressing a packed audience of diplomats, civil society organizations, media, andvisiting hibakusha, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon described the exhibit opening
as a landmark occasion adding, “These 1 million signatures demanding an end to the
nuclear threat are the voice of the world’s people. This movement brings together
mayors and mothers, likeminded citizens and peace groups. They all understand that
nuclear weapons make us less safe, not more.”
Ms. Bajlo
Mayor Akiba decided in early 2011 not to seek election to a fourth term. He was
succeeded in April by Mayor Kazumi Matsui. The 2020 Vision Campaign decided tomake a final push for 5,000 members as a way of welcoming in the new mayor in time
for his first peace declaration on August 6, 2011. That day, Mayor Matsui was able toclaim the network represented nearly a billion people. But the announcement of the
5,000 milestone had to wait until the International Day of Peace, 21 September. Mayor
Dehaene retired at the end of 2012 after three terms in office. He was succeeded in
January 2013 by Mayor Jan Durnez. By then, all three of the international avenues for
progress that will be presented next had been scheduled on the 2013 calendar. In his
farewell preface to the 2013 process report, Mayor Dehaene said, “Retirement from theboard is made easier for me by the knowledge that our efforts are at last beginning tobear fruit. Since the Ypres campaign secretariat was established, we have worked hardto try to transform Mayors for Peace into an impressive voice for nuclear abolition.” Inlast year’s report, we celebrated the growth of Mayors for Peace membership to over
5,000 cities, representing around 1 billion people. Since new governments can makesuch a claim, they take note of what we have to say. And now, some are taking action.
Mr. Vestby
Mayors for Peace has, since its founding by the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in
1982, been a humanitarian organization. First and foremost, cities join out of humansolidarity with the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, especially survivors of 1945.
This is captured very well in the main theme of our general conference. Out of deep
concern for the safety of his or her citizens, no mayor can be complacent about thethreat that nuclear weapons post to cities. Through more activities like the ones in the8

proposed action plan, we will reinforce the worldwide drive to ban and abolish theseweapons of utter terror. Cities preventing nuclear war is not just the immediate mass
destruction in cities. We now know that the firestorm that incinerated Hiroshima on 6
August released 10 times more energy than the initial flash and blast of the atomic
detonation. That energy mainly in a form of intensive heat lifted the smoke and soot of
the firestorm high up in the atmosphere, much higher than the initial mushroom cloud.
Modern nuclear weapons exploded over modern metropolises with greater quantities ofsmoke and soot.
In May 2011, the 2020 Vision Campaign with supporters from the Swiss government
held a seminar in Geneva so the diplomats there could be fully informed of the global
consequences of nuclear war. The two top experts in the fields spelled out theenvironmental and humanitarian impact of both the limited nuclear war and one inwhich all US and Russian weapons kept on alert are fired. The limited scenario ends
after a decade in which the world’s population suffers a loss of around a billion souls. In
the US-Russia exchange scenario, it is unlike even a billion people could survive.
Civilization surely wouldn’t. No one can escape these consequences. Whether armed
with nuclear weapons or unarmed. But more to the point, no one has the right to impose
such risk upon humanity.
After presiding over this first executive conference in Granollers in 2011, Mayor Matsuijoined by Mayor Taue traveled to Geneva for a meeting with the president of theInternational Red Cross. They initiated what has become an increasing close
coordination between these two great organizations. Later in 2011, the Red Cross
adopted a resolution condemning any use of nuclear weapons and dedicating itself towork for their early abolition. I cooperate regularly with the Norwegian Red Cross. First
with Mayor Dehaene and a group of mayors, and then as a group of Parliamentarians for
Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, I have twice visited the nuclear weapon
testing grounds of the former Soviets, in what is now Kazakhstan. We saw with our own
eyes the humanitarian disaster wrought on people of the region and at the meeting with
President Nazarbayev, the dedication that this national tragedy has instilled in theirleaders to press for the establishment of not just a nuclear weapon free central Asia but anuclear weapon free world. Keep in mind they are just tests. No cities flattened orburned. I suppose for that we can be grateful. As a Norwegian, I am very proud that mygovernment stepped forward by bringing the humanitarian environment message to theattention of all governments. In March of this year, the foreign minister has been but
either hosted a conference attended by representatives of 127 governments and many9

civil society organizations, including of course Mayors for Peace. His concluding
remarks were as straightforward as they were simple. The consequences of nuclear
weapons war are far too great for societies to meaningfully mitigate. We are taking risks
for which we cannot afford the consequences.
Other topics, as the topic was not fully exhausted by the Oslo conference, Mexico hasoffered to hold the follow-up conference. I was in Mexico recently with Pol toencourage our colleagues in Mexico to support their government’s stance and to learn
from the foreign ministry how we can help to globally promote the February 2014
meeting. You saw, I hope, the action alert for Oslo including guidance in a letter from
Mayor Matsui. Please be on the lookout for a new action alert for Mexico. I would also
encourage you to work with a civil society in your city and country, particularly ICAN
or an Abolition 2000 affiliated organization. They are producing valuable informationand lively activities to educate the public and keep pressure on governments. As thehistorical sketch indicated, it is the combination of city hall and citizens, which makes
the great achievements possible.
Mr. TovishThat was the road to Oslo. I wｆill talk about the road to Geneva. As mentioned in thehistorical sketch, an effort to put the diplomats to work in Geneva fell short of the markin 2005, but these diplomats have since lived up to their promise to revive the effort. It
took some prodding. In 2011, I began talking about the possibility in Vienna andGeneva with diplomats and civil society representatives. An effort to bring up the matterat the UN General Assembly got under way at the last minute. A resolution was tabled at
the first committee but not brought to a vote. The concern was that without sufficientlead time, the vote might be insufficiently impressive. A year later, proper time wasdevoted to preparing for a vote and the results were more than adequate. It is common
with groundbreaking initiatives that a new resolution doesn’t necessarily get the same
voting pattern where you get geopolitical blocks all voting one way or another. In thiscase, all of the major geopolitical groups were sort of split down the middle. But
fortunately, a majority are in support of this resolution.
A Mayors for Peace action alert was issued in support of the resolution and theresolution was adopted for the convening of what is now called an open ended working
group. That group began its work this May and we issued a second action alert callingon people to promote attendance at the meeting. Unlike most other governmental
disarmament forums, this working group is very open to the input of non-governmental
10

representatives. I for example spoke on each of the first two days of the conference andour representatives in Geneva, Mr. Esteban Ramirez, has since intervened on two otheroccasions. Our consistent message is for government delegations to find common
ground to take forward negotiations on the establishment of a nuclear weapon freeworld, and that message is being well received. Mayor Matsui and Mayor Dehaene have
stepped in with letters to, respectively, the Geneva ambassadors and the heads ofgovernment of over 150 countries. They have encouraged engagement in and boldness
within the working group. The group will meet for the last two weeks of August,starting on the 19th. If you have not yet made use of the action alert on this topic, there is
still time to do so.
Mr. D’Huyvetter
And after we heard about the road to Oslo and Mexico and the road to Geneva, I willtalk about the road to New York. As mentioned in the historical sketch in July 2010, theMayors for Peace conference came out strongly in favor of the convening of a special
disarmament conference. Later that year, I attended a regional conference inMontevideo on Latin America’s role and international security at especially the UN
Secretary General five point plan for nuclear disarmament. During a smoke break, I hada chance to chat at length with Uruguay’s Ambassador to the United Nations.
Ambassador Jose Luis Cancela. It wasn’t long before he was in dialogue with all of our
executive advisors and we assisted him in hosting a luncheon session in how to organize
a special disarmament conference. About a dozen independent minded countries
attended. This was in January 2011 in New York.
A further meeting was held at the United Nations. Over 2 dozen countries were involved
as well as the UN Secretary General’s High Representative for Disarmament Affairs,
Ambassador Sergio Duarte. But some of the Western participants pushed for getting thenuclear weapon states involved. Our private advice was that this would be premature,and indeed Ambassador Cancela’s effort to bring them into the process sapped themomentum of the initiative. But the seeds had been sown and soon found new fertile
ground. Under Indonesia’s leadership, the nonaligned movement took up the issue intheir Bali meeting. Cuba brought up the results in the context of the founding meetingof the Community of Latin American Caribbean States (CELAC) in Caracas whichissued a special community at the head of governments’ level on the total elimination of
nuclear weapons. From there it went back the NAM Summit in Tehran for endorsementby even more heads of government. This gave Indonesia, which coordinates
disarmament policy for the NAM, the authority it needed to move ahead with the UN11resolution, calling for a special session of the General Assembly devoted entirely tonuclear disarmament. And not surprisingly, the 2020 Vision Campaign issued an action
alert supporting the resolution to the effect, noting in particular the resolution’s call forparticipation at the highest level, a World Summit, the first ever on nuclear
disarmament.
The presidents’ and chairmen’s letters which Aaron has referred to also of course urge
highest level participation in the World Summit. When you contact your head ofgovernment, he or she will have heard from Mayor Matsui. So please use that letter as apoint of reference for your own communications. Presidents may be used to hearing
from other presidents, even of non-governmental organizations. But on this issue – theyrarely hear from a local mayor – surprise them. You have a stake in this issue andtogether we can and will have a positive impact.
Ms. Cabasso
So after 10 years of campaigning, we have arrived at these 3 political destinations inOslo, Geneva, and soon New York, all in the same year, making 2013 something of aperfect storm on the nuclear abolition front. The challenge ahead of us is to ensure thatthe situation continues to develop in 2014 and beyond. It is not clear where thehumanitarian issue will be taken after Mexico. There is no commitment at this point toextend the Open-ended Working Group’s mandate in 2014. And will heads ofgovernment follow through on the commitments they make at the high level meeting?
Mr. Tovish
The essential ingredient for sustained progress is a good faith commitment to pursue
negotiations. That is to get them started and then drive them to a conclusion as theInternational Court of Justice underscored. It does not bode well when the nuclear
weapon states were nowhere to be found in Oslo or in Geneva. Indeed they labeledthese exercises distractions. When it comes to good faith, they should not be so quick to
cast dispersions. They would do better to engage in multilateral discussions whenever
the opportunity arises. There is the World Summit yet to come. No country voted
against it in the General Assembly but four abstentions came from the nuclear weapon
states. We are not alone in hoping this will not lead to low level representation from theUnited States, Russia, Britain, and France. Already, thanks to Jacqi’s efforts with our US
members, the US Conference of Mayors has called on President Obama to take part in
the summit. As Pol said, “There is time for you to check whether your heads ofgovernment will be going and to urge that course of action on them.” Through action
12alerts, representation, and delegations, the 2020 Vision Campaign will do its utmost toensure momentum is sustained on all three of these avenues. As the action plan
describes, we will continue to monitor and lobby these key avenues for progress as welland we cannot afford to ignore it, the NPT Review Process.
One group mentioned in the action plan, but not mentioned so far, is thenon-proliferation and disarmament initiative. This foreign minister level group was
already active prior to the 2010 NPT Review Conference and can rightly claim somecredit for the disarmament action points agreed upon there. Mayor Akiba was invited toconsult with them in Moscow in 2009 and encouraged them to come to Hiroshima.
Mayor Matsui announced in his peace declaration last August that they will in fact holda session in Hiroshima next year, probably in April. Since the 2010 Review Conference,
the NPDI ministers have been focused on ensuring follow-through on the action plan.
Of course follow through must never be taken for granted and good faith demands it.
But the 2015 Review Conference will also need to look forward, and by 2014, NPDI
will need to focus on the future as well. We offer the 2020 Vision as a reference point intheir considerations. Other good reference points are the UN Secretary General’s five
point plan, the neglected roadmap proposal from 2010, and whatever recommendations
may emerge from the open ended working group. All of the NPDI countries are
participating in the open ended working group. Given the Hiroshima venue,
expectations will be that they will advance an overarching approach to the establishmentof a nuclear weapon free world.
Ms. Cabasso
The atomic bomb survivors, the hibakusha, have worked tirelessly to warn the worldthat it is either us or the bomb, one has to go. They have contributed enough to reinforce
the moral deterrent to nuclear weapon use. Their goal of a nuclear weapons free world isstill on the horizon. Inevitably they are reaching the ends of their lives. Here I would
like to pause to remember Senji Yamaguchi, a pioneering leader of the hibakusha
movement who recently passed. Most of the survivors today were mere children in 1945.
Could it be that in the changing demographics of the hibakusha there is a newopportunity for getting their peace message out more widely than ever before? The
victimization of children in wars begun by adults is widely condemned. Add on to thatthe psychological horror for a child, seeing his or her entire world blasted to bits andconsumed in an inferno, taking with it family, school mates, and teachers makes it
simply intolerable. Every parent wants to protect his or her child from such a living hell.
We would like to present you with the idea for an image that we feel captures the13essence of this truth. Please keep in mind that this is only a preliminary graphic. On theright is silhouette of an elderly female survivor. To the left is a mother standing behind
her daughter who is now the age of the hibakusha was in 1945. The hibakusha is saying
to the mother very simply, “I was her age.”
One can imagine the thoughts in the mother’s mind and that is when thinking thenoneself. This must never happen to my child, it should not happen to any child. So how
can we make the fullest, most dignified use of this powerful emotive tool. Our proposal
is of course open for modification and will no doubt evolve. Peace Boat has circled theworld about 80 times on several of those cruises. In recent years, they have had
hibakusha on board. At ports of call around the world, events have been arranged where
the hibakusha have given witness to their suffering and aspirations. In some of thoseports, city hall and the mayor have become involved. For the “I was her age” world tour,
we aimed to have the mayor and city government in or near ports take responsibility for
hosting the hibakusha and organizing special events that bring them into contact withthe parents and children in their city. The key event will be a procession of hibakushawith parents and children of the age they were in 1945. Each city will stage theprocession so it gets the maximum media coverage in their city and country.
We are in discussions now with the Peace Boat about the best timing for the world tour.
A couple of cities have already expressed interest in principle in hosting the hibakusha.
If you think your city could do a proper job of it, please be sure to let us know. Please
note to be a port of call, your city does not literally have to be a port. If there is a port
nearby and you can arrange comfortable transport to your city, that is good enough. In
short, a large portion of Mayors for Peace member cities are potential hosts. How aboutyou?
The film, we have also begun discussions with film producers about making a movie
about the world tour. If the film can be completed well before August 2015, it should
not be hard to promote it for screenings and broadcasts on the 70th anniversaries of thebombings. This would give it the potential to reach many millions of people. For thecities directly involved in the world tour, this film would give them outstanding
international exposure as a peace city. Please consider this a perfectly legitimate
incentive for getting involved in the “I was her age” project right away.
Mr. Dominique Dehaene, Alderman of Ypres City Council, Belgium

14

Good morning. Please allow me to introduce myself. First, my name is Sir Dominique
Dehaene. I am the head of delegation for Ypres this year. As my father Luc Dehaene asMayor of Ypres, I stepped up as deputy mayor. It is an honor for me to be representing
Ypres of our new mayor, Jan Durnez, at the upcoming board of directors meeting. And
in this way, taking up the continued efforts of our city to the next generation. In 2015,
the world will remember the first use of gas as a weapon of mass destruction in modern
warfare on April 22, 1915, in Ypres Salient. From then on, war would never be the sameagain.
Since WWI, war has no longer been a confrontation between or amongst armies. Since
then, just being present on a certain spot where such weapons were used in the past or
are still being used was enough to be killed, be one soldier, mother, child. Since then,war and used weapons did not make any distinction between soldiers and civilians. The
use of weapons of mass destruction continued after Ypres. Nuclear bombs were dropped
on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Gas was used in Halabja 25 years ago, and even today
there are incidences of the use of poisonous gas in the Syrian conflict. And yes, once
more we can add the name of a city Aleppo, which I understand was the hometown of
Jacqi’s grandfather so everything is connected. It must be clear that when weapons ofmass destruction are or were used, cities are the targets to cause mass casualties, onemust attack where or near where people are massed. I think that we all, as mayors or
representatives of cities, must then together in April 2015 speak up loudly and clearly. A
century of weapons of mass destruction is far too long. It is time for an eternity without
the use of them. It is up to us to make clear for the nations that will come together somedays after the commemoration for the NPT Review Conference that we are not ready to
wait for a centennial commemoration of Hiroshima and Nagasaki for a world without
nuclear weapons.
We will not allow cities to be possible targets for whatever use for WMD for another 30
years. The time to start a full abolition of nuclear weapons is now. The city of Ypres isready to organize after the ceremonial remembrance on April 22, an international
conference in which we would like to cover what has happened during the last century
according to the use of weapons of mass destruction and war scarred cities generally. In
the last 100 years, conventional bombardment of cities has taken a huge toll and caused
widespread destruction to the cities that the mayor and citizens have worked so hard tobuild and make prosper. But at least as important will be the challenge for the future.
What has to happen to avoid that weapons of mass destruction ever will be used again
and what might be the consequences of the use of it. What has to be done to make the15international community understand that abolition is the only way to prevent the worldfrom a possible nuclear winter or nuclear famine. As long as cities are considered fairgame in warfare, they will be turned into battlegrounds and be targeted for WMD use.
We have to ensure that the legal protection afforded to civilians by international
humanitarian law and rules are applied systematically to cities. Mayors must become avoice stronger than the generals, rejecting outright the notion that populated areas are alegitimate target for the use of explosive or incendiary force. Upholding an advancing
discrepancy bill will not be easy. But if we can succeed, we will have changed the faceof war. Perhaps driving home that point that war is probably the stupidest way
imaginable for settling disputes.
Ms. Bajlo
Let me also stress how important civil society engagement with Mayors for Peace andthe 2020 Vision Campaign has been in achieving impressive results. This was mostevident in membership drives. To some extent, NGO enthusiasm for Mayors for Peace
was the new kid of the block phenomenon and truth be told, 10 years on, we are nolonger new or kids. But that does not mean that a new exciting project could notrekindle widespread civil society interest in Mayors for Peace. But unlike membershipaffiliation, the project should not be a one shot thing for cities. It should be acommitment to regular activity. To be impressive, the project should capitalize on the
global span of Mayors for Peace. Our vast network of cities is a tremendous asset. We
are one among only a few international organizations in this field with the potential to
do something truly global.
In tune with our acknowledged need to move from quantity to quality, the project
should not aim to engage all 5,700 plus cities, an impossibility anyway. Rather, it should
aim to interact intensively with several hundred cities in the coming years. With these
considerations in mind, the 2020 Vision Campaign proposes to launch a cities World
Peace Calendar. The initial aim should be to be able to announce on April 22, 2015, inYpres, that there will be a peace event and at least one city somewhere in the world oneach of the next 365 days. If this achievement sparked even wider interest,
consideration could then be given to including more than one city a day in different
parts of the world. Most people possess the skills needed to propose to their city that it
adopt a day and have an event. Indeed, there are peace or disarmament events at least
once a year in most cities.

16

The challenge is to involve city hall and embed the event in the World Peace Calendar,
adding a global dimension to this event. The cities are not target themes already
implicitly commemorated in many cities that have felt the scourge of war. We could geta good start at filling the calendar by gathering information about such cities and eventsas already mentioned by Dominique. But there should also be a broad outreach so thatno city or activist feels excluded. This city’s global peace calendar should not be doneby Mayors for Peace alone that with just, independent, and local activists, we should
gain the endorsement and involvement of the IPB, the Abolition 2000 Network, ICAN,
Masterpiece, and where possible, the Red Cross. These groups should help to ensurethat a cities’ peace day theme was closely related to nuclear disarmament. We should
encourage our cities to have in fact two annual events. Their calendar day and theinternational day of peace 21 September or a Hiroshima-Nagasaki day. The World Peace
Calendar website will be your platform to announce and then report to your peace
events as well as providing a link to your city’s website. You will be able to get flags,
emblems, and other Mayors for Peace paraphernalia from the 2020 Vision Campaign toaugment your day’s event.
Mr. Vestby
We the members of the 2020 Vision Campaign Association are proud of the breadth andambition of the four main campaigning areas of the 2020 Vision Campaign and canpromise you to get hard at work on each of them. In my remarks closing thispresentation, I would like to stress that the diversity of these four campaigning elements
should not lead to want to view them in isolation from each other or from the overall
development of the Mayors for Peace organizationally. It is for that reason that they
have been subsumed within the action plan we just accepted. Several of the linkages
have already been modified. We will highlight but two more.
The foremost contribution of the 2020 Vision Campaign has made and through theseelements will continue to make the Mayors for Peace is a real sense of dynamism. No
one is motivated to join an organization simply to be lit. It must have purpose anddirection. It is no surprise membership took off after the launching of the 2020 Vision
Campaign 10 years ago, that it continue to grow of about a city a day. Global profile isalso important. Prior to the 2020 Vision Campaign, Mayors for Peace are virtually
unknown in the nuclear disarmament field. I certainly had no idea it existed and I would
venture to say that very few of you did either. The executive committee was a third of
the size it is today. The campaign innovation of including associate members has provento be a great way of finding and testing cities to see if they are worthy of joining the17executive conference. I am glad that Frogn my own town was found and proud that wehave passed the test. So please tell us, how can you get involved to ensure success?
You have heard about the action alerts. Use them. And give us feedback on how we canmake them even more user-friendly. And if you cannot afford it, take part in ourdelegation to lobby diplomatic gathering. If you are not too far from a port, host thehibakusha, and organize the “I was her age” ceremony involving the parent and childrenof your schools. If your city has felt discourse of war, help us compile a world history ofcities being targets and join us in Ypres to say “a century of weapons of mass
destruction, enough.” And cities are not targets. Any day, every city can takeresponsibility for a day in the World Peace Calendar. So what is your date? But don’t
forget, August 6 and 9 are the international days of peace. I encourage you to use thefollowing discussion period to think out loud about how your city can become moreengaged, effective in advancing the 2020 vision. I would now like to invite to the
podium Counselor Mark Hackett of Manchester. He has prepared some impertinent
remarks. Counselor?
Mr. Mark Hackett, Councillor of Manchester City Council, UKKonnichiwa. Hello. I am Councillor Mark Hackett and I am Manchester City Council’sMayors for Peace representative as well as being the current chair of the UK and Ireland
Nuclear Free Local Authorities. I have been a councillor for over 25 years and one of
the reasons I became a councillor was due to my personal commitment to nuclear
weapon disarmament. One of the first responsibilities that I had was becoming amember of the then Manchester City Council nuclear free zone subcommittee.
I have remained actively involved in this movement, particularly as Lord Mayor ofManchester when I hosted meetings of Mayors for Peace 2002 Vision Campaign and acivic visit by Mayor Taue of Nagasaki in 2010. As you have already heard, I am proud
to say that the Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign was officially launched in
Manchester during the Mayors for Peace executive conference in Manchester Town Hallin 2003. Manchester City Council is the world’s first declared nuclear weapons freezone and the home of the UK and Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities has been
deeply committed to this initiative. I believe the 2020 Vision Campaign has served
Mayors for Peace well. In Manchester’s view, the 2020 Vision Campaign has given
Mayors for Peace a sense of real purpose. We should be very thankful for the deep
commitment of the city of Ypres and the strong political leadership provided by its
mayor to the 2020 Vision Campaign.
18

As we have heard earlier, the campaign has helped to bring in some talented new offices
and political leaders to develop Mayors for Peace into being one of the leadinginternational NGOs at the United Nations Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty Conference.
By being a campaign with a specific target date in a manner similar to the abolition
2000 network, the 2020 Vision Campaign has given Mayors for Peace something tobuild with and work for. By having a separate secretariat in Ypres, it has also takensome of the pressure off Hiroshima. This has allowed Hiroshima to provide strong
political leadership of Mayors for Peace and let it develop a particularly strong local
Japanese membership base. The campaign has also brought political leadership into
Mayors for Peace through new leadership cities like Halabja, Biograd na Moru, Mexico
City, Cochin, Glasgow, and Frogn. I believe it is well respected within the United
Nations with a large number of relevant NGOs where it has developed close
relationships. That should be celebrated. I therefore think as we now approach the 2015
NPT Review Conference, and then onto the 2020 Review Conference, it is anappropriate time to take stock of the 2020 Vision Campaign and discuss what direction
to take next. One of the greatest achievements of the 2020 Vision Campaign has been apositive impact on building up membership from around 600 members in 2003 to over
5,600 members today. As I am sure you will all agree, this is a great achievement.
Similarly, raising a budget of voluntary contributions from Mayors for Peace membersof around 100,000 euros has been instrumentally moving Mayors for Peace from beinga small local government group into one which is a large and diverse organization. But
there are two obvious issues that need to be considered for the future. Firstly, it isunlikely that we will have a nuclear weapons free world by 2020. And secondly, we
have to decide with the agreed changes to the structure and financial underpinning ofMayors for Peace that we have agreed earlier. Do we need a separate Mayors for Peace
2020 Vision Secretariat in Ypres or another city?
In terms of the first issue, the desire of some states to continue to possess nuclear
weapons remains as strong as ever. The 2013 NPT PrepCom, which some of us took
part in, was very disappointing. We saw the development of a close coalition of the fiveoriginal and nuclear weapon states dictating the agenda and at times becoming quite
belligerent. This compares with a very well-coordinated group of non-nuclear weapon
states working more closely together but frustrated and perplexed as to how to unblock
the lob-jam in nuclear weapon talks. Added to this are the difficult challenges like thenuclearization of North Korea and Iran and the increasingly dangerous conflicts acrossthe Middle East and surrounding countries. Although, the recent move towards
19restarting peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians can only give us some fresh
hopes.
By having a 2020 Vision Campaign, the Mayors for Peace has had a vehicle forchallenging national government at the United Nations. It has also given that politicalleadership of Mayors for Peace are clear and concise strategy to campaign on, but itneeds to acknowledged now that the name of the campaign at the very least will have tochange to take account of the likelihood of the central theme of the campaign. It istherefore timely to start considering in the next couple of years a conclusion of the 2020
Vision Campaign and what takes its place. Just as a note and if that is alright will finish
in one minute.
It is my view, it is important to keep some form of 2020 Vision Campaign secretariat
going. A consideration of the potential of incorporating new initiatives as well.
Manchester and the NFLA believes that between 2013 and 2015, strategic moves need
to be made to develop more effective national campaigns and continue to maintain theessential work of the 2020 Vision Campaign at the UN. I would like to acknowledge all
the hard work that the offices from Ypres, Hiroshima, and the politicians have put in. I
would encourage Ypres to make it absolutely clear what its views are. It will be no easytask in these difficult financial times. And in addition, the Mayors for Peace need to takeon board the cause for members in Latin America, Africa, and Asia as to where the newissues around development and disarmament, climate change, food security, and theeffects of different types of violence on their local communities should be addressed.
It is for Hiroshima and the executive board to think about the future developments ofthe 2020 Vision Campaign and what can be achieved under the new structure. Should
Mayors for Peace just be primarily about one single issue or start bringing in newissues? How can it maintain the campaign on its core issues and not see it diluted if itgets into all these other areas? In my view, it will only be deep in the involvement of
individual Mayors for Peace that it become a strong and democratic and dynamic
organization. Given the dilemma, money has to be a major factor. Care is needed in
Hiroshima and in Ypres in the executive board and in taking account of the view ofindividual Mayors for Peace members, as I said, the 2020 Vision has served Mayors for
Peace very well. Its 2030 Vision has to be fully drafted between now and 2015 and to
take forward us towards that eventual aim of a nuclear weapons free world. Arigato
gozaimasu.

20Mr. Vestby
Thank you Sir Mark Hackett. I will now hand it over to the chairman but I would like toexplain to you that we are running out of time. We would also like to recognize Mission
Campaigner Mr. Thomas Mathew from India but we are running out of time here so weare talking about action alerts. We have gotten a lot of alerts already here from thesescreens. So please Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Komizo
Thank you Mayor Vestby and campaigners of the 2020 Vision Campaign. They havetouched upon the history and the current challenges and how they have coordinated with
the ICAN and the UN and other groups. Also they have been giving tours, the actual
developments, negative and positive. They are also focusing on future directions. Mr.
Councillor of Manchester, Mr. Mark Hackett has made some proposals and some ideas.
That will be discussed among the 2020 Vision and Mayor for Peace in the future.
Certainly that would be good input.
I think I should now turn to the second part of this presentation and now we would liketo invite some of the mayors and campaigners of the important activities. Before, I
would just like to give you the idea. Number one, I will invite the mayor of Kitakyushu
to present about their activities. Number two, the mayor of Kosai will present. Then I
will invite Professor Eugen Eichhorn about Hiroshima-Nagasaki lecture study courses.
Then if time allows, I will invite Mr. Thomas Mathew from India to speak. First I would
like to invite Mayor Kenji Kitahashi of Kitakyushu. Please.
Mr. Kenji Kitahashi, Mayor of Kitakyushu, Japan
Ladies and gentlemen, I concur strongly with the 2020 Vision Campaign. On behalf of 1
million citizens of Kitakyushu City, I would like to say a few words. Mayor Matsui,
Mayor Taue, and all the people around the globe who have been working so hard tocreate a nuclear free world, I am also grateful for this opportunity to be a part of thesevaluable discussions. We are located in the industrial sector. During war time, we had
the biggest arms factory in the west of Japan. On August 9, 1945, a bomber flew toJapan carrying an atomic bomb which was originally bound for Kitakyushu and Kokura.
Apparently, however, the pilot changed the destination due to poor visibility and headedfor Nagasaki. Because of this historical fact, the citizens of Kitakyushu City are deeply
saddened by the atomic bombings that turned Hiroshima and Nagasaki into ash and in
an instant claimed so many lives and still causes many people to suffer physicalproblems.
21Four years ago in this general conference, I got to attend as an observer. I was verymuch overwhelmed and impressed by the decision made in the general conference to try
and establish the elimination of nuclear weapons. When I dropped by on the way to go
back home to the part, there was the Kayoko cherry tree and the mothers’ and daughters’cherry tree. I started to know the importance of those activities to disseminate the idea
to all these people in our city. I started to have the dialogue with the citizens on thismatter and for the first time in the assembly, all these 61 members of the city have madethe resolution to become the nuclear free city in Kitakyushu. With this determination,
we have invited Mayor Taue. We declare the nuclear free peace city.
On that day, we have declared and made the application to become a member of the
Mayors for Peace. It was the observer status. Now we are promoted as a member of the
Mayors for Peace. For many years, citizens of Kitakyushu has set the commemorative
day on the 9th of August, we gathered in front of the bell presented by Nagasaki to makethe peace memorial service to pay tribute to the deceased people and victims of the
A-bombs. Through the various exhibitions and events, we tried to communicate theatrocity of the war and A-bomb. After the end of the war, the time has passed and there
are a lot of young people who have never experienced the wars, especially to thoseyoung generations.
We need to communicate the atrocity of the war as well as the importance of thedisarmament. We have 131 elementary schools and we have decided to plant
Kayokozakura, cherry trees; Kayoko’s cherry tree which was presented by Nagasaki.
15-year old Kayoko Hayashi died in Nagasaki at the time of the A-bomb. Kayoko
Hayashi has planted that cherry tree and this year, in 131 elementary schools, we aregoing to complete the planting of such cherry trees in Kitakyushu City. And we aregoing to have the gathering of the elementary school children to learn why those cherrytrees are planted. I attended those ceremonies many times. They are learning theimportance of the activities to ask for the total elimination of the weapons.
I am the second generation of the A-bomb victims because my mother was hit inHiroshima. On behalf of the cities, we are now discussing the importance of the early
establishment of the total elimination of nuclear weapons. I believe this is a verysignificant moment. As the mayor and as a member of the assembly, I believe this is avery important occasion. One voice of one person is very small, but if we are able toexpand the network and coordinate together amongst the cities, I am sure we are going
to motivate the other people. Under the 2020 Vision Campaign, Kitskyushu City is22committed to join you in these activities from the bottom of my heart. That is mycommitment. Thank you very much.
Mr. Komizo
Thank you very much. Next is a presentation by Mayor Hajime Mikami of Kosai City.
Mr. Hajime Mikami, Mayor of Kosai, Japan
Thank you for you kind introduction. Kosai is the name of the city. Our city is known
for Sakichi Toyoda and Kiichiro Toyoda, the founding family of Toyota Automobiles. It
is famous in Japan but not so famous globally, and our town is not a big city. I
repeatedly say that we have to eliminate nuclear power plants. Nuclear power plants
must be abolished because they are too costly. The cost is too high. I propose that thisconference should pass a resolution to regard nuclear power plants as nuclear weapons.
The reason is simple, nuclear power plants are not weapons for attacking enemy
countries, but nuclear power plants are atomic bombs that could be targeted by enemy
countries in times of war or emergency. Nuclear power plants turn into atomic bombs,
therefore nuclear power plants transform themselves into weapons that kill their own
people.
Not only in wars among countries or states, remember 2001. On September 11, theterrorist attack took place in the States and the terrorists were looking for targets.
Twelve years ago I was watching the TV that day. The first airplane had already hit thebuilding and was on fire. Then the building next to the twin tower had the second planecrashing into it. It was reported that the four planes had been hijacked. The third one hit
the Pentagon and the fourth one, people all over the world were worried as to the targetof the fourth plane. The causes are not know but the fourth airplane crashed into theground. I believe that the fourth plane was targeting a nuclear power plant because thebiggest of all war crimes ever committed is the instantaneous killing of men and womenof all ages. That is dropping of A-bombs dropped onto Hiroshima and Nagasaki cities.
Terrorists targeting the US were aware of that. I believe that for terrorists, it would bequite natural to target nuclear power plants for their retaliation purposes.
When a small country fights against a large country, the established strategy is to attack
the weak point, namely nuclear power plants. Indeed, journalists have reported thatleaders of certain countries have stated as much. Nuclear power plants are like nuclear
landmines, waiting to be attacked by other countries. Nuclear power plants serve as
power supply systems only until they come under attack. In the event of war or if23

targeted by terrorists, nuclear power plants would suddenly turn into nuclear weapons
for killing the local people. I propose that the conference should pass a resolution
regarding nuclear power plants as nuclear weapons.
Lastly, I should note that my great grandfather and uncle both served in the Japanesemilitary. And our city is in the middle of Tokyo and Osaka, in the center of Japan, and I
am Mikami, mayor of Kosai City.
Mr. Komizo
Mayor Mikami, sorry I mispronounced the name of your city.
Professor Eugen Eichhorn is going to tell us about the 10 year history ofHiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Course. Please.
Professor Eugen Eichhorn, Beuth Hochschule für Technik Berlin, University ofApplied Science“Ten Years of Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Courses”
First of all, I would like to address you as highly appreciated, distinguished guests
working on a common issue of tremendous impact. Ladies and gentlemen, coworkers inpeace for tens of years. It was a big surprise to me when receiving the invitation to thisworld-famous congress. So I feel tremendously honored to have this opportunity to say
at least a few words – only a short time – on our course. Due to the short time, I was
asked to concentrate on my motivation. I am a mathematician and worked at different
types of professions, in soft engineering, and finally as a mathematician and as aprofessor.
The starting point is the Heiwa Sengen (Peace Declaration) of Mayor Akiba of 2001. In
this year, we presented to the public on our university in Berlin a big exhibition ofHiroshima Nagasaki, a very, very impressive exhibition. When we finally decided tomake some kind of documentation in order to (?) everything when the event was over,
we decided to include the Heiwa Sengen of 2001. At that time it was Mayor Akiba in
Hiroshima and Iccho Ito from Nagasaki. I was highly surprised in reading the Heiwa
Sengen from Hiroshima that there were very concrete suggestions on what we, thepeople, addressed all over the world and what we can do concretely. Therein is offered
the advice that all major universities of the world should present so-called
Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Course. So I talked to our president, we should do this.
At the first moment, I wondered why it was not my idea so working intensively for tensof years. This was the starting point. My motivation, at first class it is easy to say,24

following what we presented in this exhibition, not to make it only a single event. In
that respect to my life, there are other much deeper roots.
Let me raise one point, we should make a distinction between war and peace in former
times and war and peace in the nuclear age. War and peace in former times, I was bornin a small city close to Frankfurt am Main, Germany, in an air raid shelter at the end of
1944. At that time, my father, a soldier of the German Army, was already missed since a
couple of months. Members of the same company fleeing from the Red Army saw him
at a distance, heavily wounded on the battlefield. It was around his 30th birthday. This is
my personal matter with war.
War and peace in the nuclear age and my commitment as a citizen of Berlin, living
there since more than 40 years, 16 in enclosed part of West Berlin at the time, in somesense, a Cold War thermometer or the capital of Cold War at least in Europe thoughdecisions were made in Moscow and in Washington.
There is insofar of some significance that the political leaders of West Berlin refused forseveral years to join Mayors for Peace, afraid of blaming the US. East Berlin joined
immediately after its foundation. We met in the late 1980s, Mayor Motoshima from
Nagasaki. Talking with us of West Berliners he used to speak of his friend Mayor Krackfrom East Berlin. Only a short time before opening the wall, the mayor of West Berlin[Walter Momper], head of a red-green government, became a member of Mayors for
Peace.
I have to apologize for talking so long on my home city. It is not at all meant as a local
version of ultra - patriotism but I think one must have some concrete impression of thecity of Berlin after WWII. The erection of the Berlin Wall and shortly after the Cuban
Crisis symbolized, until today, points of highest tension between the two superpowers at
the time, both armed with tremendous arsenals of nuclear warheads. As you know, it is
only due to God that higher life on our planet did not vanish for eternity compared to
our life span. Others say the wisdom and leadership of JFK and Nikita Khrushchev were
the decisive instances.
Let me now bring how Berlin and Germany is related to this affair. First, a crucial
experiment on nuclear fission was made two days before Christmas in Germany in 1938.
The second point is that they found nuclear fission and at first they discovered thetremendous energy released by such kind of an experiment. At first times, they could
not explain the experiment. This experiment was repeated at that time in order to25understand nuclear physics. One found secondary neutrons and so on and this was thebasis for sustainable chain reactions and Fermiworked in 1942.
Second, the next step is that many of the big scale scientists were brought up in
Germany and were closely related to German science which worked in the Manhattan
Project. Among the highly qualified scientists, especially chemists and physicists, a
substantial part was German roots who had fled from Nazi terror and its disgusting,racist crusade; the head of the theoretical department of Los Alamos, Hans Bethe,
Rudolf Peierls, or Otto Frisch, who gave very early and most correct estimates of theso-called critical mass of Uranium. As a group of leading scientists therein owed a big
deal to the top personal of German scientists at that time. Most prominent, Julius Robert
Oppenheimer who wrote his PhD thesis under Max Born in Göttingen. Other famous
examples are Wigner and Szilard who had professorships in Berlin.
Let me recall that I am trying to give you my motivation why sticking so long time, now
10 years, to the initiative of Mayor Akiba and giving a Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study
Course. What I told you now, the relationship to Germany is the work of a concerned
citizen of Germany. But there are other motivations. I close up with two before showing
you some slides. The hibakusha testimony is greatly committing us. No one else should
ever suffer as we did - the legacy of the hibakusha. No word of hatred and revenge,
though the grounds for unlimited hatred and vengeance would be more thanunderstandable. Please repeat – one cannot repeat it enough – no word of hatred andrevenge. The most moving Heiwa Sengen, Peace Declaration from Hiroshima andNagasaki you can imagine. However, one must say, until today, they are not so many
people on earth being taught this or having an intimate understanding of this legacy. The
point for me is: we are trying to change this in front of our students.
Let me close with a fifth remark on motivation before showing a few sheets from aPowerPoint presentation. There is one universal motivation for all of us. It isindependent of space and time, color and culture. Let’s bring the issue to your family.
This makes everything clear. Who sincerely wants to keep himself and his children andgrandchildren under the threat of global, total annihilation? It is obviously a matter ofconsciousness and awareness.
I want to now start the PowerPoint presentation.
[Slide: picture of Beute Hochschule für Technik]This is our university. There are many, many different courses, mainly engineers,
informatics, construction, architecture, economy, and I was for a long time the dean of a26

big department of physics – of mathematics, physics, and chemistry, and so on. So
normally, not people involved with peace studies.
[Slide: Picture of the meeting with Mayor Matsui]This is our Mayor Matsui. This is our meeting in this March when I was seated with ourvolunteers.
[Slide: Contents of the course (Lecture 1 to Lecture 3)]
I tried to give you a concrete idea of this Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Course. The
main title is Alphabetization and Re-Alphabetization in the Nuclear Age. We start with
the Manhattan Project and the second lecture was by chance Mayor Akiba was awarded
the Otto Hahn Peace Prize in Berlin, so on this occasion I included a lecture from him,
the better angle of our nature. Then starts the Hiroshima-Nagasaki complex. The firstlecture is dedicated to the technical, physical approach from a distance.
[Slide: Picture with former Mayor Akiba]This was Mayor Akiba in Berlin. This is April.
[Slide: Contents of the course (Lecture 4 and Lecture 5)]
Now I talk. Not all the talks are given by me but this part is mainly my talk because for25 years I am coming here to this place, Hiroshima and Nagasaki 2 and 3: Human
Dimension. The genbaku bungaku part first and then hibakusha report of Mr. Akihiro
Takahashi, unfortunately passed away in the Fukushima year (2011) in November. I hada chance one month before his death to visit him in the hospital.
The second part is in some sense it continues.
The second hibakusha report is from Professor Hideto Sotobayashi. Sotobayashi was afamous scholar living in Berlin and a well-known prestigious institute, the Max Planck
Institute for Physical Chemistry.
[Slide: Contents of the course (Lecture 6, Lecture 7 and Lecture 8)]
The next part of lecture six and seven is cold war. Please let me recall the main issue isto make some kind of basic knowledge that I call alphabetization and re-alphabetizationin nuclear age, because my deep conviction is many, many basic knowledge iscompletely lost. You can ask your friends what they really know about these issues.
First is nuclear strategies and international treaties on arms control, Counter City/Counter Force, Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD), and Partial Test Ban Treaty(PTBT), and so on, NPT, etc. Lecture seven is Nuclear Strategies. It is coming close to27

us now. The main point is the nuclear weapons convention. This is presented by XantheHall, for some of you well-known.
[Slide: Contents of the course (Lecture 9, Lecture 10 and Lecture 11)]
There is several resistance of many, many citizens movements and therein included is –we call it – “Atoms for Peace”. I did not yet give you a word on Fukushima so I am
grateful for the mayor who talked before me, but at present I will concentrate on thiscourse. It started with President Eisenhower and then the NPT, Ttowards a Nuclear
Weapons Convention, very actual. “Atoms for Peace 2,” Risks of Nuclear Power: theAccident of Chernobyl and Fukushima. “Atoms for Peace 3,” Effects on the Health
Condition of Children, and you, close to Nuclear Power Plants.
[Slide: Contents of the course (Lectures 12 to 15)]
To sum it up, the last lectures are dedicated to people who had the tremendous courage
living in a situation with no hope. They have big powers around them and they weredependent of them when ordinary people have no idea what to do. So these are four
examples we make at presence of people or finally involved themselves in a desperatesituation and finding a way out in some sense.
I start with Mahatma Gandhi – world famous – and I learned from this by doing it manytimes. He said all his experience is coming from a resistance concept Satyagraha, it’scome from his experience in South Africa. His stay was some 20 years in South Africa
so there he made the experiments. There was only a minority of 100 thousand Indianpeople in South Africa and his experiments transported to India. Then you all know, it isvery familiar to you. Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Thich Nhat Hanh,
the Buddhist – there are not so many in Germany who knew Thich Nhat Hanh. It is atremendous example to me how to overcome hatred. It may be closely related to thehibakusha testimony. This is our course.
[Slide: Pictures of Xanthe Hall, Otfried Nassauer, and Sebastian Pflugbeil]
Please go ahead and I will show only a few. Xanthe Hall is more or less to some people
well-known, but Otfried Nassauer is a famous journalist in Germany, and Sebastian
Pflugbeil is almost the best we have on the issue of Chernobyl and the aftermath.
[Slide: Excerpt of the last Test for Graduation 14th of July 2013]28

This is only in part. They have to write an examination after it to get it recognized aspart of their courses in term credits(?). One part is on nuclear fission and the other isHiroshima-Nagasaki but there are many other questions as well.
[Slide: Excerpt of the last Test for Graduation 14th of July 2013]This is from the last examination. One part they can choose among two times.
[Slide: Picture of the students of the last course]
The students of the last course.
[Slide: Prof. Hideto Sotobayashi with a necklace of paper cranes]
This is Sotobayashi-san. He died one month after Takahashi-san. He is a famous scholar,
and only after his 70s year, he confessed to the public that he is hibakusha, because hisfamily forced him to keep silence his whole life in fear of being discriminated.
[Slide: Picture of volunteers of the German-Japanese Peace Forum Berlin and ijgd infront of Hiroshima City Hall]
Please, next. This is in Hiroshima. This is a positive example of dual use. We run a
volunteer program in Germany, sending people to Japan in social institutes, and we havea 10-day seminar over here. Some part of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Course
from my lectures included in this seminar. This almost visiting to the mayor of
Hiroshima.
[Slide: Pictures of volunteers of the German-Japanese Peace Forum Berlin and ijgd at
Peace Memorial Park]
Next. This is in front of the Cenotaph where we stayed yesterday together. We readgenbaku bungaku examples in three languages, the closest language to it is Japan,
Germany, and the US. I am deeply convinced that the US, Japan, and Germany have aclose relationship and a commitment with respect to the nuclear issue, and maybe we
can make something out of it.
The last one, it is all. Thank you very much for your patience.

Mr. Komizo
Thank you very much professor. Thank you. And then the last speaker is Mr. Thomas
Mathew of India for 2020 Vision Campaigner.
29

Mr. Thomas Mathew, 2020 Vision Campaigner, India
Thank you Mr. Chairman. I am Thomas Mathew from India presiding as a campaigner
for Vision 2020. I have the privilege to attract Kochi City, one of the many cities ofIndia as the new member of the Mayors for Peace. From here we learn the destructive
power of atomic weapons since August 6, 1945, and the importance of harmony of eachone of us regardless of our nationality, color, or religion to save humanity from anothernuclear world war. We are proud of the scientific developments though it damaged our
ecosystems and normal human life. We are the generation who might witness there were
thousands of nuclear bombs which can destroy the entire living world on Earth morethan 10 times.
Though such a small focus on mass destructive weapons than feed the 1 billion people
who are living under extreme poverty. Many people say that we are the most civilized
cultural generation. But in reality, we are the one generation who are turning the world
with the most sophisticated weapons, nuclear bombs, missiles, submarines, and evencyber war. We did not learn from Chernobyl, Three Mile Island, Fukushima, and gain
for wealth, political power, and energy surplus for more often in life at the cost of the
future generations to come. From Hiroshima to Nagasaki we learned how destructive
nuclear warheads are. By nuclear bomb tests and nuclear power station existence, we
found how destructive it was even during peaceful times. We are more informed thanour parents and forefathers but we are a less concerned society than them. We need amore active role from world leaders such as political leaders and social leaders to spreadthe idea of a world without nuclear bombs. More and more people are concerned about
nuclear energy and finding alternative energies than nuclear power. Hibakusha have are
the most respected one to say “no” to nuclear bombs, that war has always held backcommon people with much enthusiasm. I had the privilege to invite eight hibakushafrom both Hiroshima and Nagasaki to India as a part of my organization’s campaign
since 1990. We have been conducting Hiroshima-Nagasaki photo exhibitions in India,
Sri Lanka, and Pakistan the last many years. Did you get the common people, especially
young people, about the importance of a world without nuclear warheads, is very
important. Mayors for Peace is a source of this noble solution, abolition of all nuclear
weapons from this Earth by 2020. We need to be more connected for this mission, no
matter if we are from east or west, or north or south. Our mission is only peace. Thankyou.
Mr. Komizo
30That concludes our presentation on Session II. Please, I would like to thank all thepresenters. Maybe a big applause. Thank you very much. Thank you very much for theaudience for your listening until the end. This concludes Session II. Thank you.

31

The 8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace

Session Ⅲ
Regional Groups of Mayors for Peace andFacilitating Regional Activities with Citizen Involvement
August 4 (Sun), 2013 13:45-16:15
International Conference Center Hiroshima (Himawari)
Coordinator:

Thore Vestby
Mayor of Frogn, Norway

Explanation of the Present Efforts:

Michel Cibot
Special Advisor to Mayor of Malakoff, France
Paul Burkhard Schneider
Head of International Unit of the Lord Mayor’s Office, Hannover,Germany
Presentation of Views:
Eddie Ait
Mayor of Carrieres-sous-Poissy, France
Waly Yatera
Deputy Mayor of Bobigny, France
Cecile Veyrunes-Legrain
Deputy Mayor of Vitry-sur-Seine, France
Josep Mayoral i Antigas
Mayor of Granollers, Spain
Adrian Glamorgan
Representative of the City of Fremantle, Australia
Sean Morris
Principal Policy and Research Officer of Manchester City, UK
Osamu Takeuchi
Mayor of Hirakata, Japan
Zenya Yamazaki
Mayor of Ayabe, Japan
Morimasa Murakami
Mayor of Musashino, Japan
Juan Carlos Izagirre
Mayor of San Sebastian, Spain
Ed Marc Dumrese
European Network Place of Peace, Wageningen, Netherlands
Osman Baydemir
Mayor of Diyarbakir, Kurdistan, Turkey
Serwan Abdullah Sereni
Mayor of Rwandz, Kurdistan, Iraq
Khder Kareem
Mayor of Halabja Kurdistan, Iraq

Coordinator: Mr. Thore Vestby, Mayor of Frogn, Norway
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. My name is Thore Vestby and I am mayor of
Frogn in Norway. Now we will start Session III. As coordinator of this session, I would
highly appreciate your cooperation to ensure this session runs smoothly. I know this is adifficult hour. Normally it is in Europe. The theme of Session III is Regional groupingsof Mayors for Peace and facilitating regional activities with citizen involvement. In thissession, we will listen to presentations by a lot of speakers. But first by Malakoff City inFrance, and mainly also prepared as we wanted from Hannover City in Germany.
These two city serve as vice presidents of Mayors for Peace. Both Malakoff and
Hannover are working in unison as part of the network of member cities in France andGermany, respectively, and are playing a leading role in promoting their domestic
activities of Mayors for Peace. I sincerely hope that this session will give you someconcrete ideas about promoting regional grouping and encouraging regional activities, agoal agreed on in Session I held earlier today. This session will offer some hints tofacilitate effective regional activities. So let us first hear from the presentation by
Malakoff City of France. It will of course be presented by Mr. Cibot.
A short introduction to you about Mr. Cibot. He served as mayor in the city of Malakoff
for 32 years. I don’t know if that is a world record or European record or a record inFrance? At least it is a personal best. He retired in 2011. He has since then an honorable
city manager. He is coordinating the activities in France. He has studied law and his first
visit to Hiroshima was in 1975. I don’t know how many times you have been here but
your cooperation with Hiroshima is tremendous. Please.
Mr. Michel Cibot, Special Advisor to Mayor of Malakoff, France
President, ladies and gentlemen, the representative of foreign missions and the EU, andall the participants here. First of all, I would like to talk about how our association has
functioned in France, how the network has functioned, and how the function developed
in regions. First of all, I have to say that the French have a unique system for the local
governments and I was asked to talk about what we have experienced in France in detail,specifically. French Association of Communes, Departments and Regions for Peace isthe name of the organization. We still have your questions as well. Before starting mymain part, I better talk about the city of Malakoff. This is an executive city of Mayors
for Peace and we have a strong relationship. Our objectives are building the culture forpeace and the second is the abolition of nuclear weapons. In this presentation, I am herewith the full support of Malakoff City Council, and in the name of the mayor, and as the1secretary general of the Association Française des Communes, Départements et Régions
pour la Paix (AFCDRP), I am here. Before talking about our organization, I think I
should talk about the history and then I will talk about the function of the associationand how it has been managed. First of all, I have to say that every country is uniquewith its own distinctive features. Therefore, cultural diversity is a reality. What
happened in a country may not be applied automatically to other countries. However, it
is really right that all humankind desire for peace and that means we can learn lessons
from other countries first about the history.
I would like to share with you the local story. The fight for peace in my town goes backa long way. I want to talk about the details. In 1914, before the start of WWI, many
citizens of the town wanted to listen to the voice of Jean Jaures who was adamantly
against war but he was assassinated on July 31, 1914, and the war started on August 4.
After that, Malakoff staged a resistance against Nazism or the antiwar campaign inChina and Algeria. Malakoff was not the only city who made contributions for peace
activity, but with a long history of peace, Malakoff could make a contribution in thecreation of the association. Now let us talk about the strategy of France.
France is one of the nuclear weapon states. This military strategy has many active
advocates in nearly every political group represented by local officials because they
view this as a way to preserve national independence. However, this analysis isdebatable. The green movement which has very few local officials and the Communist
party, which has a greater numbers, many in the local councils, they are largely in favorof nuclear disarmament. A few socialists and a few representatives of the center andliberal rights criticize or question this obsolete strategy. I want to name here the former
Socialist Defense Minister Paul Quilès. It is quite uncommon for a former minister,
especially a minister of defense to suggest abolishing nuclear missiles. He published abook titled Abolish Nuclear Weapons. This suggests that what we are trying to do is notdone in vain and we are actually changing the international voices.
The far right totally depends on nuclear weapons. It is a concern that there is a relativeelectoral success in France and the rest of Europe. Only in 1992, the French signed the
NPT treaty aimed at abolishing nuclear weapons. Yet France signed it through theactions for nuclear disarmament with the AFCDRP and Mayors for Peace France. We
are showing that France is moving in the right direction. And the local authorities are
responsible for public health and safety of the population. Consequently, towns andlocal authorities are perfectly capable of taking actions in defense of peace and nuclear
2

disarmament. French territory is organized into regions and departments and commutes.
There are 36,700 communes. The French are very attached to these communes. Elected
officials are mainly focused on peace. 31,500 out of 36,700 have fewer than 2,000
inhabitants. Communes and the three departments are a part of AFCDRP. The context iscomplex because of the context around us is in favor of nuclear weapons. AFCDRP
members pursuing peace and we are not alone in trying to establish our own local
association. Malakoff eventually had to take up the sole role to start up this organization.
An AFCDRP representative visited Hiroshima and this was my first visit to Hiroshima. I
was able to meet hibakusha directly and I visited the Peace Memorial Museum.
Since my first visit to Hiroshima, we established a Hiroshima-Nagasaki institute with
Miho Cibot-Shimma being the president of the institute. Those were the days when
Europeans were demonstrating against the missiles that the US had installed in Europe.
In 1984, I came back to Hiroshima again and I met Mr. Araki, mayor of Hiroshima. We
were then invited to Hiroshima in 1985 to the first general conference. I was here on
behalf of Malakoff and Cibot was representing Hiroshima-Nagasaki Institute. And
Aubagne was also invited. And with several other cities Carrieres-sous-Poissy andSaint-Denis, every four years we decided we should visit Hiroshima or Nagasaki. Manyof the cities who were directly invited by Hiroshima are not so interested in this issue.
This is a picture in 1990. I was the managing director of Malakoff and I suggested that
we should invite Mr. Araki to our city. This is the suggestion I made to our mayor and
Mr. Araki was granted honorary citizenship.
In 1993 we welcomed the general conference. In 1995, the new mayor of Hiroshima, Mr.
Hiraoka, was welcomed to France. With the name of Malakoff, we invited those people
and we decided to form a network, a new organization. Communes, departments, andregions are all welcome to participate. With a dozen towns, we created the AFCDRP in
1997. All local governments can participate in the French Association of Communes,
Departments and Regions for Peace.
Now I would like to talk about the role. The first president was a woman, Marie Claire
Petit, town councilor of Malakoff. We started with 10 members. This representing 7,000
people. This is Daniel Fontaine, the mayor of Aubagne, the president in 2001 Arradon,
Chalette-sur-Loing, and Vitry-sur-Seine, who are represented here, and Saint-Denis. We
had four vice presidents. According to the French law, we had a secretary general and atreasurer to complete this organization. We have the general assembly meeting at least
once a year and the location changes annually. The AFCDRP’s first task was to translate
3documents into French, many done by the president of Hiroshima-Nagasaki Institute on
a voluntary basis. Because most local elected officials and their staff are only familiar
with their own language, the access to the documents was quite important and it wasdone through translation. Documents had to be translated into the local official matter’s
language. But the amount of documents to be translated was becoming overwhelming.
A minimum of funding was needed. We asked for help from the network members andwe set up a modest membership fee system. Little by little over the course of a few
years, this enabled us to create a common fund sufficient to employ first or second
persons in charge of translation and other management issues. We have our office inside
the premises of Malakoff City. This is authorized by the unanimous decision from thetown council. We offer training to elected officials at town offices of Malakoff for peace
culture. After the translation being the first step, we moved to the second stage. Various
initiatives from member authorities started. Peace culture education is what we arepromoting. We prepared a panel or Mayors for Peace logo on road signs, we encouraged
member cities to place them. We also circulate exhibits and films in French, especiallyon the theme of A-bombing to bring home the reality of A-bombing and to stimulatereflection. It is important the members of the network have access to these information
tools since we strongly encourage them to increase initiatives with their local population
and associations. We must give them the means to do so by constantly providing new
tools. In 2005, we were able to organize the important exhibition on Hiroshima andNagasaki at Paris City Hall in accordance with the collaboration protocol signed
between Paris and Malakoff. This was the first time that our capital city had agreed tohost the Hiroshima 60-years later exhibition and the mayor of Paris and the mayor of
Hiroshima met with each other on the location. The exhibition was very successful andParis City Hall decided to prolong it. Through various AFCDRP network, we organized
testimonies from A-bomb survivors across the whole of France. For instance, during theexhibition held in Nanto, the city got involved with the local services of the Ministry of
Education and many young people listened to the testimony by Ms. Matsumoto’s
testimony. The town of Bobigny and Saint Denis invited the children and teenagers tolisten to the testimonies of hibakusha and Auschwitz survivors. The town of
Carrieres-sous-Poissy and young people from the town of Vron welcomed Ms. Hama
who came to give a testimony about experience in Hiroshima. In 2003 and 2011, we
also organized in France two tours of young musicians from Hiroshima Junior Marimba
Ensemble who made a very beautiful performance yesterday. They were extremely
successful through music. They helped educate the French citizens by a simple
reference to their hometown. After the concert, the young Japanese musicians were able
to meet French young people. In 2011, the year when Japan suffered the enormous
4

earthquake, the Hiroshima Junior Marimba Ensemble tour helped strengthen solidarity
project in support of the disaster victims in Japan. As you can see on this picture, thoseare high school students from Hiroshima. They went to the town Oradour-sur-Glane,
which was devastated in war and also in La Rochelle they were able to visit. About 25
high school students among them are actually here helping this conference behind thescenes as volunteer workers. The city of Hiroshima is very important. We need to try toconvey what they experienced and reorganize the exhibition for children to learn.
AFCDRP members make use of such exhibitions – for instance, a little girl, Sadako,
who was A-bombed at the age of 2 and they died 10 years later. Japanese relations saysthat holding a thousand paper cranes can cure a disease and recover health.
Many people were able to see the exhibition and also watched Sadako’s film on paper
cranes. After watching the film, the children folded paper cranes and showed the paper
cranes they made to their parents and grandparents at home to spread the message ofpeace. In 2000, the Malakoff City Council adopted the Peace Culture Manifesto
proposed by UNESCO. This cooperation with an international organization has
strengthened the local perception already very positive over actions from 2005-2012.
We are part of the French International Commission for UNESCO so collaboration withthe organization like UNESCO is extremely crucial. The UN declared September 21stInternational Peace Day. Each year, AFCDRP members commemorate this day bytaking actions to promote peace in the peace culture spirit as advocated by UNESCO.
And also AFCDRP coordinates delegations, bringing together Mayors for Peace French
members during the UN meetings on the NPT treaty and also bring delegations to
Geneva and New York. This is a photo of members in New York on the occasion of oneof such meetings.
I feel dozens of authorities have been associated with our network activities. The aim
remains to involving the population and their elected representatives in thosefundamental causes from the local to global level. As the director general of Malakoff
service, I have spent time and many holidays doing research so that the principles andvalues of peace culture may become tools for local management. Also I haverepresented Malakoff at the Mayors for Peace Executive Conference and also Vision2020 Campaign until 2003. And in 2003 in Manchester, the financial contribution to the
Vision 2020 Campaign from all members of Mayors for Peace was raised and we
supported this proposal and suggested adopting our French type of organizational
structure. At first we were not able to gather enough support from the fellow members.
It is important to take into consideration each locality’s conditions. Each town and5authority has its own work programs and its own rhythms and programs, there it needs
to be tailored to each condition. In concrete terms, for three years now, AFCDRP gives
10,000 euros each year to the global network for the 2020 Vision Campaign. This resultshows how AFCDRP preserves in its involvement. Moreover, we contribute to theglobal network of Mayors for Peace in particular provision of lots of information.
Especially, we encourage authorities to set up a local action program for peace culture
and there are a lot of town projects bringing together all local initiatives from public
service initiatives to NGOs. For instance, training or human resource development, we
provide specific suggestions and services. And we also provide services which would
help the operations of local authorities and it is important we continue to upgrade
information and tools we provide to our fellow member cities. The next key step in ouraction as an organization is the Mediterranean Cities for Peace Conference, which isgoing to be co-organized in Aubagne, near Marseille, by the towns of Granollers in
Spain and Biograd na Moru of Crotia. Granollers and Biograd na Moru are theexecutive member cities of the Mayors for Peace. And Aubagne is currently thepresident presiding over AFCDRP. And the Mediterranean is certainly an area which isstill filled with many problems. Nuclear disarmament is one of the most important
programs we cover and it relates to various aspects of local and regional authorities,
administration, associates, environment, sustainable development, and human resources.
Listening to the public in the community and also conflict prevention and management.
In all of those areas, we believe that the eight principles of the Culture of Peace
proposed by UNESCO are extremely relevant. Action for peace must not be reduced toa cultural declaration for the cities’ PR or communication. It is a true criticalcommitment determining individual and collective behavior for consciousness andgenerous management of our towns and territories. The support we received from the
ICRC and Oslo conference is a very precious support we got for development. AFCDRP
is not a cumbersome system acting as a substitute for authorities delegating their workfor peace. It is a tool for cooperation, sharing, pooling, and ongoing training for all of us.
We invite the members of our organization to officially appoint elected officials incharge of peace culture and to spread it among each area and population.
This has been a rather brief presentation but I hope that this has given you an idea of
how we operate in a country which is challenging because of its position of nuclear
weapons. Countries which are fortunate enough not to have such terrible weapons might
have less difficulty in organizing themselves better and share awareness of the danger
and make us want to see a way out of this through sharing human will. Action for peace6

starts with a clearly voiced intention in the direction to aspire for peace and say that wewant it is the first necessary step towards peace. Thank you very much. Thank you verymuch for your kind attention.
Mr. Vestby
Thank you very much Mr. Michel Cibot for this brilliant presentation and all theactivities please. I would like to ask the audience if there are any questions to Mr. Cibot
or if there are any comments on his activities or other things? You have the opportunity
right now. Or that could be used afterwards of course. Mr. Michel Cibot is with us
always. There is one question over there so if you could please stand up, you will get a
microphone.
Professor Eugen Eichhorn, Technische Fachhochschule Berlin, University ofApplied Science
Thank you very much for your speech. As you know, I am coming from Germany, from
Berlin. We are very interested to go in more deep contact with you because we areneighbors and a lot of common problems to solve in the next future. I would like to takethe opportunity to talk to you later for some future projects.
Mr. Cibot
Friends from Germany, especially those from Hannover, on many occasions for projects
we have worked with them together and we certainly hope to develop such a
collaborative relationship expanded on the European scale. I fully support such an
initiative. We are here to cooperate with you at any time.
Mr. Vestby
Thank you very much Mr. Cibot. This session has the participation of representatives ofother friends and municipalities that are working very closely together with Malakoff.
Among them are Carrieres-sous-Poissy, Bobigny, and Vitry-sur-Seine and they haveasked for the opportunity to speak in this session. And of course they will have thechance to do that. Now I first call upon representative for Carrières-sous-Poissy to
speak. Can you please come to the podium? Next is from the municipality of Bobigny.
Mr. Eddie Ait, Mayor of Carrieres-sous-Poissy, France
First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and a sense of honorthat I am given this opportunity to speak at the 8th General Conference of Mayors for
Peace. Since six years ago, I have been serving as the mayor of our city7

Carrières-sous-Poissy about which I would like to talk a little about. We are a memberof AFCDRP. Nuclear weapons are totally against the culture of peace. That is the basic
reason why we joined this cause and activity. We decided to take part in AFCDRP
because it is so well-known. There were three important activities of AFCDRP. One isto provide information concerning the culture of peace, the second is education about
peace and communication or public relations activities. This is the third pillar of
AFCDRP’s activity. First about education, our sense of values need to be communicatedvery well through the method of training and education. AFCDRP also organizes
various exhibitions. For instance, clothes from Hiroshima exhibition and also an
exhibition called Sadako and the paper cranes. Various theatrical plays have also beenorganized. Furthermore, thanks to the efforts by AFCDRP, our city was able to welcome
Ms. Hama, one of the Hiroshima hibakusha. In September last year, she gave us her
testimony about the experience. Human resources development and awareness raisingfor citizens and city government employees and officials. The sense of values about
peace need to be fully internalized by themselves and, more broadly, human rights need
to be very deeply understood through such education and training.
Peace research needs to also be promoted hand-in-hand with education and training.
Peace activities in a sense have certain political dimensions. Through public relations
and also through municipal activities and measures, we would like to certainly promotea culture of peace and we do mass-media campaigns on various occasions. On various
themes, we take up issues for awareness raising. To achieve all of those objectives, wereally count upon the cooperation with AFCDRP, but of course we carry out our local
activities and also encourage citizens’ involvement in our peace activities.
The formation of AFCDRP itself was a very significant milestone in our peace activities.
AFCDRP certainly has the largest and strongest presence in France, and regional group
activities led by AFCDRP are certainly quite useful. Through such local oriented
activities and also in consult with the representatives from abroad, we have decided totake part in this Mayors for Peace conference. September 21, the international day ofpeace, is one of the occasions we celebrate peace. For instance, the release of helium
balloons for peace promotion and also planting of trees of peace.
In 2012 and also in collaboration with UNICEF, we have done various activities
because Carrieres is one of the friendly to children cities network. As part of suchactivities, we focus upon nurturing citizenship and the sense of peace. Peace culture has
to be taken by each individual on a daily basis. Each person has a responsibility for8building and keeping peace. Of course that is relevant for the city government as well.
Without the assistance of the AFCDRP, it is difficult for each local government to carryout such local activities, as was discussed by Mr. Michel Cibot. Local regional groupingof cities concerned and likeminded, we believe, is an extremely relevant for solidifying
our foundation of future activities. Thank you very much.
Mr. Vestby
Thank you very much Mayor Eddie Ait. Now I will have the floor over to Bobigny.
Mr. Waly Yatera, Deputy Mayor of Bobigny, France
Nice to meet you ladies and gentlemen and I would like to express my gratitude foryour kind hospitality. I come here with the honor of conveying my madam mayor’s
message. Our city, Bobigny, is the capital city of the prefecture. It is a peaceful city and
we are making efforts towards nurturing cultural peace, which is a condition forachieving peace.
But a century ago, 4% of the world population resided in urban areas. Currently, morethan half the population resides in urban areas. Talking about our city of Bobigny, ourpopulation is 48,000 and within the center Seine-Saint-Denis prefecture, which is aprefecture located in the northeast from Paris. We have many struggles for peace andantiwar, for example Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Palestine. We were always against
wars. This is because we have many migrants from various parts of the world. Bobigny
is a melting pot, if you like. As such, we have many elements for peace and we respectvarious elements that are necessary for peace.
The role of our city is to ensure and guarantee peace and then guarantee dialogue on a
day-to-day basis, to make sure that each citizen and individual can participate inbuilding a better peaceful society and have them participate in building a peacefulsociety. Since 1998 we have been implementing various citizen participation activities.
Based on these, we build the future. The citizens build their future on their own and wehave them participate in creating their own future. There is international peace day, wetake this opportunity to start various new initiatives.
In terms of what the city of Bobigny has conducted, I am not going to talk about thedetails but I would like to introduce to you some of the things we focus on. The first is
the right and the duty of the memory and passing down the experience. In the two world
wars, we had a terrible experience. So one-third of our French living Jews were sent9

from Bobigny to Nazi detention centers. That is what our city’s history was. Talking
about culture of history, we have to stand on various assumptions and foundations. For
this, firstly we must be able to have our citizens control the advancement oftechnological advancement and we have to start from our youth.
In our city, from 3 to 12 year old children, we give them voting rights to elect theirmembers of child’s committee parliament and we form a committee of children ages
ranging from 9-12. We let them learn how to run the city government so that they canexperience the running and exercising of democracy. That is what we focus on. Also togive you some more details, we have many projects for children and we have children
themselves be involved in decision making and building the projects; school, preventing
violence, respecting others, peace, and sports in various areas. By giving them various
opportunities to have dialogue with adults as representatives of their fellow children,
they have an opportunity to express their opinions to the adult committee members andalso the city council.
It is important that all nations’ citizens rise and act locally in order to build a culture ofpeace. First we have to stop the arms race and also stop the acts to deprive human rights.
They are still developing M-51 missiles which costs billions of euros. At the same time,
many people are living in poverty. Bobigny has the trace and scar of persecuting Jewish
people and citizens of our city rise from this challenge and try to grow into better
citizens. Thank you very much for your kind attention.
Mr. Vestby
And now the third speaker from France. It is the deputy mayor of Vitry-sur-Seine. Ms.
Cecile Veyrunes-Legrain. That was good. Maybe.
Ms. Cecile Veyrunes-Legrain, Deputy Mayor of Vitry-sur-Seine, France
Ladies and gentlemen in the audience, the delegations of Vitry-sur-Seine areparticipating in this session, again in Hiroshima, and we feel very honored to be able tobe here. Our city is located slightly less than 10 km to the north of Paris and we promotesolidarity with people and with a tradition of cooperation with the rest of the world wehave been working towards peace building. In the same way that the cities here in
Hiroshima, Vitry is involved in many projects for the benefit of others and a project’s
awareness of cultural peace and projects of friendship and collaborative projects to meetthe expectations of everyone involved. Peace is not the opposite notion of war. Peace10should be regarded separately from wars. Otherwise we will not be able to understandany elements of peace.
In 2005, we received a visit from former Mayor of Hiroshima Akiba and there wasdemonstration for the breach of three non-nuclear principles. In 2010 we had a dialogue
with the citizens about the nuclear policy of our government. We accused the French’s
use of money on nuclear programs and we are members of Mayors for Peace, but also
we are more proactive in participating in other meetings held in Hiroshima andNagasaki. Peace is the most important notion and it should be considered totally
separate from warfare. In 2011, on the international peace day, that is the meaning wewant to assign to this day. I think it is extremely valuable if we have children participate
in this event. We want our children to nurture peace. Drawing and discussion, and there
are many creative activities. Several organizations exercise their creativity to makethese initiatives a success. Paper cranes are displayed in Hiroshima Memorial Park, andthe flags of various countries are displayed in the park; Senegal, Vietnam, Cuba, andother nations’ youth joined their hands together. Their project is humanitarian language
and culture and other areas.
We are trying to plan ginko trees and one of them is planted in the city council’s garden.
Also as the symbol of friendship with Palestine, we also planted an olive tree. Our city,
every year, receives children from West Sahara, and also from Czech. Since three years
ago, we started receiving children from the city of Jericho; solidarity, freedom education,
but also friendship building for peace are extremely important to achieve peaceeducation. During summer vacation camp, West Sahara children will stay at the families
in our city Vitry. They do homestay. So in a family environment, children from refugee
camps and French children can nurture their friendship with each other. In this space of
freedom, then they can build their friendship with each other. This kind of friendshipbetween different ethnic groups should be nurtured and we hope the friendship will
grow.
Other Vitry delegations here with me today have many anecdotes like this and webelieve the power of these anecdotes because they will give us new direction, thedirection in which the people of the two citizens with no obstacles form friendship andthen remove all political barriers to move in the same direction. Vitry-sur-Seine City istrying to become a city that is friendly to children, which started as an initiative of
UNICEF. Now 234 cities participate in this children-friendly city network and by
participating in this network, we make sure that we listen to children’s needs and11

support children, growing their sense of friendship and solidarity with other people ofother countries.
Rather than confrontation and competition, we want our children to grow with a senseof friendship. Education, art, technology, and music, exchanging these areas will
promote peace. Our mayor promotes intelligence and knowledge and respect for others
as the foundation. When children grow up into an adult, we want to make sure that theygrow into citizens who know the importance of peace. Peace is above any confrontation.
In order to protect peace, we have to make efforts continuously to listen to the others.
That is what is required of us now. We always participate in the activities of Mayors for
Peace and we will continue to do so. Thank you very much for you kind attention.
Mr. Vestby
Then we are moving to the neighboring country, Spain. A well-known mayor of
Granollers; Josep Mayoral, the floor is yours.
Mr. Josep Mayoral i Antigas, Mayor of Granollers, Spain
Good afternoon. I think it is my turn to make the presentation. First of all, the cities are
the children of the history. Some tragic daughters of the parents, in that sense,
Hiroshima in August 6, 1945, it was hit by the tragedy on the 9th of August in the same
year. Nagasaki was also attacked by the tragedy. I am from Granollers. We have also thedaughter of the tragedy in the history. In 1938, May 31, there was the civil war in Spain
and we still mean to stop that.
Up until that time, we were a very peaceful city. But five aircrafts from Italy attacked us.
14,000 people were attacked by a 1 minute air raid, totaling the death of 240 people,
casualties of more than 500, and the city was totally destructed with blood. Mussolini
created such an initiative of attacks. That was one of the first attacks over the civilians.
They have done that for the training of their soldiers. Of course there are some other
cities which were targeted by the air raid. In that sense, we are the sister and brother
cities which were attacked by the agony and tragedy and bloodshed. There has to beaccountability on behalf of the cities. We cannot be silent. It is our mission. We have to
voice out our opinions and will. Our city was completely bloodshed. We cannot remainsilent for this.
For example, in Spain there was the Franco dictatorship. But the Franco administration
has given a lot of suppression and repression over the citizens. We had to fight against12them. There was the oppressed peace inside of the silence. We cannot just receive thissilently. We cannot repeat the destruction and the wars to be repeated. No more wars.
No more air raids and bombing. What is the agony, what is the tragedy? We had
experienced. We know that. We have learned that as the citizens. We were in the camps
at one time and our dialogue was disconnected. Violence has repressed the rationality ofthe people. But we learned it.
Peace has the existence going beyond the existence of the violence. And peace is thebasis of the freedom and liberty and also equality. We are seeking peace. We are making
our best efforts to do that and we will continue to make such efforts to create our future.
Therefore, to all of you and to all the other people who are not here, and as you haveheard about the strategy by the French cities as to how and what kind of efforts wecontinue to exert for the search of peace, this is going to be the continuous commitment.
We are now shifting our movement from the local to the global peace movement. This is
the movement for peace.
Allow me to talk about five strategies we have set in our city. First, we have to identify
what had happened in the past. Why it happened, that has to be fully analyzed. Thatwould enhance the level of consciousness and awareness and try to renew our memories.
We should never forget about the past. Unless we know what had happened in the past,
we are not able to build up the future.
Secondly, policy for peace, that cannot be realized. Not by the hands of the mayor but
also the assembly of the city, but the citizens’ participation is the critical participation.
Building up the dialogue amongst them is very important. In our city, we have thegathering of the citizens. We have to seek for the world without war, only based onpeace. I sincerely hope that we will dedicate ourselves in order to heighten theawareness level of the citizens. In order to do that, mayors and the city have to go
hand-in-hand with the citizens.
Thirdly, as was just presented by the other participant, the key for the future is in
education. The city is responsible for the education of the young people. Througheducation, we are able to enhance the human resources and people development. Peace
education at school is in that sense very important but what is more important here isthe continuous lifelong education in peace, not only at school but also in the informal
set up in various sectors in all the cities of the globe, peace education has to becontinued. The city and the town have to make the commitment to educate their people.
13

Of course there are some other things you can learn at school, but the schools are thecenter for education. I think we will be able to make the best use of these schools. And
we can also do the same in the other organizations such as in community education.
It will be different depending on the generation you are talking about. Our parents wereattacked by the air raid. I was not born at that time. But I know what they had
communicated to me and we had this conversation all the time with our parents. Parents
and grandparents continued to communicate with us, children, as well as the
grandchildren. Intergenerational conversation and dialogue is very important. I believe
this can also become the basis of education. At the risk of repeating myself, the key
point is education.
Number four, the cities are one important you need to worry about international
education can be carried out. The cities are able to implement the international policies.
Why did I say this? Because for us, when you talk, you try to look at the eyes of thecounterparts between the mayors and the cities. We are able to create our public policy.
Because we do not have the weapons, the only weapon is the language and dialogue. By
using this as a tool we will be able to deepen the ties and connection in creating thebridge with a counterpart. We are the activists for peace. We are the bearer of thepeacemaking. With the organizations of the citizens, we are able to appeal to theimportance of peace.
Number five, citizens can make the best use of the network. In 1982, Mayors for Peace
was created and mayors and cities and local authorities got together and learned somany things. Each individual is small and vulnerable but by making a network, wewould be able to increase our capacity and power. Maybe we can become invincible
partners. Through the networking we are able to accomplish our goals. We are capableof that. In each country in each state in each city and town, we hope to expand the
networking. As Monsieur Cibot said, “For us, between the cities, between the territories,
it is necessary to build up a network that is more effective and more vitally we are able
to accomplish our goals.”
In September in France, a representative of France and Croatia are going to get together
in AFCDRP. And also with the mayors of the Mediterranean, Mayors for Peace is going
to be created. On the Mediterranean Sea, it used to be the sea of culture as well as thesea of conflicts; from north to south, from west to east, along the coastal lines. There
were a lot of conflicts in the past. But the governments did not do much of that. For
14example, Syria was such an example. With our strong determination, if the central
governments continued to be silent, we have to voice out our feelings and we have toestablish and implement the common solutions to the problems. We the neighboring
nations, we have to start our dialogue. There are a lot of peace issues. Everybody was soconcerned about the peace. We have to get rid of the weapons. We have to abolish thenuclear weapons. Let us now create the network. By still doing, we hope we will be able
to increase and double our power. With our strong voices, we hope that we will be able
to appeal to the central government to put the hands together.
Mr. Vestby
We moved from France to Spain and we are moving back through France to Germany.
May I ask Mr. Paul Schneider to take place on the podium? Paul is one of the invited
speakers so I will tell you that he is also a lawyer, started working as an attorney, but heturned into politics and was the CEO of the Free Democratic Party Council in Hannover
for several years. He is now head of the International Unit of the Lord Mayor’s Office,dealing with strategy and politics of course. He has a lot of professional memberships,
also non-professional memberships. That means he is a very active man and I can tell
you that he also has been a volunteer firefighter. Now he is fighting much higher
temperatures so let us hear how they do it in Hannover. Please.
Mr. Paul Burkhard Schneider, Head of the International Unit of the Lord Mayor’s
Office, Hannover, Germany
Thank you very much Thore for the introduction. Good afternoon everyone. Happy
being here and able to share a bit about Mayors for Peace in Germany. I am not going totalk about my home city, I am not going to talk about all these kinds of events. You can
do in your own city halls. I can promise you and make sure that everything of that has
been mentioned has been done in Hannover, not at least by the long lasting relations
with Hiroshima and the long lasting history with regard to the peace movement in ourcity as there is a tradition to that as well. However, I did bring you a map of Europe andthat place in the first place. Some were in the middle, north, you will find Germany. The
red dots here on that map should remind you on the five lasting points in Europe where
the US still has nuclear weapons and that is as well in Germany, as it is to Turkey, as it
is to Italy, as it is to Belgium, and the Netherlands. That is a very particular situation, atleast in some countries in Europe.
The German section of Mayors for Peace has about 409 members. You are seeing thered spots here and some of the accumulation of these spots are attached around former15

US airbases where nuclear weapons or intercontinental weapons were based. And there
were a lot of movements of the cities and the citizens in that area. However, what are wedoing with these 409 members?
Since 1987, we are inviting our members for an annual meeting to Hannover or toanother place within Germany. 1987, that is quite a long time ago. Mayors for Peace has
had about a hundred members at that time. 40-50 were from Germany at that period and
we are holding the executive conference in 1987 so it was quite a good thing to combine
it with at the first annual conference. And to say at least one sentence about that first
conference, this first conference was not so much about nuclear disarmament. All ofthese cities did want to abolish nuclear weapons; that was for sure. But they had deep
trouble with the ministries of interior. They did tell the cities that they are not allowed totake part. So the first meeting was more about how are we able to make German cities
able to take part in Mayors for Peace and to spend money on that or to make action withthat?
However, there is a distinct way of doing these conferences. We are of course having a
keynote speech from several people. We have had the mayors for Hiroshima, we have
had the ambassadors from Japan, we had the Minister for Foreign Affairs, we had
people that were holding the Right Livelihood Award, and we had leading scientists. Butthat was more or less and is still to attract the people to go there. Mayors and you know
better than I, need some attraction to go somewhere and to leave their officers and theircities. Taking up on that and talking about what we can do on a local and regional level
and we are getting an update what is going on an international level, of course, too. I
thought about giving you a more vivid expression of that. I hope that you will be
understanding. That is a movie of our last annual conference in Bonn that time.
Movie“First of all, a very warm welcome for the Mayors for Peace here in Bonn. You know
Bonn is Germany’s United Nations city and it’s hard to discuss questions like questions
like climate change and sustainability. But that is all nothing without peace and so weare very engaged to help that we can have peace in the future.”“We have a number of leadership initiatives that have called for a nuclear weapons freeworld but haven’t yet put forward a plan to do that, such as President Obama’s call for avision for a nuclear weapons free world that he spoke about in Prague a few years ago.
But more importantly, Ban Ki-moon, the UN Secretary General, has put forward an16

actual plan on how we could actually achieve a nuclear weapons free world. So here
today we will see what role mayors and parliamentarians working together can play tosupport this.”
Mr. Schneider
We can leave it at that. That is to give you an impression about in which kind of way weare going to have this kind of annual conference. It is improving from year to year andis amazing to see the commitment of our cities towards that. When I took over, more or
less, the task to coordinate the German Mayors for Peace two years ago, I did find 400
members approximately that were like a sleeping elephant to me. Everyone wasdedicated to the task but no one really did anything; well, except coming to the annual
conference.
It was really a question of how to get them moving again and if I would say today that
we reached that goal, I would be lying to you. But I think we made a major step in thatperspective. We introduced last year something that we call the “Flag Day.” Here you
see it as flying the flag. It is quite an easy thing to do actually and we used to do it in
our cities. We are flying flags of our cities, of our national state, on more or less a dailylevel. And we thought about why should we not do it once at least a year for Mayors for
Peace?
So we decided to launch that day and I am happy to say that this year 110 members of
our 400 did take part in that. They did take part in that one day all over Germany and we
provided them some information to that to inform the press. We had finalized press
releases for that and we got press coverage all over Germany on that day; and thefollowing days in local, regional, and national newspapers. We got into TV and radio in
the same day. What is really impressive is to look at the press coverage afterwards. It is
one of the seldom occasions, at least I would say, that we had and Germany had press
coverage at all, to that topic and that engagement of cities. This year we were very lucky
in another point of view too. If you get something moving, you are looking as well assome people partnering you. We are partnering with, of course, civil society
organizations. I am coming to that in a moment later, and they helped us to move theinternational campaign ICAN to move their nuclear abolition week to the week that we
wanted to have the flag day. So the start if the nuclear abolition week in Germany was
the 8th of July with the flag day of Mayors for Peace. And probably you are asking why
the 8th of May? It was mentioned already in Session II today. In 1996, the International

17

Court of Justice did write an advisory opinion which was asked by the General
Assembly of the United Nations about the use and threat of nuclear weapons.
It was said there that the use and the threat is against international law, at least in
principle. We thought that is a very good day, except of course 6 of August or 9 ofAugust which are addressed in Germany from quite a lot of cities, but we thought aboutthat as a good day for cities to refer to, to have more or less an objective source to tell
the people outside why we are going to go outside that day. The second thing is we
don’t have any particular concurrence of that day. If you are thinking about International
Peace Day and other things, there is lots of movement outside; lots of organizations thatwant to make their point. We thought about the 8th of July, we can make our point thereby ourselves and it is working. It is working in a double way.
We were talking about this today, about fundraising. We were talking about the 2020
Vision Campaign. And everyone knows how difficult it is to get money from mayors
and cities. The flag was produced by the city of Hannover. We did give them as apresent to the 2020 Vision Campaign and we asked our mayors to give 100 euros eachfor one flag to the 2020 Vision Campaign, and that is working out. They are paying for
it. And in case they do not pay for it, civil society organizations in their cities do pay forit and hand it over as a gift to their cities. That is quite an interesting thing for me todiscover how engaged civil society organizations can be in a very positive way. And I
will conclude later on that we would be nothing, at least in Germany, without ourcolleagues at civil society organizations.
To give you a couple of pictures as well about it, several cities just go through it to get
an idea and if you can get one back – and it is a very easy thing to do. Every one of you
knows how easy it is. The point is we did agree beforehand with our partners in civilsociety organizations that they would partner us on that day and we offered each andevery mayor who wanted to participate that we make the linkage between them and theorganizations. We had some quite interesting points there. A city like Dortmund, that isa bigger one, it was about 400,000-450,000 habitants in Germany. They remember. The
new mayor didn’t really know about Mayors for Peace at that moment. They were
reminded by us and they were approached by the civil society organizations so they fly
the flag on July 8 and they made a small reception that day in the town hall. So the twoof them did agree upon “Let us do it on the 6th of August, a poster exhibition together.
Ad let us have speeches over the year.” And so a dormant member became an active one
once more. And they got engaged with civil society. That was really impressive and that18

not only taking place in Dortmund, that was taking place in quite a lot of spots inGermany and it is increasing.
Now as it is 110, we as well are recognizing that people are citizens of Mayors for
Peace cities which did not fly the flag our approach by the citizens. And I asked why did
you not join the other Mayors for Peace cities? That might be a chance as well as forothers and I really would love to engage my colleagues at least in Europe to go on sucha particular day where we could fly a flag together. I was as well asked to talk a bit
about the collaboration with NGOs. We have seen it on the picture before perhaps.
There was the sign when it says here in German,. That is more, “Get rid of nukes now.”
This is a collaboration and the first place of NGOs in Germany. 50 NGOs, smaller ones
to bigger ones, and once you know, like IPPNW, having joined that collaboration, andthey invited Mayors for Peace to be a part of that collaboration. We said, “Yes, we willgo with you. But of course, you are NGOs and we are somehow a part of executive partof a state. We can do quite a lot of things together but there are limits to ourcooperation.” Of course in cases if you do some events, which in the way that they do it,
are probably difficult from a point of view of law or from a point of view of an
executive body as the governments are. To make an example, in the upcoming weekend
we will have protests in Germany around the air force base where nuclear weapons areplaced. It would not be appropriate for us to invite as well as Mayors for Peace inGermany to having a concert there. It would not be appropriate to invite to discussions
there. But at the moment, as the civil society organizations do want to block the gates
towards and from the air force base, then we are getting into problems with law.
You can think about it in different ways. You can say, “Well, it is in the boundary of thelaws.” But still our mayors do not want to give an example in that way. So therefore, weare collaborating in a way of cooperation and we are not allowing to use our name andour code of arms of Mayors for Peace. However, nowadays we know the rules. We
know where the problems are on the other side. And we were able to create a campaign
together, which taking into account of course the roles of each other. Interesting
probably is that we were invited to launch that campaign of a subcommittee of theGerman Parliament. So hand in hand with parliamentarians, we introduced our
campaign for the year 2015 and this was last year in 2012. We have had in the first place,the first phase was towards the NATO summit in Chicago. Now we are having electionsin autumn in Germany and we have to convince all the candidates that they are along19

our ideas as well. And finally, the last step in that is of course, and that doesn’t come inwith all what we do, the NPT in 2015 in New York.
We are doing quite a lot of things together. That is a picture of the homepage of thatcollaboration and you see the sign of Mayors for Peace down there. Additionally, we geta lot of help by these organizations to host our own homepage. The website of Mayors
for Peace is translated into German and updated of course with German use as well.
And we would not be capable to do so. We have a big help of NGOs at that time and ofcourse as well of 2020 Vision Campaigners which are part of the civil society
organization too. We are using together and Mayors for Peace in Germany as well by
itself. We are using blog, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr. That was helpful withthe flag day as well, once more to motivate the people and beforehand and afterwards.
And it was interesting, when I was talking about the annual conference, when you saw a
bit of that video, but we as well did record all the speeches. And they are out on themarket, it is called SoundCloud.
So we presented the speeches of all speakers to the mayors which were not able toparticipate at that particular day. And of course others were able to listen to it as well.
As we join forces, civil society and ourselves, we are having an organizing breakfast
with parliamentarians as an example. The next, we have press conferences with experts,
parliamentarians once more, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For the NGOs, Mayors
for Peace is really important as we are able to open up doors to the government and toparliamentarians in a different way as they are able to do it, therefore we do it together.
On the other hand, it is really difficult to get the mayors moving to other places. We are
joining forces to not take too much time from our leading members. And thecollaboration as well, it goes in other directions. Who has been to the NPT in Vienna
last year?
It was asked of a good friend of mine and a 2020 Vision Campaigner, Wolfgang
Schlupp-Hauck, to sign a letter to the general secretary of NATO. Most if not all of the
Mayors for Peace representatives did sign that letter. And he with some other friends, hewent on a cycle tour from the south in Germany, crossing all the places where nuclear
weapons still are based, and they went to the NATO headquarters next to Brussels. On
the way they visited all Mayors for Peace cities. They got and we assisted with that.
They got appointments with all the mayors along that way. All the mayors invited them.
All the mayors asked for the press to be there. All the mayors signed that letter
additionally. We had press coverage once more in the newspapers in several cities along20

that way. And Wolfgang Schlupp-Hauck was able to present that letter in the office ofthe general secretary there. Then it was not finished at that moment and I am very happy
to say that NATO really was able to send an answer letter to every one of our membersthat signed on that way, at least to the German ones.
Yesterday in two leading newspapers in Germany, we had advertisements the days
before August 6 and August 9, and we are asking the candidates for parliament, thefuture members of the government, to stay with what they stated before to abolishnuclear weapons, to stand for the withdraw of nuclear weapons from Germany, and you
see once more it is at the bottom more or less on the left hand side of what you see. It is
an initiative of the campaign. It is an initiative of IPPNW and of Mayors for Peace.
Once more, I have the feeling in a very prominent way. This is the way we are going to
get our members together. That is the way how we want to stimulate our members andin the same way for civil society organizations, it is a way to mobilize their own forces.
Even the peace movement in Germany is still going to explore how they can express
themselves. And they are looking for young people, and when we heard about ourfriends in Ypres, the young generation is taking over. Yes, we have to do it in the peace
movement in Germany as well. So we are creating new chapters of young people andstudents in most of the Mayors for Peace cities by now so that we have a goodinterlinkage between cities and their citizens on that particular topic. I am really looking
forward to the future and part of the future, as it was mentioned a moment ago, is ofcourse with regard to regionalization of Mayors for Peace, having regional conferenceswith friends from other countries, and we heard about the Mediterranean, and in theupcoming year there is a big chance to have a larger conference of mayors in Sarajevo
to commemorate the 100 year start of WWI. And even that would be a collaboration ofcivil society organizations and members of Mayors for Peace. I am happy that Monsieur
Cibot and Mayor Straub did sign the letter of support to the proposal and am looking
forward to what is going to happen there. Thank you very much for having had thechance to present here and good luck for our conference. Thank you.
Mr. Vestby
Thank you very much Paul for giving us all this good information and hints and tips on
what we can do. That was really very, very inspiring. If there is anybody in the audiencethat has questions now or would like to make comments directly, there is an opportunity
for it now. So please raise your hand. In the very back? Please, you can present yourself.

21

Mr. Adrian Glamorgan, Representative of the City of Fremantle, Australia
It is Adrian Glamorgan from the city of Fremantle representing the mayor there inAustralia. Australia is an unusual place in that local governments cannot say anything
about nuclear power plants being built. We don’t have any yet. But we do have uranium
mining and the Australian government has decided to sell uranium to India, which is nota member of the non-proliferation pact. It is exploring selling uranium to the United
Arab Emirates to help the cause of peace in the Middle East, and it has contaminated theprefecture of Fukushima with Uranium there. The Aboriginal people in Western
Australia, where I live, divided because they are not allowed to say no to uranium being
mined. If they say no, they cannot negotiate with the mining companies. Under native
title law, they have to say, “Yes, we want uranium to be mined. Now can we negotiatewith you?”
So their civil rights are being abused. The workers’ rights are being abused. We arehaving uranium sold to India and China which frees up nuclear weapons to be made outof domestic Indian and Chinese uranium. So the connection between nuclear power andnuclear weapons is really strong. But there are no ways that currently we can politicallystop nuclear weapons being made in other countries or being freed up to. So I am sorry
it is a long question but I am leading to this point. We have talked a lot about peace andit has many forms. But the only form of peace that is left for many people in Australia is
non-violent means to oppose at the mines, on the railway lines, at the ports to stopuranium contaminating other countries.
We have been promised that uranium is safe and I have been to Fukushima and I haveseen the Geiger counter levels are way higher than what the Japanese government says.
So what is a local government to do to peacefully abide by international obligations toprevent nuclear war, to prevent the contamination of other people’s lands, and to preventthe abuse of Indigenous people’s rights. Is there potential for cooperation between
uranium producing countries and the cities and those cities in India, China, and Japan
which unfortunately take uranium and they are turned into fissile material in factories
that also create electricity? Thank you.
Mr. Vestby
Thank you. I take that as an independent statement but would you like to comment?
No?
Mr. Schneider22

If I don’t have to. I would do it in private but not on stage probably.
Mr. Vestby
Okay. I do not see any other hands in the air. That means that we thank Paul for thepresentation. Now we move onto the next one on the list and we are moving to England.
Mr. Sean Morris. He is principle policy and research officer in Manchester. Please Sean.
Mr. Sean Morris, Principal Policy and Research Officer of Manchester City, UKKonnichiwa. As Mayor Vestby says, I have been for the past five years Manchester’s
officer responsible for Mayors for Peace cooperation and I am also the secretary of the
UK and Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities. What I want to follow on a little bitfrom what Paul has just said and give you a bit of a flavor for the UK and Ireland’s
elements of how we might create a regional group in there. And some of the issues andproblems you may have, to think about really as well.
Since the creation of the 2020 Vision Campaign, Manchester a few years ago with thethen elected mayor of London set up a working group. This met twice a year and it waschaired by the deputy elected mayor of London. So they had a very executive role and I
will go onto that issue about executive roles as well in a minute. That went reasonably
well but then there was a change in mayor in London and so they weren’t as interested
then. We now work more with our great sister city, our Scottish friends in Glasgow whoare also – and have just become in the last couple of years – members of the 2020
Vision Board as well as associate members. So they are developing leadership issues inMayors of Peace so it is a good liaison that we have with them.
The working group has been meeting up for about seven or eight years. It meets twice ayear, mainly in Manchester, but it has also met in the likes of Glasgow, Birmingham,
Oxford, and in London, and in Leeds. The group’s administered by me. Now I am
specifically contracted for 20% of my time to work Manchester’s local peace policy.
That was agreed in 2005 and Manchester is fairly unique in the UK for having an
official peace policy. Past that peace policy is the work I do for the nuclear free local
authorities. But also it is the peace work. We have a Manchester peace trail and we areworking a European project on that area with seven of the European cities. We have anannual peace festival and we have a peace history conference which this year will be on
International Peace Day. So as part of that peace work, I always attend the board
meetings and have been to all the NPT conferences in the last five years as well. I alsoorganize, when we are not in Hiroshima, we also organize annual Hiroshima Nagasaki
23

memorial ceremonies which are held always on the 9th of August so that we can readout the peace declarations at the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And we always
link again with local NGOs to develop those. Since 2010 when the Mayor of Nagasaki
made the civic visit to Manchester, we have now very kindly given an A-bomb
exhibition and that has been sent all around the country, so far 15 cities around the UK
and in the Republic of Ireland. A very useful peace education tool for us.
Having said all that, the bulk of work though is actually not for Mayors for Peace, it isfor Nuclear Free Local Authorities. That is a local government group of about 50 fee
paying councils. And they are not just concerned about the developments of nuclear
weapons, they are very interested and probably predominantly interested in the nuclear
power issue, nuclear energy, waste management, and the safety and issue policy as well.
But in terms of our nuclear weapons work that we do there, we have a very close
cooperation with Mayors for Peace and I am very much mandated by and delighted tobe here as much as I am by Manchester. The good thing about that is they pay generous
fees depending on their population.
So I have an inbuilt advantage there over most cities that I get paid quite reasonably
well by the cities to do the work that I do. So I can use that a little bit to develop Mayors
for Peace locally as well. This is all done and headquartered in Manchester itself. It
could be argued that our working group is the beginnings of what could become a more
official chapter now that we have agreed to that yesterday. But I foresee some real
problems and issues for us in developing a chapter which I felt would be useful to bringforward to you. One is resource based and the other is trying to develop a much deeper
membership because we have a much more peculiar nature in the UK in terms of theway mayors work which creates real issues for us in trying to develop a very dynamic
local group.
In terms of resources, I am only contracted one day a week to work for Mayors for
Peace, which doesn’t give me a lot of time to do very much of creating a deeperorganization. We have started in recent years to develop voluntary invoices, but we have
only had fairly limited success in that. We also in the past managed to get somecharitable trust funds to get a development advisor to try to deepen membership byunderstanding what our members might want really. And we are continuing that in the
future. But to build up a local chapter and make an effective and vibrant localorganization, we are going to need significantly more local resources than we currently
have. Through we have got two meetings a year for almost 10 years, our meetings24basically we get mail, the NGOs come in, the local host council, and maybe a few of us.
It is not a very dynamic organization at the moment and it is something that is a realissue for us. That comes in a sense because of the name of the organization. Mayors for
Peace is probably great in most countries but in the UK and Ireland we have about eight
directly elected mayors.
All of the mayors are ceremonial in nature. They feel like the first citizen of the council.
They chair the council meetings, they might open events, they might be promoting local
charities, they do come from the political groupings and it is usually rotated, and they
are only in office for a year so there is absolutely no continuity therefore. Also when
they are mayor of their city or town, they are supposed to remain independent and not
get involved in political campaigning. So you have a major dilemma of how we actually
can move on with Mayors for Peace. Scotland has a slightly easier arrangement. They
are still ceremonial in nature, but they usually have four year terms so at least you havesome continuity in Scotland in that sense. But for the rest of the UK and Ireland, it is amajor problem to deal with that.
We are very pleased and interested in the Japanese move in that covenant to callthemselves Mayors and leaders of peace because it is probably going to be a more easy
and effective year to do that in the UK and Ireland because in the end it is our leadersthat are our mayors in that sense. That and the executive nature of the council and they
are the people that make the big decisions if you like.
In the UK and Ireland, it will probably be for billing up a chapter, the resources, bothtime and finance, coupled with this issue around mayors not having an executive role.
This will also make it harder to attract finance, because again, at the moment, the people
and the secretariat in Hiroshima is contacted, don’t really have any control of budgets so
it is going to be a major issue to start with in terms of how we move forward then really.
At our last meeting we held in London, it was agreed to do a questionnaire of all our
membership to see what they wanted. How did they want to see Mayors for Peace
grow? How did they want to deepen membership and so on. We had some very goodcomments and we are going to continue that after we get back from Hiroshima. And
then we hope to launch our national chapter later in the year in Manchester. We areparticularly interested in these issues at the moment so we are going to be doing that. In
terms of following some discussion and dissemination of our questionnaire and getting
a great idea of what our members want really.
25

Now if you may have guessed, Manchester is strongly political committee to Mayors
for Peace and it will do all it can to develop it further in the UK and Ireland and to ourinternational cooperation and the executive board. In the UK and Ireland local
government has though seen major budget cuts, as many places in Europe and many
places around the world have. We have had a 30% cut in budgets in the last 4 years
alone. After the next general election in 2015, another 10% cut has already beenannounced. It is very hard within those restrictions to be able to start asking for evensmall amounts of money. And I know this is going to be an issue in Spain, in Greece, in
Italy, and many other countries as well.
That does not make for an easy way forward. You look into developing a strong regional
chapter. We have some sort of views in which I would like to put forward, not just in a
local sense and create a national chapter, but at the international level as well. We feelvery strongly that Mayors for Peace should be looking to develop partnerships withphilanthropists and groups like the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carnegie
Fund foundation and so on, and to develop links for charitable trust to do specificproject work. That will be one way to generate new income. In terms of membership fee,
2,000 yen is about 20 pounds in the UK. It would just not be practical to be trying to ask
for that sort of money in a place like London or Birmingham or Manchester. So we haveset a figure of about 120 pounds, 130 euros, and from the questionnaires we’ve got has
been seen as a reasonable amount. That in the UK would raise about 1,000 pounds
which would give us a bit more flexibility to start developing more resources and more
stuff, and so forth; time into it as well.
At Mayors for Peace, we believe at the local, national, international level does reallyneed to build up a fundraising capacity. It should not be just about asking the members
to try and put their hands in pockets which are afraid at the edges really as well. Where
there really is the name of the organization, and the prestige of this organization shouldbe there to be able to find ways to make significant amounts of money which can help
the building of national chapters and can support them as well. One of the things thathas come out from our questionnaires very clearly is what will you get for your money?
And I think that has got to be thought about in terms of the organization. You have togive a product to them. It is important to have a political commitment, but you also need
to be able to determine what are you going to get for the services that you are providing
for what you are becoming a member really.

26

For Manchester, we are worried whether we can fulfill completely the aims andobjectives and the vision of the national chapter in the short term but we will work very
hard in the medium term to try to build that up as quickly as possible. Mayors for Peace
is a great and good international name and reputation. But as I’ve known it before, its
name is actually a problem for its development in or country. So again, we are going tolook at the Japanese model as a possible way forward really. Any change we need to do
has got to be fairly slow and gradual and we will not be able to, as they say, build Romeovernight in that sense.
Mayors for Peace has a lot of potential to continue to grow but it has needed a structure
revolution and we are very pleased with the decisions and the structural changes being
made that were agreed on yesterday. Developing chapters has to be a two way process.
Hiroshima and the executive cities need to talk close with each other and theinternational secretariat, the 2020 Vision secretariat, and the executive in general has tolisten to individual members and their needs, and potential financial supporters. I
believe there is a potentially large reservoir of funds available, but Mayors for Peaceneeds to prioritize fundraising much more in the same ways it has done so effectively
within the United Nations on a diplomatic field. If it can put some of its attention into
that, I think it will become a much more effective organization in the long term.
I do sincerely believe national chapters can deepen the membership for Mayors for
Peace and make a much more effective organization but it will be difficult and it willtake time. However, if it works well, we will all benefit from it and so will the nuclear
weapons disarmament movement. Arigato gozaimasu. Thank you for listening.
Mr. Vestby
hank you very much Sean. We will now have three speakers from Japan but I can tell
you that coming from lunch we have now already reaching the break. We will probably
arrange something about that. In the schedule coming up so we will see but by sayingthat I urge you to maybe minimize your speech if possible. Now I call upon Mayor of
Hirakata. Is he here? He is coming. Please. Next mayor is mayor of Ayabe.
Mr. Osamu Takeuchi, Mayor of Hirakata, Japan
Oasmu Takeuchi, mayor of Hirakata, Osaka. It is a good honor for me to be given thisopportunity to speak. I am the vice president of the national council of Japan nuclear
free local authority and the president of the organization is Mayor Taue of Nagasaki. In
1984 in August, in Hiroshima, Fuchu, with 19 authorities, the organization was
27

established. There are 286 local governments participate every time we send a letter ofrequest for each nuclear testing and we have been conducting various events for peace.
Hirakata City is one of the founding members and has served as the vice president.
Talking about our city of Hirakata, it is in the eastern part of Osaka bordering Kyoto andNara. It is in the middle of Kyoto and Osaka and the population today is 400,000. Thisis a bit down. The population used to be 40,000. It was a rural city, but coming into the20th century, the Japanese army built many military factories so Hirakata became atown amid the production.
On March 1, 1939, there was a big explosion killing more than 700 people. This was an
explosion at the ammunition plant and people said that even from Kyoto they could see
big smoke coming up from the factory. After the war, there was a plan to start the
military plans in Hirakata. However, citizens pursuing peace had shown determination
not to have that kind of factory again. Citizens and the council worked together forprotesting, and the plan was abolished. Instead, hospitals and the largest residential
development started. Thanks to the efforts for citizens and the council, Hirakata turned
into a safe place for citizens instead of a town of military industry. With a strong wish
that the memory of war should be maintained, Hirakata became the first city toannounce the nuclear free zone in order to say that we are against nuclear weapons.
On March 1, when we experienced the big explosion of the factory, we always have aceremony related to peace. We send elementary school students to Hiroshima for school
excursion when they are going to graduate from the school. And here I am with a strong
wish for peace and disarmament. It is more than 60 years from the A-bombing but still,
the world is threatened with nuclear weapons. Without the realization of world peace,
there would be no prosperity and happiness for humanity. Like Mayors for Peace,
Hirakata supports the 2020 Vision and the Hiroshima-Nagasaki protocol which leads tothe abolition of nuclear weapons. As vice chairman of the National Council of Japan
Nuclear Free Local Authority in 2010, I visited the US, I attended the 2020 Vision
Conference held by Mayors for Peace on May 4. As a member of Mayors for Peace, I
demanded that specific negotiations be held at the review conference for the
proliferation of nuclear weapons and to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Since coming back, inviting the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we held asymposium for peace education for the future generations. The peace for a future
without nuclear weapons must be guaranteed for the children and we pledged and issued
an urgent appeal. This was mostly adopted by all the participants. We must not forget28

the memories of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. We have to protect the citizens from thethreat of nuclear weapons. This is not an issue of the past. This is an issue of today andtomorrow. Our children, future generations should not be threatened with the nuclear
weapons. Because Hiroshima inspired Hirakata to have a peace based city building, we
continued to demand eternal peace.
It is quite important that the citizens would share opportunity to think deeply about
peace on the matter first on Hirakata peace day. Citizens and the elementary school
students write a message of peace on a candle with a cup. Hiroshima is where theelementary school students go and after returning from Hiroshima, the children issue
messages for peace. This is what we do for the event called Candle Lights for Peace. As
the vice president of the National Council of Japan Nuclear Free Local Authority and as
the mayor of Hirakata City, I would like to do my best to be a leader in the activity
towards these as I have done in the past.
At the Mayors for Peace, with the direction towards regionalization, I am sure that themembers would be more active in each region more than ever with a strong
determination together with Hiroshima and Nagasaki and together with all of you I
would like to work towards peace and a world without nuclear weapons. In thisconference, there is a booth of Hirakata City, please come and visit the booth of
Hirakata City. Thank you very much.
Mr. Vestby
Mr. Takeuchi. As I said, mayor of Ayabe, please come to the podium. I am asking
Mayor Musashino to be prepared.
Mr. Zenya Yamazaki, Mayor of Ayabe, Japan
Thank you very much. My name is Zenya Yamazaki, mayor of Ayabe City. I would liketo thank you for giving me this opportunity to make a presentation in front of you. Ourcity declared ourselves a world federalist city and our city and myself is serving as thechairman of the National Council of World Federation Cities in Japan. This is the firsttime for me to be president in this general conference of Mayors for Peace. But indeed,this is a great occasion for me to be able to deepen the solidarity with likemindedmayors of the world.
The purpose and objective of the Mayors for Peace and the World Federalist Movement
have certain commonalities so please allow me to give you just the activities of the29World Federalist Movement. Now what is this? The World Federalist Movement is apeace movement that advocates the formation of a global federalist system. In otherwords, a world federation to address and resolve global issues such as cross borderconflicts and environmental problems. Such global level issues cannot be resolved byany one state. Such a system of a world federation if established will enable us to copewith international conflicts in accordance with law and not through forces or the forcesof arms. In other words, such conflicts can be resolved through world law and facilitate
the process of achieving world peace, alleviating poverty and resolving human rights
issues.
This whole idea goes back to a great philosopher Kant. But specific movements in thisdirection began based upon the soul searching of the tragedy of world wars, specificallythe A-bombing on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their horrendous tragedies. As a way tosave or avert human annihilation from the use of nuclear weapons, this world federalist
movement was proposed. Especially Dr. Einstein and Dr. Bertrand Russell, thosescientists made a strong position in supporting such a notion. The headquarters of theWorld Federalist Movement is situated in New York. As one of the ways to promote theworld federalist movement, we promote the declaration of a world federalist city. And
for the first time in Japan in 1950, Ayabe City made this declaration as the worldfederation city. And because of this, we are serving as the president of the national
council.
In Japan at the moment, about 250 local authorities have made this declaration and they
form national council or world federation cities in Japan. Among us, we exchange
information and also 100 yen or 1 dollar donation by the public employees of local
governments for the refugees and world peace, and also we promote projects for theWorld Federation Movement and peace activities. As part of such activities, our city has
been engaged in the Middle East Peace Project. Under this project, the Middle East
Peace Project, our city started this in 2003 and we in total invite 10 children from
Palestine and Israel each and host them in our city. Those are the children orphaned in
the Middle East conflict and by definition they are in opposition with the sense of hatredagainst each other, but we bring children from Palestine and from Israel to Japan for the
local stay so as to allow them to have a sense of understanding towards each other.
Israel and Palestine peace building in the Middle East mired and bogged down in
conflict would lead us to global peace. Ayabe City embarked upon this project for the
first time in 2003 in Japan and since then the world federation cities in Japan have taken
30turns to host this project. A part of the operational expenses are allocated from the 1
dollar donation. This year, Kyotango City in Kyoto Prefecture is going to host thisproject from August 8 this summer, inviting 10 children each from Palestine in Israel. In
the host city, the local governments and the concerned citizens and NGOs organized alocal executive committee for the execution of the project. We keep a thorough neutral
position and promote genuine exchange between these two groups of children throughthe project and in the host city in Japan, they try to understand each other deeper and try
to foster a genuine sense of friendship. In certain cases, such encounters and exchanges
do have a moving impact on the people involved.
Culture and customs differ between Palestine and Israel and these children associateeach other and enjoy homestay. In Japan, it is also different from culture and customs
and interaction is conducted through the language of English. But Japanese hostfamilies, as is often the case, are not good at conversing in English. Of course thesechildren get exposed to different foods, sushi, or noodles which are a particular summer
food we enjoy, especially using bamboo pipes through which noodles run through, akind of very fun event. And these children have to work together with each other going
beyond the hatred so that they can work and be friends with Japanese host families who
are not very good at speaking English. Otherwise they may not know what they are
actually eating because they are eating Japanese food for the first time.
They land at Kansai International Airport first and in the previous project they went
back on the same plane. In Tel Aviv Airport after one week of absence, they got reunited
with their parents. Often the case, the parents wanted to take their children back to home
immediately, but actually Palestinians who have to go through a more lengthy
immigration process, the children from Israel often ask their parents that they want towait for the clearance of the immigration procedure for their Palestinian friends andthey ask their parents they wanted to wait and actually waited for three hours until theirfriends from Palestine really did come through the immigration gates.
One thing I can never forget is a word spoke by one Israel boy. “Before I came here, I
thought I would never be able to make friends with Israel boys, but after one week in
Ayabe City in Japan, yes indeed it might be difficult for my parents’ generation to makefriends with each other, but now I spend once a week with the people from Israel. In my
generation, I have filled a kind of possibility of realizing the Middle East peace in our
generation.” Ayabe City is a small city but this is one way we are pursuing as acontribution to the realization of global peace. That is one experience which really made31

me feel that we are contributing in this manner. Indeed the peace building around theworld is a road full of difficulties but we should never allow the reputation of the follyin the form of nuclear weapon use. That must be the goal all of human kind must try
their best to pursue. Each city may only have limited power and capacity but sharing theideal of global peace, helping each other going forward step-by-step. We often say that
one drop of water can become a big river and a big ocean they are accumulated. In thismanner I think we can become a very big force in the world. Each one of us has alimited capacity but it doesn’t mean that we have no power or capacity at all. Let us
move forward together. Thank you very much.
Mr. Vestby
Thank you very much Mayor Yamazaki. As introduced, the mayor of Musashino. Yes,
please.
Mr. Morimasa Murakami, Mayor of Musashino, Japan
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am Morimasa Murakami, Musashino City
Mayor of Tokyo Prefecture. I thank you for allowing me to participate in the Mayors for
Peace General Conference and as the mayor of Ayabe City mentioned, he joined the
National Council of World Federation, the National Council of Cities, and we are amember of this national council also. We are one of the nuclear free peace state
declarations and we are also a member of local authorities trying to depart from theworld of nuclear and with those ideals, we have been engaged in peace development. I
would like to thank you for this precious opportunity to make a presentation in front ofyou.
First I would like to talk about what our peace measures have been in collaboration withcitizens. Musashino City is in the center of Tokyo Prefecture, 140,000 population, and110 sq km., very compact, and it has very good transportation access and is one of thelivable cities in Tokyo Prefecture. However, our city was home to a major military plant,
Musashino Plant of Nakajima Aircraft Company, before and during WWII. This plant
mainly manufactured engines for military aircrafts including Zero Fighter Planes. Thiswas one of the largest military plants in Asia, employing more than 50,000 people,
including mobilized students at the peak time.
This plant was targeted and heavily bombed by US aircrafts, 9 times from the first air
raid, in mainland Japan by B29 bombers, which took place on November 24, 1944, after
the fall of Saipan until the end of WWII. More than 200 people were killed in the plant32

alone and hundreds of other lives were lost in the surrounding areas, including children.
Musashino City doesn’t have such a history of air raids and in 1960 we declared a worldfederation city and we made the Nuclear Free Peace City Declaration in 1982. Ever
since then we have promoted various peace related learning and international exchange
programs to pass on the reality and attach experience of the war to young generations
and to enhance the awareness of citizens, which together with the citizens we have been
engaged in various peace related activities, especially on the occasion of the 25th
anniversary of the Nuclear Free Peace City Declaration. The peace event executive
committee was set up by citizens, representatives, and peace organizations in our city in2007. This executive committee has organized various events such as final exhibition
about A-bombing, publication of peace maps, lecture meetings, among others forawareness raising for peace, especially now that 68 years have passed since the end of
the war, the number of citizens who have witnessed the war is declining. Our city
therefore recognized the important urgency of passing on their experiences andpublished Musashino’s records that were experienced twice, based upon one experience
told by our citizens. Our city will continue to collect more experience and share thelessons of history with the younger generation.
This peace event executive committee consists of diverse members such as peace
activity organizations and university students and the parents of students in schools. The
committee conducts various events in the month of constitution in May, summer peace
events in August, and a peace day memorial event in November. In 2011, our city
submitted to the city assembly a draft of Musashino City Peace Day Ordinance todesignate November 24, the day when our city was first attacked from the air as peace
day based upon a proposal from a peace measure roundtable conference organized byintellectuals. This peace day is a campaign pledge of me as mayor during the election
campaign.
Today, this peace day is observed every year on November 24 and I would like topropose that throughout the 365 days, this will be full of peace activities every day.
Somewhere in the world, by declaring each day of 365 days as peace day. We believethat it is very import we raise the awareness of children in particular. We organized theexchange events with cities in the United States, Russia, China, and Korea for yourexchange with each other. And last year, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the
Nuclear Free City Declaration, we dispatched the Youth Peace Delegation to Nagasaki
City where they took part in a peace memorial service and a youth peace forum and they
were able to have a good interaction with the youth from other parts of this country and33they learned first-hand the tragedy of A-bombing. It was truly a fruitful experience forour young people.
Now it was been six years since the executive committee was set up and the
involvement of the citizens towards peace activities has been rising. Our city is planningto open the museum of history of our city in 2014. This time the museum is going tofeature a permanent exhibition of ancient documents and historical materials, and also
war related materials and photo panels. I hope that this exhibition is going to makecitizens, especially young children, aware of the importance of peace. We will continue
to work with citizens on the challenge of sharing the tragedy of war and the importanceof peace to the next generation. Also with the member cities of Mayors for Peace andwith the cities in Japan and the likeminded cities around the world, through various
opportunities, we would like to spread widely the message for peace. In and out ofJapan, nuclear free peace world is what we would like to work together to hand down to
our posterity. Thank you.
Mr. Vestby
Thank you very much Mr. Murakami. Now we will take a leap to another island, to Sri
Lanka. And I call upon the mayor of Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte. It seems that thatmayor is not present. Then we will probably try that in the end. Then we are jumping
back to Spain. Are you prepared? Talking about the mayor of San Sebastian. Pleasecome to the floor.
Mr. Juan Carlos Izagirre, Mayor of San Sebastian, Spain
Konnichiwa. Good afternoon everyone. I just spoke in Basque. Excuse me for that.
Mayor of Hiroshima and representatives, participants in the Mayors for Peace
Conference, thank you very much. Let me introduce myself. I am the mayor of
Donostia-San Sebastian. I think you know our city. There is a state called Basque andwe have a Basque ethnic group who are living in the south of France and the north of
Spain. The city of Donostia-San Sebastian is about 100 km from Guernica City. In 1937,
that city was well-known because of the air raid. That was eight years before thedropping of the bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki so now the town is well-known as the
symbol of injustice of wars.
Our city became the battlefield between the Portuguese and British armies. So 200 years
have passed since the scourge of war and we have commemorative events to express – itis not ceremonies to express the suffering and pain of the wars 200 years ago. We34overcome the devastation of the war so the ceremony commemorates that effort, in thesame way I am sure Hiroshima and Nagasaki citizens forward-lookingly rebuilt theircity. So we plan to hold a positive ceremony in 2013. Our city, we suffered from war
and occupation and violence from several hundred years ago and it still continues.
If we have learned anything from conflict resolution from history, that would be if
leaders sign a peace agreement, that will not be enough for building peace. To realize
peace, we need many more things. More just and continuous peace can only be achieved
if this peace accord will be implemented at the local level. In order to realize peace, wehave to change the society that suffers from violence, also in order to achieve peace, wehave to have just and free and fair rights of people. Those have to be achieved at the
local level. That is important. So we have to think about what we can do at the local
level. Mayors who are here with us today, what can we do? Each of us. There are manythings that we can do. As mayors of our municipalities, we try to contribute to peacebuilding because we have a moral duty to do so. City councils are the closest politicalorganization to the citizens, so from that point of view, we have the obligation to shareother municipalities’ experiences to your citizens and then promote dialogue and in aproactive and voluntary manner we have to implement initiatives to promotecoexistence and peace. That is an obligation too.
So we must implement collaboration and coexistence activities to make efforts towards
resolving conflicts and wars, not just in your own region but also resolving otherregion’s conflicts and problems. In October 2011, we held an international conference
for resolution of the conflict of the Basque countries and we have invited world
renowned people such as the former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Mr. Jonathan
Powell, Bertie Ahern, Pierre Joxe, and Gerry Adams, and so on. They met with theBasque political, trade union and social figures. This process began at the conference
and there are still efforts being made to build peace.
Since then, we have implemented various initiatives to promote dialogue, reconciliation,and recognition of victims. In order to establish democratic coexistence for the future,
we have made efforts as well. Our city is a city of peace and human rights. We arecommitted to these values. Not just conflicts in our cities, we are strongly committed tothese values in other cities. Our city, will be the European culture capital in 2016 so wewant to call it European Council Peace Capital in 2016, and we want to take thisopportunity to further contribute to building peace. It is difficult but I want thismomentum to extend to the political field. I have this opportunity to address in front of35

you the city council of Donostia-San Sebastian made one resolution to hold aninternational conference. By doing this at the local level, we want to contribute to peacebuilding.
By holding this international conference at the local level, it will be an opportunity togive us a hint to think about what we can do to contribute to peace building in Basque.
Internationally, at different localities, we have various experiences in peace building soutilizing and capitalizing these, we have to realize the citizens’ right to live in peace.
And then we share experiences with citizens so they can participate in the process ofpeace building. This conference that I am talking about sill be held between October 10
and 11. There will be many working groups and various city mayors from different
countries are expected to be participating. Of course many mayors will be participatingand experts will come to this meeting so I sincerely, from the bottom of my heart, would
like to invite you to this conference. I would like to pay tribute to your wonderfulachievement and results you have made so far. Thank you very much.
Mr. Vestby
Thank you very much Juan Carlos. Is a representative from the city of Wageningen in
here? From the Netherlands? You are ready? Very good.
Mr. Ed Marc Dumrese, European Network Place of Peace, Wageningen,
Netherlands
It is hard to grasp the attention as one of the last speakers but I will give my try.
Members of the network of Mayors for Peace, representatives of the different
organizations, thank you for the opportunity for the honorable occasion to speak here.
Thank you for the invitation from the Mayor of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to be here. My
name Ed Dumrese, I am from Wageningen, a city in the Netherlands. I think I am theonly representative of the Netherlands here today, here. And as well I am also the vicepresident of the European Network of Places of Peace. Wageningen is a city where thecalculation of the German forces were assigned to the Canadian forces on the 5th ofMay, 1945, and we commemorate this event nowadays with many people involved andwith all kinds of activities.
We have a military parade with veterans coming over because the capture was aninternational event at the end of Operation Market Garden, and we have veteranscoming over from Canada, Poland, the United States, and Britain, but from France andBelgium, and sometimes also from other countries, like last year from Russia, we
36celebrate the commemoration every year together with resistance fighters and different
organizations. These days of course it is one day of the commemoration, once in a year.
But during the day we have all kinds of activities, educational programs, andconferences with schools but also at the University level.
Wageningen is not the only city where a peace treaty in Europe has been signed. If you
look and dig in the history of Europe, you will see that there are many cities andconflicts where peace treaties have been signed. We just recently started to organize
ourselves in the European Network Places of Peace. Our head office is in Portugal and
we already have many members from Europe participating but also new members. Just
recently Israel joined as a new member at the network.
What combines these cities? The city feels a moral obligation to commemorate the past.
This obligation urges us to work also on peace issues in the future. I want to other cities
also to work with us to share the heritage and the experiences we have and look forward
to how we can work together because the history is getting to be part of our heritage.
The history of wars is part of our heritage, of our culture, and our entity. The European
Network of Places of Peace is developing all kinds of activities. For instance, theEuropean peace routes which are sometimes physically but also digitally accessible sothat these memory sites which we have all over Europe are getting more and moreaccessible.
Other activities which we are having quite soon actually is on the 9th and 11th ofOctober. It will be the peace conference in Wageningen with the subject of post conflict,cultural heritage, and regional development. Many cities were heavily burdened by wars
and conflicts in the past. Often the scars are visible in the cities and landscapes andmonuments are silent witnesses. In the process of learning how to deal with the past, we
see different stages, from the victims, the family members, the successors, but also
politicians and they are redefining their position throughout the decades after the
conflicts. While at first people focus on surviving and getting their lives together, later
they confront themselves with the unresolved past.
After the second and third generations also get involved in these kinds of processes. We
experience this every year on the 5th of May in Wageningen but also in many other
cities where we work together with the European Network of Places of Peace. And there
are many sociological and anthropological studies who are describing these kinds ofprocesses. There are also other places. There are some conflicts in the past which are37

ignored and they don’t play any part of the collective memory if you look back into
history. But on the other hand, there are cities where they sometimes get heritagized,
which means that they are a part of the social, political, or military legacy. As such, they
serve different purposes and aims. Sometimes they are for the better and sometimes forthe worse. The heritage of complex often results in changes of identities and awarenessof the past. It is important for policy makers and for the non-governmental organizations
to understand these processes. That is why we organize the conference soon in
Wageningen.
Citizens and especially survivors often feel the urge to commemorate the victims and, ina sense, a moral obligation to raise awareness for reconciliation and peace, as the past
can as well be a breeding ground for new conflicts. Don’t forget about that. Remarkable
is that the parents of these processes can be recognized but that cities and memory sites
are often alone, dealing with their heritage. A network like the European Network ofPlaces of Peace, but maybe also Mayors for Peace, can help channeling these processes.
Cities with comparable issues can exchange the best practices and learn from eachother’s experiences. Building a network to commemorate the violent conflicts and thevictims of the past preserve the heritage and actively involve citizens from the bottom
up. It is a good instrument for reconciliation and to prevent future conflicts and eases
the traumatic past. I want to also mention the non-governmental organizations who areplaying a very important role in that as well.
The European Network of Places of Peace combines cities where peace treaties are
signed and terrible conflicts are fought. These cities tried to build on the heritage of war
and violence, a culture of peace by commemorating the past and engaging in peace
activities for future activities. So I am looking forward to working with the Mayors for
Peace and thank you very much for the opportunity to being here.
Mr. Vestby
Thank you very much Mr. Dumrese. We have three more speakers. We will jump toTurkey and I call upon the mayor of Diyarbakir. The podium is yours.
Mr. Osman Baydemir, Mayor of Diyarbakir, Kurdistan, Turkey
Thank you very much Mr. Chairman. Mr. President, thank you very much for giving me
this opportunity. First of all, I would like to say I am so sorry. I know my English is notgood enough to talk about this important topic. But I have to try and have to say somewords from my heart, from my country, and from my population.
38

Mr. Vestby
I think you are doing very well.
Mr. Baydemir
My name is Osman Baydemir. I came from the north part of Kurdistan. And I am mayor
of Diyarbakir metropolitan municipality. The Kurds are one of the oldest settled people
in the Middle East. Their population today stands at approximately 40 million. The
region where they live is separately the borders of four different countries. In otherwords, Kurdish geography lives within the border of Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq.
Having been divided by these borders, having had been on their mother language andcultures. Having not, leave their freedoms, the history of the Kurdish people has beenmassive tragedy for hundreds of years.
The Kurdish have been the subject of harsh messes such as the one in Halabja where
chemical weapons were used－Dersim, Ağrı, Zilan, Qamishlo. The most recent exampleof this massacre is the Roboski Massacre, 34 Kurdish villages, civilians, were killed,
bombed, and torn to pieces on 29 December 2011. This beat the fact that who themassacre was being recorded by cameras. There has been no judicial trials so far.
Simply, the Kurds are one of the largest people who cannot speak their language andwho cannot celebrate their own culture. Millions of Kurds have had to emigrate, theystruggle for their lives. At least 2 million Kurds live in Europe, far from the Kurdish
region of the Middle East. We know that Japanese people are extremely developed inrobotic technology. I am sure the Japanese are proud of this. 800 years ago, the firstrobot was made in Diyarbakir where I am the mayor and where I live right now.
El-Cezire who is accepted at the forerunner of Robotics, to be more precise, theforerunner of Cybernetics, was living in Diyarbakir. What I am trying to say is thatupper Mesopotamia was a region that was pioneering in the fields of philosophy andastronomy. However, the Kurds whose language and culture had been banned, had beenreceded for centuries.
The Kurds whose language and culture had been banned, had struggled against theadministrations which has been forced upon them. The last of these struggles is the one
which has been led by the Kurdish political moment in Turkey. 50,000 people have diedduring these 30 years. 3,000 settlements have been evacuated forcibly, 4 million people
have had to immigrate to metropolitan cities of Turkey from Kurdish areas. 17,000
civilians have been the victims of unidentified murders. 10,000 activists among whom39

there are mayors and Kurdish politicians. We are still being kept in prison. Right now,
20 mayors, they are my colleagues in prison in the Kurdistan region by the Turkish
government.
30 years ago in Turkey, the Kurds were supposedly nonexistent. The Kurdish state did
not accept the existence of the Kurds. It named these great people along with its
language, culture, and tradition. The Kurdish have paid a significant price, one of the 10
most notorious prisons with torture exist in our city of Diyarbakir. The Kurds who havegreat struggle, prison. We have greatly struggled against massacres and tortures, today
use their own language in local administration where they have a voice. The state
accepts the existence of the Kurdish today, whose existence was formally denied.
However, legislative regulations necessary for a sustainable peace have not yet beenmade. 10,000 political activists are still kept in prison.
Honorable mayors, all kinds of technology including weapon development and energy
production must be abandoned and banned, except for medical treatment purposes.
Therefore, the cities should work on common action strategy. Cooperative works should
be carried out in order to ban the usage and keeping in stock of nuclear weapons and I
would like to express that Diyarbakir would actively like to take part in such activities.
Of course humanity would like to live in safety. Living in safety is the most natural rightof each and every human being. But safety is not provided via armament, nuclear
weapons or wars. Safety is provided with justice and sustained with peace. The local
administration should not only serve our electorates. We should take a role in theactivities of peace because peace is not only made between states and peace cannot be
just left to the mercy of the state. This is the common desire of the family that ishumanity. Diyarbakir is the most significant city in terms of culture, art, trade, andpolitics in the Middle Eastern geography.
We sustain massive work in order to turn Diyarbakir with its multi-lingual,multi-cultural and multi-religious structure into the peaceful city of the Middle East,
Diyarbakir, being a member in the Committee of City Diplomacy of the United Cities
and Local Governments organization would like to play the role of world peace envoy
primarily in the peace of the Middle East. Thank you very much again for thisopportunity. I would be honored to invite you, valuable participants, to the most ancient
city of Mesopotamia, which has been the cradle of civilizations for millennia and has
been settled continuously for 8,000 years. Before I say with my deepest regard I would
like to ask you how was my English? Anybody understand? Thank you very much.

40

Mr. Vestby
Thank you very much Mayor Baydemir. I said you started out well and you ended wellalso, throughout the speech. Thank you very much. We are still in the region and now I
call upon the mayor of Rwandz. That is a Kurdish region in Iraq. Please.
Mr. Serwan Abdullah Sereni, Mayor of Rwandz, Kurdistan, Iraq
Good evening. Mayor Matsui, Mayor Taue, Excellencies, distinguished guests, ladies
and gentlemen, my name is Serwan Sereni, Kurdish professional musician, violin player.
Also I am the district mayor of Rwandz City from the Kurdistan region of Iraq. It is anhonor to be participating in this international conference to pay respect to the victims ofthe tragic events in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This important conference brings together
participants from over 5,000 cities. We are here today to build peace together, to create abetter future, and stand against the proliferation of nuclear weapons. We are here towork hard and support all efforts to prevent a repeat of the acts that shocked the world.
We are here to give our unconditional support for the non-proliferation of nuclear
weapons treaty. Nuclear weapons are a threat to all human and living creatures. And weare here to add our voice and support in asking the United Nations for the disarmamentof weapons of mass destruction from all countries around the world.
Dear leaders of peace, the people of Kurdistan just like the people in Japan havesuffered tremendously through decades of war and acts of genocide. Today, we are thelargest nation without a state due to historical agreements between powerful nations.
Our people have been divided among four countries, Iran, Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. And
its people have been victims of wars and persecution in every way possible. The city of
Halabja which is located at the northeastern side of Kurdistan on the Iraq/Iran borderhas witnessed one of the worst atrocities in human history. It was bombed with chemical
weapons by Saddam Hussein’s regime in 1988 and over 8,000 innocent civilians were
killed. Hundreds of our towns and villages have been destroyed and attacked withchemical weapons. Tens of thousands of our people have fallen victim to the Al-Anfal
Campaign, genocide by Saddam’s regime.
Today I am representing the city of Rwandz which is one of Kurdistan’s most beautiful
and historical cities. Rwandz was once the biggest emirate, which was known as Soran
Emirate during the 18th century. It has one of the richest heritages and culture in the
Middle East and attracts tourists from all over Kurdistan and beyond. In the 20th
century, Russia, Britain, and Turkey conquered Rwandz. They used every single type of
weapons against the inhabitants of our city, including chemical weapons for the first41

time in 1944. After the establishment of Iraq as a country in the 1920s, Rwandz wasonce again attacked and destroyed.
During Saddam Hussein’s era in the 1980s, heinous crimes were committed in the cityand the surround towns and villages. All the villages were ruined, burned, and its people
imprisoned and dispersed in other parts of Iraq. Our economy and every other type of
infrastructure in this city and nearby sub-districts were completely demolished. In spiteof all of our sufferings and sacrifices, we have given in this struggle in the past against
the oppressive regimes. The Kurdistan regional government now is trying to form
friendships with our neighboring countries and the international community at large. We
are doing all that we can to move forward day by day to rebuild and improve theinfrastructure and economy. Not only for this generation but many generations to come.
My dear friends and peacemakers of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki events, the attack
against the heart of your nation made us feel the pain too. But in respect of our different
history, Japan and Kurdistan have been able to rise again and give the rest of the worldreflections in the meaning of life and survival. In this view, the friendship, peacemaking,and beauty of life are making us turn together to prevent any similar tragedies in the
future. Let us all work together to eliminate any signs of massacres. We as Kurds seethat we must put all our energy and efforts to succeed in this struggle and work hand inhand in this conference for the sake of creating a world filled with peace, far from
weapons of mass destruction. All of these efforts will come through by the hard work ofcivil and humanitarian organizations and the United Nations organization for making
the world a better place. In closing, you heard from my colleague from Diyarbakir. You
will hear from Halabja. I also take this opportunity to call up on you all to do what you
can support the Kurdish people, our rights, and our rights to an independent state. Onceagain on behalf of my fellow citizens of the city of Rwandz and the Kurdish nation, I
would like to warmly welcome everybody and thank you very much for this great
conference. I would like also to ask you a favor if you can possibly, I will have a letter
directed to H.E. Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary General of the United Nations. If you cansign your support to us, we would really appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Mr. Vestby
Thank you very much District Mayor Sereni. And now last but not least, Halabja wasmentioned, now the mayor of Halabja. Please.
Mr. Khder Kareem, Mayor of Halabja Kurdistan, Iraq
42

Konnichiwa minasan. Hello to everybody, honorable president, mayors, and participants.
At the beginning I would like to thank everybody who worked very hard to organize
this very important conference in this very special place for better cooperation to workfor tragic incidents like Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Halabja not to happen again.
I would like to give my special thanks to the mayor of Hiroshima for his kind invitation
for us to participate in this conference and mayors from all over the world to bemembers of Mayors for Peace. And I am also thankful for Mayor Vestby for his
participation in the anniversary of the chemical gas attacks on Halabja City this year.
Honorable mayors, we Kurds of Iraq are attending this conference to show the worldthat the massacres and the Saddam regime, which all Iraqis resent and especially Kurds
suffered from as a result of using chemical weapons against us. During the 35 years old
Saddam regime, the Kurdish people were forced to lose their identity by this regime.
Now I would like to give you some examples of this bloody regime’s policies against
Kurdish people.
As I mentioned, the policies of blood regimes against the Kurdish people, for example
Arabization and assimilation of the Kurdish people and cities. Detention and arrestingof the Kurdish people, killing off 182,000 Kurdish civilians and destroying 4,500
Kurdish villages as a part of an operation against the Kurdish people. And the mosttragic event during this operation was when chemical weapons made with poisonous
gas including sarin, tabun, and mustard gas were used to attack our city Halabja. Morethan 5,000 innocent civilians were killed and more than 10,000 were injured on March
16, 1988. After this, chemical bombardment, dozens of people suffered from biologicaldisasters, left their place, and found refuge in Iran and other border areas and countries.
The chemical weapons which were used against Kurdish people were banned by theinternational community in 1974.
We as a Kurdish nation which suffered many times from these kinds of chemical
weapons are calling and asking for peace in life and peace in the world together. No
more Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Halabja. All of us know that Mayors for Peace has astrong intention to give the world this message that countries must avoid developing,producing, and using chemical and nuclear weapons, especially in the most sensitive
area, in the Middle East, where we live. As members of this organization should workwith similar organizations and the United Nations towards a peaceful and healthy world
for the next generation without nuclear and chemical weapons. At the end, thank you
43very much for you participation and cooperation again. And for hoping for peace foreverybody. Thank you very much.
Mr. Vestby
Thank you very much Mayor Kareem. It is difficult to close the session right after sucha strong statement, but that is my obligation. I also have one good reason for doing that
because we are over time. By the way, this isn’t all over. It is very important so I thankall the speakers and I thank the audience for listening to all of this. This is important
stuff. And we shall take all of this with us, consider it more, and do actions when wecome home. I guess we are about to close Session III. Again on our time, but I feel athome because every time in my local council, we end later than anticipated and that is
because people want to speak and we have been granted the time because these are also
very important issues. So thank you very much and now it is some minutes break.

44

The 8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace

Dialogue Session with Citizens andAtomic Bomb Survivors Groups
What Should We Do to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
August 4 (Sun), 2013 16:30-18:00
International Conference Center Hiroshima (Himawari)

Coordinator:

Kazumi Mizumoto
Vice President, Hiroshima Peace Institute, Hiroshima City University

Presentation of Peacemaking Efforts:
Sunao Tsuboi
Co-chairperson, Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers
Organizations
Kazuo Ookoshi
Secretary General, Hiroshima Prefectural Conference of A-bomb
Sufferers Organizations
Nobuhide Okamura
President, Hiroshima Consumers’ Co-operative Union
Yui Tamitani, Emi Inazumi, Noriko Murakam
Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High School
Presentation of Views:
Richard Mirocco
Co-producer,“That Day”FilmMC
Thank you for waiting. Now we would like to begin the Dialogue Session with Citizens
and A-bomb Survivors. The coordinator of this dialogue Session is Professor Mr.
Mizumoto Kazumi, the vice president of Hiroshima Peace Institute, Hiroshima City
University. Professor Mizumoto’s after serving as branch manager of Asahi Shimbun, in
1998 he started to work with the peace institute of Hiroshima City Unversity and he wasappointed to be a vice president in 2010. Professor Mizumoto, please.
Coordinator: Mr. Kazumi Mizumoto, Vice President, Hiroshima Peace Institute,
Hiroshima City University
Thank you very much for your kind introduction. I am a coordinator of this dialogue
session. My name is Mizumoto from the Hiroshima Peace Institute, Hiroshima City
University. The theme of this session is “what should we do to abolish nuclear weapons“. Because this is a dialogue session, we invited three major organizations. The firstgroup is the representative of the A-bomb survivors, hibakusha.
Now I would like to introduce to you on behalf of the hibakusha, Mr. Sunao Tsuboi, theCo-chairperson of the Japan Confederation of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Sufferers
Organizations. Next, he is also a representative of hibakusha, Mr. Kazuo Ookoshi,
Secretary General of the Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of A- Bomb Sufferers
Organizations. The third group is – there are many citizens living in the city. They arethinking of the safety in their life as well as good. In daily life, ordinary people arelooking for safety and on behalf of the ordinary citizens, we invited Mr. Nobuhide
Okamura, President of the Hiroshima Consumers’ Co-operative Union. The second
group is representative of the youth in Hiroshima. The third year of Ms. Yui Tamitani,
Ms. Emi Inazumi, and Ms. Noriko Murakami from the Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior HighSchool.
We invited three groups. First I would like to invite Mr. Tsuboi on behalf of the A-bomb
survivors. He used to be a teacher and he is very active on behalf of the A-bomb
survivors and he is still a teacher to the Hiroshima community. He is a teacher to me too.
He is a kind of spiritual leader of the A-bomb survivors so I would like to ask Mr.
Tsuboi to make a speech first.
Mr. Sunao Tsuboi, Co-chairperson, Japan Confederation of A- and H-BombSufferers Organizations

1

My name is Sunao Tsuboi and I am 88 years old. I am hibakusha, an atomic bomb
survivor. I narrowly escaped death at that time although I have gone through a very
turbulent life so far. I started with my brief introduction so let me start with myexperience as an atomic bomb survivor, but before that I would like to inform you of thecurrent situation, meaning what has happened since the atomic bomb was dropped. Let
me start with this topic. I have two hopes and wishes. I have attained this wish andanother one. I have been suffering from two types of cancers and I have been receiving
treatment for this disease. I have been suffering from heart disease and have beentreated with medicine prescribed by the doctor and I am still suffering from these
diseases. I also place that medicine beside my pillow when I go to bed. Doctors prohibit
me to drink the medicine with water. I have to put it on my tongue and when my heart isabout to stop, I always turn to this medicine in my office always and also at home.
When I go abroad to the United States or on my way to the United States or to Europe
on my plane, I always carry that medicine. I take that medicine for my heart disease.
The third disease is I have very bad anemia meaning that I have not been able to makeblood well in my body and that function was destroyed by the atomic bombing. I havenot been able to digest all that I have for my energy and power to live. You can digest
100% of what you eat but only 70% for me so no matter how many times I go throughthe medical checkup, I have never been able to have my disease cured because my
blood-making function has been destroyed. That is the third disease I have.
I have been certified as having been suffering from the atomic bomb diseases. Sorry for
my long introduction but I have been suffering from these diseases. I have been taking
three kinds of medicine for my blood and also for my heart disease. Morning, noon, andevening, I take the medicine three times a day. And also I receive an intravenous drip
regularly, otherwise I cannot survive. That is what many other atomic survivors are like.
I am also a hibakusha.
About 68 years ago, I was 20 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped on
Hiroshima so 68 years have passed since then so I am 88 years old. I was attacked by
the atomic bomb at the age of 20 at 1km from the hypocenter. In the place where I was
hit by the atomic bomb, 60% of the people there were killed by the bomb. I was goingto a university at that time when the bomb was dropped and I lost my consciousness.
When I came to, I couldn’t even see 100m away, and at that time I found my body was
totally burned from head to toe, and all my clothes were burned away. All two parts ofmy trousers were burned away.
2

I was blown away 10m from where I had been when I was covered with blood. I wasburned – I was charred. That is what I was like at that time. I was almost naked because
my back was burning and I was wearing shorts and I was looking for a place that was
not burning as I fled to safer places. Back then, classmates and my juniors were also
working and studying with me. Back then I was very lucky to have survived thatsituation while other people didn’t. That was the wartime condition and our lives wereseverely affected by those harsh conditions. In the meantime, first aid stations were
established here and there in the city, temporary medical centers, and even though I
visited those places, they said, “No, there is no chance for you to cure your disease.” In
the meantime on August 15, the war was brought to an end, but we didn’t know that atthat time.
For one week after the bombing, I was living on the road and for the coming 40 days, I
don’t remember what I ate during that period. I have no memory about the food I ate. I
was hovering. I was on the verge of death. But today, I am here to talk to you because
many people helped me survive so I really hope that I will be able to return the favor to
all of those people. That is the idea I always have when I work for peace. I am 88 years
old and I go to my office to work and I also travel to Europe, India, Pakistan, and manyother countries, Vietnam, China, South Korea, North Korea, and I have been to theUnited States eight times. Those are my activities.
But while I am engaged in my activities, I am strongly resolved that nuclear weapons
should be abolished because nuclear weapons are different from other conventionalbombs because our suffering lasts for lifelong. That is the horror of radiation. Nuclear
weapons or atomic bombs should never be condoned for any reason. They shouldn’t
exist on Earth. That is an absolute evil. That is why we should abolish those weapons.
That is what I talk to and appeal to many people around the country.
Lastly, I have been able to survive, I was helped by one word uttered from my motherwhen I was unconscious at that time, she called my name very loudly and thatawakened me. That brought me back to consciousness. Without that voice from her, I
would not have been able to talk to you like this. Well, I want to say that life is precious,
whether it is terrorist attacks. I am strongly against such attacks. Of course individual
murder is intolerable. War should never be condoned because people kill other people.
We need wisdom. We need human wisdom to overcome all these problems. Thank youvery much for your kind attention.

3

Mr. Mizumoto
Thank you very much Mr. Tsuboi. I would like to mention two points. Mr. Tsuboi has
shared with us his tragedy. The radiation causes various symptoms. That is because theradiation hurt the genes so the symptoms may be different but because radiation hurts
the genes so all the organs can be affected so I would like you to understand this. Mr.
Tsuboi, as mentioned in his testimony, there are many, many A-bomb survivors who
have not talked about their experience yet because their wounds are so deep so I would
like to remember this too. Next, I would like to invite on behalf of hibakusha A-bomb
survivors, I will invite Mr. Kazuo Ookoshi, Secretary General of Hiroshima Prefectural
Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers Organizations.
Mr. Kazuo Ookoshi, Secretary General, Hiroshima Prefectural Confederation of
A-bomb Sufferers Organizations
My name is Ookoshi. I was A-bombed at the age of five years and I am going to talkabout what my organization is working on. There are three major efforts. One is thebetter understanding of the reality and passing on the experience of atomic boming.
Second, activities of abolishment of nuclear weapons. And third is hibakusha secrecy
and estimated radiation damage.
First I would like to talk about the better understanding of the reality and the passing of
the experience of the atomic bomb. The world is now paying more attention tohumanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. At the international conference in Oslothis year, there was a statement“It is surprising that the issue of nuclear weapons havebeen discussed only in the context of politics.” We must now focus on its inhumane
aspects. At the NPT Review PrepCom Meeting in April, the joint statement on thehumanitarian impact of nuclear weapons was announced and 80 countries endorsed it.
It is hibakusha who actually experienced the inhumanity of nuclear weapons. Our
mission to convey our experience has become even more significant now. Due to age
there are fewer survivors who can tell their experience. Hibakusha are talking to thesecond and third generation who sympathize and pass on our experience and activities
and to the visitors to Hiroshima City. Hibakusha are talking at various places in Japan aswell as abroad and emphasizing the use of nuclear weapons is a cruel and inhumane act.
At the same time, we are talking about the war that caused the atomic bombing and are
calling for a world free of nuclear weapons and wars.

4

People who listened to us vary in ages and it is not easy to convey the facts and our true
feelings in a short time. Our organizations give regular training, discussions can help us
make more efforts for better understanding of the truth. We are talking to about 40
thousand people every year. We are proud that we are playing our role in passing on our
experience to the next generation. We will continue to work on these activities.
The second activities of abolishment of nuclear weapons, under the oath of No More
Hibakusha, we have continued our efforts toward a world without nuclear weapons.
Global voices and movements towards elimination of nuclear weapons greatly
contributed to the prevention of several crises of the use of nuclear weapons.
Fortunately, owing to those movements, nuclear weapons have never been dropped onhumans after Nagasaki. However, there are still a great number of nuclear weapons
existing on Earth. Global voices led by hibakusha calling for the abolition of all nuclear
weapons are now reaching the nuclear weapon states that were admitted to possess
nuclear weapons.
At the 2010 NPT Review Meeting, the realization of a peaceful and safe world without
nuclear weapons was agreed and a call for the conclusion of Nuclear Weapon
Convention, a proposal by the Japan Council against Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs, hascollected nearly 3 million signatures. The Mayors for Peace has been collecting
signatures to call for the same goal as the Nuclear Weapon Convention. The largest
obstacle to the abolition of nuclear weapons is a nuclear deterrence that justified defense
and security by the possession of nuclear weapons. This must be overcome and brought
down. The adjoined statement and humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons submitted
to the NPT Review PrepCom Meeting stated that it is in the interest of the very survivalof humanity that nuclear weapons are never used again under any circumstances.
The Japanese government refused to endorse this statement because of the disagreementwith the phrase “under any circumstances.” The Chugoku newspaper in its editorial
strongly criticized the government, stating Japan shouldn’t call itself “the A-bombednation.” It became clear that Japan realized and the US nuclear umbrella for its national
security and policy is contradictory to its appeal for NPT. It is important to convince thenuclear weapon states leaning on nuclear deterrence and the states under the nuclear
umbrella about the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons.
To eliminate nuclear weapons, the UN secretary general appealed to the world from
Hiroshima on August 6, 2010, that we will abolish nuclear weapons in the lifetime of5the survivors. He also referred to the significant role that has been played the citizens’
movements. We have been encouraged by the words of the secretary general and wewill continue to work for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Finally, I would like to talk about the support to the hibakusha. The United Statesbanned publication of damages by the atomic bomb during the 7 year occupation.
During that period, hibakusha suffered from discrimination and stigmatization.
Hibakusha encouraged by the movement and the louder public voices against atomic
and hydrogen bombs formed an organization for their movement. 12 years after the
A-bombing, the early version of the Atomic Bomb Survivors’ Assistance Law was
introduced. Under this law, the Japanese government was refusing the compensation forother war damages, decided to give assistance to radiation damages and special
damages, different from the other war damages. This law defines the radiation damages
as the damage from initial radiation exposure and ignored the effects of residual
radiation and radioactive fallout; that continued secrecy and underestimating of theactual effects. This mistake was corrected by lawsuits, calling for the recognition ofradiation diseases. The ruling adopted the evidence given by scholars and researchersand criticized the mistake in the government’s measures.
The effects of residual radiation and radioactive fallout were recognized and themechanism and effects of internal exposure were clarified. The Japanese government
was pressed for correction and reviewed the criteria. The government successively lost
lawsuits and in 2009 concluded the confirmation letter with a representative ofhibakusha. The chief cabinet secretary then expressed an apology for the suffering of
the hibakusha over a long time. However, the four years have passed but the Japanese
government has not fulfilled the promise yet. For that reason, about 100 hibakusha
cannot help but sue the government for their recognition. This is the current situation.
In two areas, the ruling was in favor of hibakusha. Hiroshima requested for the
expansion of black rain areas. The review committee concluded that in the black rain
areas, there was no radioactive fallout to the effects that were caused only by worries
and anxiety about radiation exposure and the testimonies about black rain were nottrustworthy and thus rejected the request. The committee also announced thedesignation of the heavy rain area as an area affected by radiation was even wrong.
The secrecy and underestimating of radiation effects are the same attitude as seen in the
nuclear power plant accident were announced as no immediate impact on health. In
6Fukushima’s nuclear power plant accident, 168-fold more of cesium than that ofHiroshima was released and dispersed. Some children in Fukushima are suffering fromdiarrhea by unknown cause. Even now, 150 thousand people are forced to live inevacuation. They do not know when they can go home. Their worries and suffering onlife and health in the future continue. It is important not to allow any secrecy andunderestimate radiation effects that we saw in the atomic bombing. That will lead tosupport and compensation of the sufferers of the nuclear plant accident.
Most importantly, accurate information about radiation exposure must be disseminatedto all Japanese people and we shall not repeat history. To do so, it is essential forhibakusha to form solidarity. These are the three items that my organization is working
on. Thank you.
Mr. Mizumoto
Thank you very much. This has been a goal expressed by Mr. Ookoshi and we should
work hard for the abolition of nuclear weapons and also stress upon the stressing needfor that. Over the past years, scientists have made new discoveries about the danger ofradiation so we need to have a good understanding of this danger he stressed, especiallythe designated areas of black rain will reveal new facts as scientific research goes on, I
hope. Next, these two people have been invited here as representatives of the atomic
bomb survivors so next I would like to invite Mr. Nobuhide Okamura, President ofHiroshima Consumers’ Co-operative Union as one of the ordinary citizens.
Mr. Nobuhide Okamura, President, Hiroshima Consumers’ Co-operative Union
Thank you very much for your kind introduction. I am Okamura, President ofHiroshima Consumers’ Co-operative Union. First of all, I would like to give you a brief
outline of our organization and after that I would like to move to my PowerPoint. The
Hiroshima Union currently focuses on the areas of purchase, healthcare, and mutual aid
and is composed of 14 co-ops with a membership of about 950 thousand, some ofwhom also belong to several co-ops. Therefore, nearly one-third of the prefectural
households are our members I should say.
So our superior body, the Japanese Consumers’ Co-operative Union was established in
March 1951. WWII had taught us bitter lessons which formed the basis of the peacedeclaration our union issued. Since then, we have been aiming for a society based on
mutual cooperation and support. Ever since, “For peace and a better life” has been our
slogan. Peace is the first priority because back then for some time after the war people
7were arguing about which comes first, peace or a better life. But without peace, there is
no better life so they decided to put peace ahead of a better life.
In Hiroshima Prefecture, peace activities stand on the perspective of Hiroshima as theatomic bomb city. We have working to pass on the consequence of the atomic bombing
to posterity, carrying out signature collecting campaigns and peace marches for example.
Networking with other civic organizations is also an important part of our activities.
Above all, peace marches started in 1979 as an annual event and this is the 34rd year ofthat event. We have been joined by the atomic bomb survivors, women’s groups, youth
groups, YMCA, and co-ops. All these organizations which are the people on the street
for the importance of peace. Nuclear weapons with its inhumane nature cannot coexist
with humankind. It is an absolute evil. Nonetheless, on the planet there still exists about
19 thousand nuclear warheads. This absolute evil should not be entrusted with our
future. No wars, no nuclear weapons should exist in a peaceful world we aim to realize
and hand down to the next generation. That should be our responsibility and mission.
The atomic bomb survivors are still suffering from radiation diseases, living laden with
anxiety. They always tell me, nonetheless, “Our excruciating pain should never beinflicted upon other people again.” Their fortitude and their compassion always come asa great inspiration to us all. Now, Mayors for Peace will at this general conference adopt
a new Japanese name for it to better reflect the reality and closer to the English term
Mayors which will be welcomed by co-ops around the country. Also, we support your2020 Vision and people are now calling on their local governments, which are notmembers yet, to join you. Furthermore, for the conclusion of a nuclear weapons
convention, we are currently conducting signature collecting drive nationwide aroundthe country with the help of Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation. More and moreworkshops are being held on relevant issues today. I am so pleased to see many people
could stand in this project present here.
For the future, members of Mayors for Peace should work with citizens in unison for aworld free of wars and nuclear weapons, thus further augmenting the energy of civilsocieties. These efforts were initiated by our Hiroshima organizations – actually forthree years and our move has been spreading all over the country. In May this year, weissued an appeal and the copies of the appeal are ready at the entrance of this room. I
hope you will take one home.

8Now let me turn to my PowerPoint for further explanation. Over the past years, we havestressed upon the creation and also the passing on of the atomic bombing experience toother posterity. We firmly believe that no nuclear weapons should be used again.
For that purpose, we are organizing various workshops for that purpose. As for children,
this is our first attempt over the past year – actually we have many monuments here andthere in Hiroshima City but over the past years it was grown-ups who have beenworking as guides of those monuments. We thought that it would be important forchildren to do the job. Already, they started working today. At 5:00 in the evening today,
children are already working as tour guides of those monuments. This year, the third
graders and also the first year students of junior high school students have studied very
hard to be volunteer guides.
Next we are asking for the early conclusion of a nuclear weapons treaty and have been
conducting signature campaigns for that here and there in the country. Mayors for Peacehas been advocating for the early conclusion of this treaty and we wholeheartedly
endorse your move. And many co-ops around the country are working on this.
In 2011, we were able to collect 140 thousand signatures and those signatures werehanded down to Mr. Matsui, Mayor of Hiroshima who is present today. As I said earlier,
we strongly believe that our organization should work in close unison with Mayors for
Peace and in 2010 we appealed to people around the country about this importance. Mr.
Kunimoto, on the picture, was invited on that occasion. And another person was invited
to the rally and those two people gave lectures. Another one of our activities is peaceaction in Hiroshima. In this project, all the co-ops come to Hiroshima from around thecountry and we will hold various activities today and tomorrow in the gymnasium in
our city and we see the face of Mr. Tsuboi on the screen. Another activity is the peaceaction Hiroshima project, we hold a rainbow festival and on the screen there are various
photos that show the activities of that event. A total of 17 programs are offered on thatoccasion.
We also do field work. Last year, that picture on the left shows we have made a rivercourse to learn about the consequences about the atomic bombing. We made a rivercourse like that. Another picture shows the guided tours of monuments in Peace Parkbut the river crew was our first attempt in our history.
I forgot the networking activities. Aside from co-ops, we are working with variousorganizations. Peace March was organized by six different groups and we have been9

doing this for the past 30 years with those six organizations as the picture shows. And
the next one is the citizens’ rally for a peaceful world without war and nuclear weapons.
I have been repeating this but we find it necessary to work with other organizations.
Actually, we are cooperating with YMCA, women’s groups, and atomic survivors’organization, and that rally was held for the first time in 2011. The second round of thisrally was attended by the representatives of the prefectural government, including Mr.
Yuzaki, governor of Hiroshima. And he gave us encouraging message about ouractivities and also we received the message from Mr. Leeper, the former chairperson of
the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, and also from Mr. Hashimoto, the director of
the Regional Policy Beureau of the Hiroshima Prefectural Government, and we havebeen appealing for the participation of the leaders of co-ops around other countries. And
this year, 70 such people participated in this rally and listened to the survivors’ stories
and took part in various other activities, as the pictures show.
These are our own activities. For the past six years, we have been organizing the night
games of peace as the picture at the bottom shows. The Hiroshima Peace Culture
Foundation, Hiroshima Electric Railway Company, Hiroshima Toyo Carp, and also
Chugoku Newspaper have been supporting our activities. This year, in two days’ timeon August six, we will have a matchup between the Hanshin Tigers and Hiroshima Toyo
Carp here. Actually, this year, all the central league teams will hold night games forpeace. These are all official games so I think this is an unprecedented event. In
Hiroshima, Mr. Koji Kikkawa, a famous actor and singer from Hiroshima, will sing asong “Imagine” at the bottom of the fifth inning this year.
These are the networking activities with overseas organizations. Actually, we are themembers of the ICA, with agricultural cooperatives, and the ICA has a membership of 1
billion people so I think that is the same size as the membership of Mayors for Peace.
And from November 15-20, Geneva in Switzerland hosted the general assembly of thisorganization. Every year, peace resolution has been made so far, but none of that has
ever adopted the code for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Since I am from Hiroshima,I also took a rostrum and mentioned the 2020 Vision on that occasion and appealed forthe abolition of nuclear weapons.
Also in 2010, the NPT Review Conference was held. And on that occasion, six
representatives from Hiroshima Cooperative took part in that conference. The picture
shows the parade conducted by those people in New York. Last but not least, our efforts
might be small but one drop of water will gather to form a big river so just a small effort
10will be able to form huge energy. Well over the past year, I feel that energy has to gather
momentum little by little, but it starts with a small base.
Over the past year, that energy has just exploded over the past year, not only in Japanbut in overseas as well. That is my feeling and impression of the past year. The energyof civil societies will be momentum to move the international community and that will
eventually lead to a world without nuclear weapons and wars. I am firmly resolved
about that and these are the activities of our organizations. We will work very hard,
step-by-step, working with other people and other organizations around the country andthe world. Thank you very much.
Mr. Mizumoto
Thank you very much Mr. Okamura. He presented to us perspective of the ordinary
citizens. Which should come first, life or peace? Actually I would like to invite the three
students from Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High. I would like to talk about peace
activities, the United Nations, emphasizing the importance of nuclear disarmament andnuclear nonproliferation, especially the education of that. These students from Jogakuin
Senior High, in February this year, the disarmament conference held in Shizuoka andsome of the students visited there.
They were sitting in front and asked questions. One of the questions was how canHiroshima appeal to the world? That we will talk about the atrocities imposed on
Hiroshima but at the same time we have to consider the atrocities, we, Japan caused inother countries, neighboring countries. And a former diplomat came up to me later thefollowing day and he said he was impressed by the statement made by the student from
Jogakuin Senior High. Now I would like to invite Ms. Tamitani, Inazumi, andMurakami for their presentation.
Ms. Yui Tamitani, third-year student, Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High School
Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen, I am Yui Tamitani, a third-year of Hiroshima
Jogakuin Senior High. And I participated in the Critical Issues Forum held by theMonterey Institute of International Studies in California. I held a discussion about
nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation along with Russian and American students
about a world without nuclear weapons. I made a presentation of peace education. I
would like to show to you the presentation I made at that time. I had another presenter,
Ms. Makori, second-year, but she is now in the United States so on behalf of her, Ms.

11

Inazumi, second-year, is joining me. And second-year Murakami is going to operate theIT. I am going to begin now.
Hello everyone. While preparing for this forum, we studied about disarmament andnonproliferation issues widely and deeply like all of you here. And we came up withsome ideas that encourage us. This is the outline. First, we would like to introduce
Hiroshima Jogakuin. Then the objectives and suggestions for peace education. Then wewould like to talk about the outcome of peace education. Lastly, we will briefly
introduce the role of civil society and the government.
Our school in Hiroshima Jogakuin is an all-girls Methodist junior and senior highschool. It is 126 years old. The first principal was an American missionary woman. Thisis the picture of our school in 1945. On August 6, 1945, at 8:15am, the first atomic
bomb used in the war was dropped over Hiroshima. Located less than a mile from the
hypocenter, Jogakuin was completely destroyed. This is a picture of Jogakuin right after
the bombing. At our school, we have a unique peace education curriculum. However,
we must explain our sad history behind that. When the A-bomb was dropped on
Hiroshima, our school lost 352 students and teachers on that day. Some students
fortunately survived and some felt guilty about it because many of their friends andfamily were killed. Also, many of the hibakusha, or surviving victims of the A-bombing,were also victims of severe discrimination due to the fact that people at the time wereignorant about the consequences of radiation sickness. As years passed, the number ofhibakusha has decreased. As this problem gets serious, our school began a peaceeducation curriculum so that the memory of the A-bombing will be passed down andfuture generations can learn about peace.
Ms. Emi Inazumi, second-year student, Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High School
Next, we would like to introduce our peace education. In the 7th grade, we learn about
Jogakuin during WWII. In the 8th grade, we learn about the effects of the A-bomb in
Hiroshima. The 9th graders learn about Nagasaki, another A-bomb city. In the 10th
grade about Japan as an aggressor, and in the 11th grade, the grand battle in Okinawa.
Finally, in the 12th grade, about peace in the present day. Throughout this program, welearn the history of the war from many viewpoints and learn about today’s problems andmore than anything, to realize the true terror of war.
What is peace education? We think that peace education must start with learning thehistory of wars. Learning about factual information, and sharing the feelings of war
12victims give us the picture of the reality and the terror of war. We think this phase isnecessary to realize how important peace is, and at the same time, the tragedy war
victims experienced should never be repeated. Thus, we can learn how to unwise it is tosolve problems with violence such as war.
The second phase of peace education is to pass the A-bomb survivors’ experience down
generations. Now the number of hibakusha is coming down. Their average is over 78.
We need to remember that we are the last generation who can directly listen to theirexperience. Learning about the inhuman consequence of Hiroshima and Nagasakimeans that we are also learning about what would happen if nuclear bombs were to be
used again. To overcome these problems, we came up with two items we should aim for.
That is, we should have empathy with war victims and feel the terror of war. The otherone is that we should be more active to prevent nuclear wars.
Ms. Tamitani
We believe those two will solve the problems we have now. Please let us explain what
the problems are. First of all, many people still do not know the real terror of nuclear
weapons. For example, Atomic Fire Ball candy. In the lecture by Mr. Arthur Binard, an
American poet and peace activist, learned the word “atomic” is used as the word
“amazing.” I was really shocked and disappointed because I have been learning theterror of A-bombs and trying to imagine the hibakusha’s feelings. I can’t stand such a
joke. Besides, the candy itself tasted awful. If people have empathy for hibakusha, they
can’t use such words. Next, the factual knowledge about nuclear weapons is lacking.
There was a very regretful research held in Japan that proves this. According to thesurvey held in 2010, only 33% of 4-6th grade elementary school students in Hiroshima
were able to answer the correct date and time of the A-bombing. If this situation goes on,
the history of A-bomb victims will be forgotten and the world will repeat the tragedy. As
the proverb goes, history repeats itself.
In order for all of this not to happen, we think peace education should be taught at
school. First, peace education can be incorporated into existing education, such as social
studies, science, language, art, computer classes, ideally 3 hours per subject per year. In
fact, peace can be learned in all subjects. In a science class, you can learn the A-bomb’s
effect on the environment and human body. Through a social studies class, you canlearn about the history of wars and treaties that are used to make the world morepeaceful. In a language or literature class, we can learn the testimonies of hibakusha.
The book “Summer Cloud” and “My Hiroshima” are the stories of survivors. The
13

former was written by our English teachers and the latter by another who experienced
the A-bomb. We read them in our English classes.
This is another example of peace education. This work of art was made of paper cranes
by junior high school students in Shizuoka, Japan where the United Nations conference
was held in early February this year. They thought about the image of peace andexpressed it like this. It was really beautiful and we saw many people stop to see it. Thisis a good example of how peace education can be incorporated into art class. Besides
peace education in existing education, we suggest that schools have peace week. It
could be around the time of international peace day on September 21. During this week,
students are expected to have discussions and give presentations not only on what theylearned but also on what they want to do to make peace. Many students can be
encouraged to do something further or they can do extra-curricular activities.
In fact, at our school, a lot of students are involved in peace activities. Let me show you
some examples. First, some students, including me, have been taking part in the
production of the Hiroshima archive. It is an interactive Google Map, showing thetestimonies and pictures of survivors. If you click on a place or person on the map, you
can see what happened on August 6, 1945. We interviewed survivors of the A-bomb forthe archives in cooperation with a professor from Tokyo. Not only that, you cancompare what Hiroshima was like before the bombing and what it is like now. There areother archives such as Nagasaki and Okinawa. Of course, if there are testimonies you
want to pass to the next generation, you can make a similar website yourself. Pleasecheck out this website.
Ms. Inazumi
The next activity is a tour of Peace Park in Hiroshima, Volunteers from our school,
including us, guide visitors from other prefectures and countries around Peace Park andexplain the meaning of the monuments and cenotaphs there. These pictures of the park
we did on April 13. We guided American high school students from Rhode Island. Next,
the petition to abolish nuclear weapons is a grassroots signature campaign designed by
Jogakuin students and teachers together with all of you, the Mayors for Peace. Students
stand on the street, talking to passersby, and asking for their signatures. The signatures
we collect are usually sent to the United Nations and are displayed at the headquarters
in New York, but the ones collected this past year were brought by the mayor of
Hiroshima, Mr. Matsui, to the Second Preparatory Committee for the 2015 NPT Review
Conference in April in Geneva.
14Finally, we would like to talk about Jogakuin International Cooperation Society, or JICS.
This club not only does international exchanges but also focuses on peace activities. Its
motto is to research problems from many viewpoints and think of how to solve them.
Then they make presentations to their fellow members and finally take action. For
example, they are collecting used musical instruments such as recorders and keyboard
harmonicas from students and are going to send them to the children in Cambodia
where they don’t have enough of them. Besides what we have been doing, we havemore ideas. For example, we could visit preschools or elementary schools and spend
time with small children and think about peace together. For instance, asking them what
color peace might be and actually drawing pictures of peace with them. Some may draw
faces of smiles, and others may draw nature. It will be a good opportunity to think ofwhat peace is like for small children.
Ms. Tamitani
More ideas? Yes. We can use pop culture or fads. For example, Michael Jackson. In hismusic “Man in the Mirror,” he encourages listeners to start taking action by themselves.
We can organize flash mobs to express peace. We can use Facebook or Twitter and share
our feelings and thoughts about peace. It is not only pop culture. Mamoru Samuragoch,
a completely deaf music composer from Hiroshima expresses the A-bombing in his
symphony named Symphony No.1 “Hiroshima.” All these activities are popular among
us and are expected to increase the number of peacemakers on a grassroots level. Whenpeople who receive peace education in various ways grow up, some may join an NGO
and as an NGO may have a chance to move the government and guide world change. Or
some may work for the government, local or national. Some can become scientists orteachers and educate children about the danger of nuclear weapons. However, all of us
do not have to work like professionals. What matters is, people’s awareness about
disarmament is expected to be raised through peace education, and eventually, people
will be less indifferent to this matter. Indeed, peace education has such a great potentialthat the circle of peacemakers will spread much wider.
Before concluding our presentation, we will look at some governments and the civilsociety. Last March, the Oslo Conference was held by the Norwegian government. This
was a remarkable conference in that the inhumane aspect of nuclear weapons waswholly and widely discussed. In holding this conference, an NGO called ICAN,
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, took an essential role. They urged
many countries to attend this conference, and also ask them to make remarks. As aresult, 127 countries took part in this conference, from which we are able to see this15

powerful role of the civil society. The former United States Defense Secretary, William
Perry, said the Oslo Conference was not something digressive to step-by-step approachthat the five nuclear weapon states are taking. Rather it had a very important role to let
the participating countries and the civil society recognize the inhumane aspect of
nuclear weapons.
Ms. Inazumi
Lastly, let us introduce what some non-nuclear weapon states are doing. It is widely
known that Japan, Germany, and some other nations are under nuclear umrom spreading.
In fact, however, they have been doing something good. I will show you an example of
the NPDI, the nonproliferation and disarmament initiative, it is a coalition of states
within the framework of nuclear nonproliferation treaty formed in 2010 composed of 10
non-nuclear weapon states such as Australia, Canada, Germany, Japan, and some others.
They had the Sixth Ministerial Conference in April in Hague, Netherlands. There, theyrecognized the role of civil society as follows, “We recognize the significant role thatcivil society can play in the field of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation. The
NPDI is ready to intensify its engagement with civil society organizations in order toattain our common objectives.”
At the same time, the conference welcomed Japan’s announcement of launching theyouth communicator for a world without nuclear weapons. This program will be a great
opportunity for us young people to let the government know that we really want theworld free of nuclear weapons and that peace education should be introduced in every
school immediately.
Peace education can raise awareness of children and young people. If it becomes
pervasive, people will think of the world free of nuclear weapons more often, andunderstand and hopefully support various activities to abolish nuclear weapons. In otherwords, peace education will change indifferent people into peacemakers. And thosepeacemakers are the members of civil society. As we can see, the role of the civilsociety is getting more critical in politics and diplomacy. We believe the possibilities forthe civil society are infinite, which will make abolition of nuclear weapons happen in
the immediate future.
Ms. Tamitani
Ladies and gentlemen, please remember that the civil society should be composed of us– peacemakers – through peace education. Without peace education, it is impossible to16raise people’s awareness and foster future generations. No peace education, no future.
Peace is not just there, it is something we make. Why don’t you start or continue peaceeducation when you get back to you hometown? Three hours of peace education per
subject can change the world. Thank you for listening.
Mr. Mizumoto
Thank you very much. Thank you Yui, Emi, and Noriko. Thank you very much. As auniversity teacher, I have nothing to add to the well-prepared presentation. I want to add
just two things. One is that they represent the female youth in Hiroshima and our future
must be very bright. I am convinced. But there is one problem, what are the male youth
doing in Hiroshima? We should send a wakeup call to boys in Hiroshima. In myuniversity there are so many energetic female students like them. We should encourage
male students to become more active.
Another thing, I would like to expose one secret thing. They represent a good female
community in Hiroshima, based on the network of Hiroshima Jogakuin High School
and we have Foreign Minister Kishida from Hiroshima and I heard that Foreign
Minister Kishida’s wife also graduated from Hiroshima Jogakuin so we can influence
the Foreign Minister by the network of Hiroshima Jogakuin to give some message to hiswife to change the world through disarmament. Thank you very much for an excellent
presentation.
Now we have finished four presentations from the Hiroshima community. Because thisis a dialogue session of representatives from cities and also the Hiroshima community
so I would like to invite one presentation from the group representing the “That Day”
film. Rebecca Irby and Richard Mirocco, please come to the podium to givepresentations.
Richard Mirocco, Co-producer,“That Day”Film
Mr. Matsui, Mr. Chairman, Mr. Coordinator, and mayors, delegates, participants,
volunteers, and most of all the survivors, as well as you students right here, I am
honored to be on the stage with you people. It was a wonderful presentation. My nameis Rich Mirocco and I am the co-producer along with Rebecca Irby of a film entitled“That Day.”“That Day” is a documentary that follows the lives of two members of the Mito family
who narrowly survived the devastating atomic attack on Hiroshima of August 6, 1945.
17

Through the story of these two individuals, the documentary will show the horror andunbelievable destructive force that these weapons can unleash onto humanity as well as
the compassionate and powerful healing force of the human spirit. The documentaryalso educates the public on the past events and the current situation involving theworld’s nuclear nations and the absurdity that follows the nuclear arming of politicallyaggressive nations, most recently Iran and North Korea.
This documentary will show that all the arming of one nation does is promote thenuclear arming of another nation, creating a spiral effect that was already clearly
demonstrated for all of us to see during the Cold War between the United States and theSoviet Union. We are all here because we share the same vision of a nuclear free
tomorrow. And in so much, the delegation has grown much over the last few years. But
it saddens me to think that also what has grown is the technology that is used indelivering these weapons and guiding these weapons to our cities so it is with a heavy
heart that I do believe we may be in more danger now than ever before.
We believe this film and its message is a powerful and effective way to help informlarge groups of people about what really happened that day and how it can happen again
today, and give them a plan of action to help abolish nuclear weapons.
My friends, Rebecca and I would like to work with you to create events in your cities orwith your organization. We will help you reach a larger audience by involving local
people, multimedia, and our film to continue promoting widespread change. It is our
vision to create events which attract people from all ages and walks of life, but mostimportantly our young decision makers – tomorrow’s decision makers.
As you can see, the film is a long-term project that does not stop with the documentary.
So please, stop by our booth today or tomorrow, feel free to watch the film, it is in
English with Japanese subtitles, and discuss with us the possibilities of how we can send
our message together and how you can sign the petition to help abolish nuclear weapons.
Because as long as nations of the world continue to seek out and stockpile nuclear
weapons and nuclear weapons technology, and also deny the devastating aftereffects
that nuclear technology can cause, there will always be a need to remember “That Day.”
Thank you.
Mr. Mizumoto18

Thank you very much Richard Morocco. Now our scheduled time is already over but if
there is one comment or question from the floor, I would like to invite if it is urgent. Is
there anyone who wants to make a comment or question? There is a unanimous
agreement that there will be no more comments or questions. I would like to finish thesession by making a brief comment in Japanese.
We have heard various comments from many people and in 2015 the NPT Review
Committee will be held. Next year in 2014, the Foreign Ministerial Meeting will be heldand Hiroshima citizens, as well as administration, will work hard to make it successful.
The presentations we heard today show the activities of various organizations who are
working for tomorrow’s Hiroshima. That concludes the Dialogue Session. Thank youvery much for your cooperation.
Thank you very much. This concludes today’s program.

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The 8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace

Dialogue Session with Government
Officials and NGOs
Roles of Respective Governments and NGOs
for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons

Message of Peace
August 5 (Mon), 2013 11:00-13:15
International Conference Center Hiroshima (Himawari)
Keiko Nakamura
Associate Professor, Research Center for Nuclear WeaponsAbolition, Nagasaki University
Presentation on the Efforts made by government officials and NGOs:
Bjørn Midthun
Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of Norway to Japan
H. E. Claude Heller RouassantAmbassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mexico toJapan
Mitsuru Kitano
Director-General, Disarmament, Non-proliferation and Science
Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan
Sanjay Panda
Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of India to Japan
Vincent Nicod
Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)Tokyo Mission
Akira Kawasaki
Co-Chair of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear
Weapons (ICAN)
Presentation on the Efforts made by Hiroshima Prefectural Government:
Hidehiko Yuzaki
Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
Presentation of Views :Aibek Karimov
Mayor of Semey, Kazakhstan
Nobuyuki Asai
Chair of Soka Gakkai Youth Peace Conference
Takayuki Koasano
Leader of the International Exchange Group“CANVaS”
Message of Peace: Oliver Stone
Film Director, USA
Coordinator:

MC
Ladies and gentlemen, we now open the dialogue session with government officials andNGOs. The session is coordinated by Ms. Keiko Nakamura, associate professor of
Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition of Nagasaki University. She worked on
nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation activities as secretary general of Peace Depot
until March 2012 and then transferred to Nagasaki University when the research center
opened in April 2012. Now Ms. Keiko Nakamura please.
Coordinator: Ms. Keiko Nakamura, Associate Professor, Research Center for
Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University
Good morning. It is a great honor for me to serve as the coordinator. I am Nakamura
from the Research Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition of Nagasaki University. The
theme for this dialogue session is Roles of Respective Governments and NGOs for the
Abolition of Nuclear Weapons. We have two hours for this session so today there aremany initiatives taken by national governments, international organizations, and NGOs.
We have participants representing those organizations playing an important role for theabolition of nuclear weapons so we are going to discuss their roles.
Recently in the global society, since 2010 the first preparation committee of NPT
Review Conference, a lot of discussion is ongoing, focusing on the inhumanity of
nuclear weapons. Based on what is happening in the global arena, we are going to talkabout the key players and we have the pleasure of having the participation of the key
players. Hiroshima, we have been looking forward to the abolition of nuclear weapons
for so long and it is a wonderful opportunity that we could invite those who are playing
very important roles and I feel a great honor for me to be here as a coordinator for suchan important session.
I would like to introduce today’s speakers: H.E. Mr. Bjorn Midthun, Charge d’Affaires
ai of Norway; H.E. Mr. Claude Heller Rouassant, Ambassador Extraordinary of Mexico;
Mr. Mitsuru Kitano, Director-General of Disarmament Nonproliferation and Science
Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan; H.E. Mr. Sanjay Panda of India;
Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Tokyo Mission, Mr.
Vincent Nicod; Co-Chair, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN),
Mr. Akira Kawasaki; it is a great pleasure to have your presence and Governor Hidehiko
Yuzaki from Hiroshima Prefecture is among the audience. Later he is going to talkabout what Hiroshima Prefecture is doing as the governor of A-bombed Hiroshima.

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Now without further ado, we would like to ask each representative to make their speech.
Mr. Bjorn Midthun, Charge d’Affaires ai of Norway, His Excellency.
In Oslo in March, under the theme of the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons,
there was the first meeting to be held. I believe this was a very critical discussion which
took place in Oslo. In Norway, we would like to hear what kind of things are going on,
with also the updates of the progress. Your Excellency, you have the floor please.
Mr. Bjørn Midthun, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of Norway to Japan
Thank you very much. Excellencies, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen.
First of all, thank you very much for the invitation to speak on behalf of Norway at the
8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace.
This conference serves as a great example of how cities and local communities can join
forces for a greater cause: the total abolition of nuclear weapons. This commendable
initiative by the Mayor of Hiroshima is now supported by I believe over 1 billion people
from some 5,700 cities, and representing 157 countries of the world at the last count,
including 90 cities from my own country in Norway. I am pleased to see my fellow
countryman and board member, the Mayor of Frogn, Mr. Thore Vestby here at theconference.
This conference is also an important annual reminder of the tragic events that took placein Japan those August days 68 years ago, and of the unprecedented human suffering theuse of nuclear weapons brought upon the men, women, and children of Hiroshima andNagasaki. Equally important, this conference is a reminder to us all of the fact that we
continue to live in a world where thousands of nuclear weapons still exist. As long as
they do, there will always be a risk of them being used again.
Madam Chair, here in Japan, the effects of a nuclear explosion was experienced twice
and is still present in many people’s minds. But the attention and knowledge of theeffects of nuclear weapons are arguably relatively low in many countries andparticularly among young people. For Norway, it has therefore been important to put thehumanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons firmly back on the agenda. In March
this year, Norway therefore hosted a conference in Oslo on the humanitarian impact of
nuclear weapons. We were pleased that 128 states attended as well as UN agencies, theICRC, and members from the civil society, including from Japan. The aim of theconference was to be an arena for a facts-based discussion on the humanitarian and2

developmental consequences of a nuclear weapon detonation. In plain text, theconference focused on what actually happens on the ground after a nuclear explosion.
The main conclusion from the conference in Oslo is that no state or international bodyin any meaningful way could address the immediate humanitarian emergency caused bya nuclear weapons detonation. No existing national or international emergency system
would be able to provide adequate assistance to the victims.
In Oslo, we also discussed both the devastating immediate effects of the use and testingof nuclear weapons and their serious long term effects on development. The effects of a
nuclear weapons detonation will not be constrained by national borders and will affectstates and people in significant ways, regionally as well as globally. Nuclear detonations
affect future generations’ health, food security, and vital natural resources, and hamper
socioeconomic development. While political circumstances have changed much inrecent years, the destructive potential of nuclear weapons remains with us. We must
continue to actively address this threat and to place the humanitarian impact at the coreof our efforts. I would like to commend Mexico for hosting a follow-up conference inFebruary 2014.
We believe that there is a new sense of urgency that will govern our work in this area.
We have this spring been reminded in very sharp terms that the use of these weapons is
considered to be a realistic option by a certain country. As long as the probability of a
nuclear weapons detonation exists, the consequences of such an event means it must beof humanitarian concern. The overall number of nuclear weapons in the world has fallen
steadily since the end of the Cold War. But tens of thousands of nuclear weapons remain
the arsenal of states. Meanwhile, the number of states with access to these arms has
unfortunately increased. Combined with continued documented nuclear weapons
accidents and the ever-present risk of nuclear theft or diversion, this means that thedangers must be addressed.
In short, nuclear weapons represent a very serious and broad security problem. This is
why the issue is on the international agenda. Present and former political leaders allover the world are advocating the importance of removing the risk that nuclear weapons
represent, including the President of the United States of America. This increased
attention gives new hope.

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We do hope the humanitarian engagement will in turn contribute to real progress on
nuclear disarmament. Norway, like Japan, firmly subscribes to the goal of a world freeof nuclear weapons and we continue to work towards the realization of that goal.
Madam Chair, ever since it was established in 1982, Mayors for Peace has raised
awareness of the importance of abolishing nuclear weapons among political leaders aswell as the general public. The personal commitment of national leaders and key
stakeholders will no doubt be crucial for achieving a world free of nuclear weapons. But
we also need the insistence and impatience of the general public. This is why
conferences like this one are important.
For too long, the nuclear weapons issue has been reduced to a question of state security.
It is, of course. But with their unique ability to disrupt all life on Earth, it is as much aquestion of world security. And with their colossal and indiscriminate effects, nuclear
weapons are also a question of humanitarian security.
In conclusion, Madam Chair, the goal is clear. No more Hiroshimas, and no more
Nagasakis. Our challenge is how to get there. We must all contribute. My government
will continue to work relentlessly towards this goal. And in return I hope that you will
do our part and keep this issue at the forefront of the political agenda in all yourrespective countries. Thank you very much for your attention.
Ms. Nakamura
Humanitarian dimension of nuclear disarmament has been stressed by His Excellency. I
work in Nagasaki which is also an A-bomb city like Hiroshima. Since 2010, inhumannature of nuclear weapons has been discussed in various places. And then hibakusha
and other people tell me, “Why now?” For as long as 68 years we have been talking
about stressing the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons and this is very straightforward
and honest feeling on your part. I feel really sorry about this. Nuclear weapons havebeen discussed for many years, as elaborated by His Excellency Midthun, only from theviewpoints of military doctrines and national security of state, but in that sense, theessential message from Hiroshima and Nagasaki through hibakusha is the inhumanenature of nuclear weapons have only caught the attention of the world people justrecently. For all the people, this is indeed a serious genuine issue and human security
must be placed at the central point of what we do. Thank you very much Your
Excellency.

4Now as the follow-up to the Oslo conference, a conference in Mexico is going to beheld as told by Ambassador Midthun and Mexico is going to be a very important state inthat sense. I am very happy to have His Excellency Claude Heller, the Mexican
Ambassador to Japan. Your Excellency, please.
H.E. Mr.Claude Heller Rouassant, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiaryof Mexico to Japan
Thank you very much. It is an honor to address the 8th Conference of Mayors for Peace
who expresses the will of many cities and millions of citizens all around the world, andcontributes to the cause of nuclear disarmament and the abolition of the nuclear
weapons. The maintenance of the international peace cannot be the monopoly of
Nuclear Weapons States. It is a common responsibility of all governments, politicalbodies and civil society.
Mexico has maintained as one of its main foreign policy priorities the build-up of aworld free of weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons, as the only
way to preserve life on earth and to promote peace and sustainable development inaccordance with the principles and objectives of the United Nations Charter.
Since the creation of the United Nations, Mexico’s diplomacy has been engaged andassociated with all the initiatives in favor of nuclear disarmament and the significant
negotiations of the still fragile body of multilateral treaties and conventions in thiscrucial field, mainly the NPT and CTBT. The creation of the first human nuclear
weapons free zone in Latin America and the Caribbean, under the Tlatelolco Treaty in1967 was a clear example of a concrete response to the dangers of a nuclear
confrontation so real during the missile crisis in Cuba in 1962.
Beyond relevant recent bilateral agreements and positive steps among the two main
Nuclear Weapons States, the world is at risk on the precipice of a new and dangerous
nuclear era. The expectations generated by the speech of President Obama in Prague in2009, laying out the vision of a world free of nuclear weapons, has not yet been fulfilled.
Today more than 20,000 nuclear weapons exist in the world capable to be activated in ashort period time.
The reduction of nuclear forces and the review of military doctrines have not been an
obstacle to the modernization of existing arsenals. There is no rational justification of5the existence of the nuclear weapons which, more than guarantee the security of theworld, represents a threat for our survival.
The maintenance of doctrines of nuclear deterrence goes against the essence itself of the
NPT and it is at the end also an invitation for nuclear proliferation by non-possessors of
nuclear weapons. As Mohamed Elbaradei has stated, in the era of globalization, “thethreat will persist as long the international community continues to address only thesymptoms of each new proliferation challenge…So long as nuclear weapons remain asecurity strategy for a limited few possessor countries, the proliferation risk will be withus”.
In 2013, in a turbulent world, the lack of balance between the three pillars of the NPT–nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy- are not
only at the center of bitter controversies and recriminations among States, but remain at
the sources of threats to international peace in the Korean Peninsula, the Middle Eastand the North East Asia.
The Conference of Disarmament, the “sole multilateral forum for negotiation” has notcomplied with its role for more than 17 years being the hostage of its rules of procedure,
which require the consensus of its members for any decision. This situation cannot lastmore and the impasse has to be overcome.
During decades, the accent in the disarmament deliberations was put on the political andsecurity perspectives, the technical aspects of the arms world race, the doctrines ofdeterrence and the implementation of existing international agreements, and the need of
new multilateral instruments such as the negotiation of Fissile Material Cut Off Treaty(FMCT) and of a future nuclear weapons ban convention.
The catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, if well mentioned invarious UN resolutions and multilateral instruments, have been in a certain way
neglected and not being properly considered in the agenda.
In recent years, the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons has increasingly berecognized as a fundamental and global concern that must be at the core of alldeliberations on nuclear disarmament and no proliferation. This issue was clearly
established in the global agenda in the Final Document of the 2010 Review Conferenceof the NPT, and in the resolution adopted in 2011 by the Council of Delegates of the6International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement taking into account the
implications for the international humanitarian law.
That is why the time has come again to highlight the humanitarian dimension of thismatter. The use and testing of nuclear weapons have largely demonstrated the harmcaused by the immense, uncontrollable destructive capability an indiscriminate nature ofthese weapons beyond national borders.
The immediate death and destruction caused by a nuclear detonation, will be followedby the disruption of the socioeconomic development, the destruction of the environment
and future generations will be robbed of their health, food water and other vital
resources. Recent studies on specific regional scenarios suggest the irreversible impact
in all fields of human life.
It is clear that the use of nuclear weapons would be an open contravention of the Human
Rights and the principles of the International Humanitarian Law, and consequently,
would constitute a crime against humanity.
Today, no one, even the most fervent partisans of the existence of the nuclear weapons,
can deny the incalculable human suffering associated with their use and theirirreversible consequences for mankind. This a point that we have to emphasize.
The March 2013 Conference held in Oslo organized by the Norwegian government
presented a platform to engage in a fact-based discussion on the impact of a nuclear
weapon detonation whether by accident, miscalculation or design. The broad
participation at the conference reflected the existing concern that no State orinternational body could address the immediate emergency caused by a nuclear
detonation or provide adequate assistance to the victims.
For all these reasons, the government of Mexico is honored to host next year afollow-up Conference to further broaden and deepen the understanding of this matterand the resolve of the international community to address the humanitarian impact of
nuclear weapons.
What happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki 68 years ago should not repeat again
anywhere in the world under any circumstances. The lesson learned is that there is not a
way out. The abolition of the nuclear weapons is the unique guarantee that nuclear
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weapons will never be used again. The roadmap is clear: we share the responsibility toprevent the use of nuclear weapons, to prevent their vertical and horizontal proliferationand to achieve nuclear disarmament trough the NPT and its universalization.
By raising awareness about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear
weapons, civil society has a crucial role to play side by side with governments. I hopethat the Mexico Conference will represent a further step in this good direction. Thankyou very much.
Ms. Nakamura
It was a very powerful talk about the importance of highlighting the inhumanity of
nuclear weapons. As long as there are some nations that want to possess nuclear
weapons and there are countries who feel value in nuclear weapons, as long as there arethose countries, we cannot stop proliferation. We are creating value in nuclear weapons
by highlighting the value of nuclear weapons and we have to cut off this vicious circle.
In other words, now, by highlighting the inhumanity of nuclear weapons, we have tochange the thinking that nuclear weapons have political and military value. And wehave to strengthen a new awareness that nuclear weapons have no value in political andmilitary and humanitarian ways. That is new way of thinking we have to have.
Next we would like to hand it over to director general of Disarmament Nonproliferationand Science Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mitsuru Kitano. As you know,
within NPDI, Japan together with Mexico next year, we are going to host a ministerial
meeting here in Hiroshima so from that point of view, Japan must take a strong initiativeon this front. And there are many expectations of Japan’s initiative so including thatpoint, we would like to ask Mr. Kitano to explain Japan’s initiatives.
Mr. Mitsuru Kitano, Director-General, Disarmament Nonproliferation and Science
Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan
Thank you very much for you introduction. I am Kitano from the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. Thank you very much for inviting me to the 8th General Conference of Mayors
for Peace and giving me the opportunity to have dialogue with you.
As Professor Nakamura just explained, I am going to explain Japan’s initiatives,
especially highlighting how we are treating humanity of nuclear weapons and what
proliferation and disarmament initiatives we plan to conduct in Japan. Today I have
prepared my PowerPoint presentations. We heard the latest situation of disarmament8and nonproliferation activities in the world and I have to apologize. I only have myPowerPoint in the Japanese language only so I must apologize to the participants who
do not read Japanese. It is only written in Japanese so please listen to my explanation
although you cannot read my slides.
This is the first slide. This is the current situation of the world in terms of disarmamentand nonproliferation. I think these are just well-known facts and common sense among
the participants of this meeting but we would just like to review some of the main points.
The blue column, nations that are in blue, the United States, Russia, the UK, France,
and China, these five nations are nuclear weapons states within the framework of NPT.
Especially Russia and the United States possess more than 90% of the nuclear arsenalthat exist in the world. US and Russia with the START Treaty, they commit to reduce
the nuclear arsenal to 1,500 and recently in Berlin, the statement by Mr. Obama is a
proposal to further reduce the nuclear arsenal.
These are the five nuclear weapons states. The US, Russia, they are trying to reduce thenumber of nuclear arsenal. And France and the UK are moving in the same direction.
But China, there are suspicions that China is actually trying to increase the number of
their nuclear arsenal. India, Pakistan, Israel are nations that are highlighted in yellow.
These three countries are non-members to NPT. So outside the framework of NPT, butthey actually possess nuclear weapons or are suspected that they possess nuclear
weapons. North Korea, Iran, and Syria, these nations in red, they all currently haveissues and are capturing attention in terms of suspicion in developing nuclear weapons.
I am not going to elaborate the details of each country but they have risks ofproliferation that are discussed.
I have named some specific nations. Up until now, the countries that have possessed
nuclear weapons in the past or there are other countries who had suspicions in terms ofpossession of nuclear weapons. For example, South Africa, they used to have nuclear
weapons but they abolished it. Libya, they had plans to possess nuclear weapons but
they abandoned it. And former Soviet Union countries, Ukraine, Belarus, andKazakhstan, these three countries by the breakdown of the former Soviet Union, theyused to have nuclear weapons but they decided not to possess nuclear weapons anymore.
And Iraq and some other countries have problems with the suspicion of nuclear
development as you are probably well aware.

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So what I would like to say about these countries is that there have been someeffectiveness in terms of nonproliferation efforts but at the same time, there are stillrisks in terms of proliferation. That is the current situation of the international societythat we live in at the moment. So based on this understanding, we have to promote ourinitiatives aiming at nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament. Next slide please.
So what is the stance of Japan? Needless to say, Japan has the Hiroshima and Nagasaki
experience. It is a sad and devastating experience. During the war we experienced theatomic bombing. Based on this experience, we have the responsibility to promote
nuclear disarmament. At the same time, the situation surrounding Japan – if you look at
it as you remember the map – surrounding Japan in the East Asia, the security
environment is very severe at the moment. North Korea’s suspicion of nuclear weapons
development and other issues. So what we have to do as a country, there are two things
that Japan needs to be aware of.
First, last week Foreign Minister Kishida came to Hiroshima and had a roundtablediscussion and he mentioned that first we have to have the correct awareness of thehumanitarian impact of the use of nuclear weapons and we have to expand thisawareness to the broader world. Also, international society is faced with increasing
nuclear risks and that is awareness that we have to have clearly. Based on these twopoints of awareness, what are we trying to do or what are we already doing? Next slide
please.
First in terms of correct awareness of humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, awayfrom what is written on the slide, there was a newspaper article in July that I would liketo read out. In the United States, Mr. Colin Powell, he responded to an Asahi Shimbun
newspaper interview. He said, “Nuclear weapons militarily has no value.” He said it isbecause it is a cruel weapon and if you are a proper leader, you would not want to use it.
And if you don’t use it, it has no value, in principles. So he experienced this when he
was a state minister, when Pakistan and India had tensions in 2002. He said to theleaders of Pakistan, he requested Pakistani leaders to think about and remember thephotos of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. He spoke to the Pakistani leaders on the phone. He
said to the Pakistani leaders, “You know that you are not going to use nuclear weapons.”
And then said to the Pakistani leaders, “After 1945 August, do you really want tobecome the first country who uses these nations again? Do you want to become such aleader?” and the Pakistani leader said “No.” and India said, “No.” So this message ofColin Powell and how his statement had impacted India and Pakistan, we don’t know
10the details, but he himself declared that because of his explanation and talk, the tension
was resolved.
It is important that people know what it means to use nuclear weapons. The practical
impact of the use of nuclear weapons. That is important awareness that all people haveto have. Japan has the experience of the use of nuclear weapons and we have theresponsibility to convey the reality of nuclear weapons use in Hiroshima and Nagasaki
to the world and it is a very valuable exercise to do. As you can see in this slide, we in
the government have many initiatives to descend in coordination with other groups. For
example, special communicator for a world without nuclear weapons. Through theirmessages, we will convey the reality of nuclear weapons use to the world. And thenmultilingual translation of hibakusha testimonies. We try to convey hibakusha messages
in different languages. Also photo exhibitions and A-bomb exhibitions overseas. These
are the efforts we have been promoting to convey the reality of nuclear weapons use. I
think these are very important activities. Next slide please.
Another important awareness that we have to have is the awareness of the diversifying
nuclear risks that do exist. There are three proposals that we have. Again, at theHiroshima Roundtable our Foreign Minister Kishida mentioned these three points.
These three points, the first one is the reduction of the number of nuclear weapons.
Second is the reduction of the role of nuclear weapons. And the third is the reduction of
the motivation of the development and possession of nuclear weapons. The third point
has just been expressed by the coordinator of this session, Professor Nakamura. So toachieve these three points, we through various diplomatic means are promoting thesethree points.
In terms of NPT, in 2015 there will be an NPT Review Meeting and as Professor
Nakamura explained, disarmament NPT initiative and NPDI is a group of 10 nations
that support nonproliferation and disarmament. Within this group, we are trying to comeup with practical and workable proposals which we have been doing up until now as
well. Next year in April we will host an NPDI ministerial meeting in Hiroshima. As I
said, this is part of our effort to convey the reality of the use of nuclear weapons and thiswill be a good opportunity to achieve that objective. So working with various parties,
we try to make the most of this opportunity. And as it has just been introduced by theprevious speaker, the CTBT, FMCT, these are of course important initiatives and Japanis proposing nuclear disarmament resolutions every year.

11Finally, as I said, Japan has to have two things to be aware of. First is the awareness ofthe humanitarian impact of the use of nuclear weapons and the second is the awarenessthat the international community is actually faced with various nuclear risks. Based on
the clear awareness of these two points, we must enhance and progress forward with our
NPT and disarmament objectives and activities. Thank you very much.
Ms. Nakamura
Thank you very much Director Kitano. It was a very comprehensive explanation of
initiatives that Japan is implementing at the moment. You mentioned NPDI ministerial
meeting in Hiroshima, the timing is going to be – well the humanitarian impact meetingin Mexico is held and the NPDI meeting in Hiroshima will be just after that so it will bea good progress and great timing for enhancing the awareness of the humanitarian
impact of the use of nuclear weapons. So the Mexico meeting will produce some results
and capitalizing on that to further progress towards a world without nuclear weapons,
we would like to make this meeting to produce concrete and workable results to that end.
That is our expectation. Next is from Mr. Sanjay Panda of India.
Mr. Sanjay Panda, Chargé d’Affaires a.i. of India to Japan
Delegates, Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen, I am honored and privileged to be
invited to this August gathering to share with you the approach of India to realize one of
our common dreams to see a world without nuclear weapons. At the outset, I would liketo confess, when I was coming to participate in this conference and share India’s views,
there were some of my colleagues in the diplomatic community who did tell me you
must be very bold to be going there as India is a nuclear power. How are you going to
be discussing India’s approach? This is my primary message that I wanted to convey,that our goal of a world without nuclear weapons is something which India always
stood for and we do not have much differences with not only Japan but any othercountry for that matter.
Madam Chair, India has been consistent in its support for global, non-discriminatory
nuclear disarmament. The Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan for a Nuclear Weapons Free and
Non-Violent World Order of 1988 offers a comprehensive plan to take this process
forward. India is convinced that the goal of nuclear disarmament can be achieved
through a step-by-step process underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed
multilateral framework that is global and non-discriminatory. There is need for ameaningful dialogue among all states possessing nuclear weapons to build trust andconfidence and for reducing the salience of nuclear weapons in international affairs and12security doctrines. Progressive steps are needed for the de-legitimization of nuclear
weapons paving the way for their complete elimination.
For over three decades, the UNG has voted in favor of a resolution, sponsored by India,
calling on the Conference on Disarmament to negotiate a Convention on the Prohibitionof Use of Nuclear Weapons. As a nuclear weapon state, India has a doctrine of Credible
Minimum Nuclear Deterrence underlined by a No-first Use posture. We have also
supported a Global No-first Use Treaty. Colin Powell notwithstanding, the No-first Use
Treaty was always something that India espoused for. India remains the only nuclear
weapons state to be ready to engage in negotiations for a nuclear weapons convention inorder to create a nuclear weapons free world in a time-bound framework. We supported
the proposal for such a convention, prohibiting the development, production, stockpiling,
and use of nuclear weapons and providing for their complete elimination within a
specified timeframe.
Steps for the progressive de-legitimization of nuclear weapons are essential to the goalof their complete elimination. India reaffirmed its support for the negotiation in the
Conference on Disarmament, of a universal, non-discriminatory and internationallyverifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons andother nuclear explosive devices that meets India’s security interests. India remains
committed to a unilateral and voluntary moratorium on nuclear explosive testing. We
are prepared to support a global no-first use treaty (NFU) and would like to move fromprohibition to complete elimination of nuclear weapons. India has consistently
supported the commencement of FMCT negotiations in the Conference on Disarmamentin Geneva. India participated in the Oslo Conference on the humanitarian dimensions of
nuclear weapons in March 2013. We support the High Level Meeting on Nuclear
Disarmament to be held in New York on 26 September 2013.
Madam Chair, India shares and supports global non-proliferation objectives of theinternational community. We have an impeccable non-proliferation record and have inplace a stringent export control system in line with the highest international standards
and seek to make our contribution as a member of the multilateral export control
regimes. India expressed deep concern about nuclear tests conducted by DPRK in
February this year and about the role of clandestine proliferation activities.
India is actively involved in the global efforts for combating nuclear terrorism andenhancing nuclear security. We have joined the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear
Terrorism (GICNT) and participate in all its activities. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh13

participated in the first and second Nuclear Security Summits in 2010 and 2012 and we
hosted a Sherpa meeting involving more than 50 countries in New Delhi prior to thesecond Nuclear Security Summit. We hosted a “1540 Workshop on Building New
Synergies on Nuclear Security” in New Delhi in 2012. We appreciate the role of Mayors
for Peace in raising public awareness and support for global nuclear disarmament. Japanoccupies a special place in the nuclear disarmament debate. During Prime Minister Dr.
Manmohan Singh’s visit to Tokyo in May this year, the Joint Statement stated, I quote,“The two Prime Ministers reaffirmed their shared commitment to the total eliminationof nuclear weapons. Prime Minister Abe stressed the importance of bringing into force
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) at an early date. Prime Minister
Singh reiterated India’s commitment to its unilateral and voluntary moratorium on
nuclear explosive testing. The two Prime Ministers also reaffirmed their commitment towork together for immediate commencement and an early conclusion of negotiations on
a non-discriminatory, multilateral, and internationally and effectively verifiable Fissile
Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT). They also supported the strengthening of international
cooperation to address the challenges of nuclear proliferation and nuclear terrorism. The
two Prime Ministers recognized the importance of an effective national export control
system conforming to the highest international standards. Prime Minister Abe
recognized India’s sound non-proliferation record. Both sides expressed theircommitment to continue to work to prepare the ground for India to become a full
member in the international export control regimes: the Nuclear Suppliers Group, theMissile Technology Control Regime, the Australia Group, and the Wassenaar
Arrangement.”
Madam Chair, India and Japan are partners in realizing the objective of a nuclear
weapons free world. This is an element of the global and strategic partnership. We hopethat this conference will contribute to international efforts in bringing about a nuclear
weapons free world. Thank you.
Ms. Nakamura
Thank you very much Ambassador Panda of India. It was a comprehensive explanationof India’s initiatives towards a world without nuclear weapons. Next speaker is Mr.
Vincent Nicod, head of ICRC Tokyo Mission. We have heard about the inhumanity of
nuclear weapons and with that basis, the current direction is towards outlawing nuclear
weapons, the background currently created by ICRC. Including the historicalbackground, I think that he is going to talk about what is happening and what is going tohappen. Mr. Nicod, please.
14Mr. Vincent Nicod, Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)Tokyo Mission
Thank you very much Ms. Chair and thank you very much for the organizers of theconference to have invited us here today. I have prepared a PowerPoint – I am sorry, thePowerPoint is in English but I hope that the translation will be good enough to convey
the message.
What is interesting here is that the first ICRC delegate to visit Hiroshima a couple ofweeks after the disaster provides somewhat the first independent mutual impartial
testimony from an international organization on the effect of the weapon. However, theJapan Red Cross Society intervened just after the disaster and treated more than 30
thousand people wounded by the effect of the bomb and provides a terrible testimony on
the effect of the impact on the bomb on the health of the population. What followed wasan official report by another ICRC delegate, the head of delegation, Dr. Marcel Junod,
whose monument is by the way very close to the entrance of the museum in the garden
here, who launched a report to Geneva which reacted immediately with an appeal to all
National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies at the end of ’45, after the austerities
stopped in the world, calling already for a reflection on a new conduct of austerities anduse of new equipment and military material.
That culminated in 1948 in an international conference of the Red Cross in Stockholm
where there was a solemn appeal by the movement to the states to start passing
legislation on the use of weapons who do discriminate in their target, who do not selectbetween legitimate military targets and protected civilian population for instance. Thisappeal was renewed later on but that was done in the context of the revision of the
Geneva conventions and the addition in 1949 of the 4th Geneva Convention specificallyprotecting the civilian population. That number 4 convention clearly reflects the needfor an instrument to protect the civilian population, the innocent part of the populationfrom the effect of the conflict. Then later on we can see that the evolution ofinternational humanitarian law adjusts to other types of conflicts.
We had the context of the decolonization of many parts of Asia and Africa with different
natures of conflict and violence, and meanwhile nuclear weapons were more or lessabandoned by the Red Cross if I may say. Actually, there were other fora to deal withthat. There were bilateral negotiations in Geneva or somewhere else through the UN or
through bilateral mechanisms but nothing really happened and all throughout this year,
despite ICRC interests and effort, we realize that not much was achieved and nothing is15

really moving to the right direction. Therefore in 2010, based on the principle ofhumanity, that means not based on any political or military consideration or military
doctrine or security issues, but looking through the angle of humanitarian impact of thebomb, the ICRC launched a new approach and a new appeal to states to start negotiatinga legally binding treaty. The idea came through the declaration of our former president,
Kellenberger, to call for this proliferation to stop and to control access to materials andtechnology, etc. The whole idea is again put on the humanitarian impact of the use of
the weapon.
This translated into the first resolution of the Council of Delegates 2011. That means all
National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the world are now bound by aresolution by which they are supposed to implement and to help implement. That means
all the Red Cross movement is now mobilized to try and achieve significant progress inputting pressure on their government, on their authorities, on all sources of power tohave the situation change. Sorry it is not a Red Cross conference in Oslo, I apologize to
my colleague there, but during that conference in Oslo, the ICRC in the opening
statement repeated the need for the states to seriously engage in negotiation based again
on the impact, the humanitarian impact of the bomb, which makes it an inhuman way ofwar, way of waging conflict.
Last May we had a continuation to a certain extent of the Oslo conference here in
Hiroshima where our president had a statement read. This conference organized by theJapan Red Cross Society led to the drafting of a plan of action for the movement of the
Red Cross, which will be hopefully finalized, approved, and discussed, but finalized in
Sydney in the next Council of Delegates in November this year. This plan of action,plans for the formal establishment of a global network of all National Red Cross
Societies or Red Crescent Societies on nuclear weapons and we are going to improvethe dialogue and exchange of campaigns, of strategies, of good ideas, to benefit, toexchange by looking at good ideas and sharing them, and maybe trying to correct weak
points and so on, sharing experiences, production of material translation in different
languages, ensuring the training of the staff, that means we must have disseminators
within the Red Cross movement able to speak with authority on the effect of the bomb,on the measures to be taken by states to ensure negotiations starting in earnest and to
motivate all the Red Cross Societies in the world to work towards their authorities, theirgovernments, and so on.

16This global network will look into four main dimensions. First of all on the impact on
the health of potential victims of nuclear weapons. As seen in Hiroshima by the JapanRed Cross Society when they came to work, not only the direct effect of the bomb in theimage of the bombing of the city was felt but long term effects, sometimes throughdifferent generations further up transmitting health problems and so on. So
concentrating on the study of the impact on health.
The second one is the impact on the environment. Among others, the use of nuclear
weapons could make a lot of land unfit for cultivation for instance. That could deprive
local populations from food production. That could, in addition to that, have a terrible
impact on industrial access to mines or whatever. It is clear that humanitarian assistanceof significant assistance is not possible by anybody today in case of the use of nuclear
weapons. There is no mechanism able to cope with the potential effect of the use of abomb. If we look at Hiroshima again, about 80% of the hospitals were destroyed, about
85-90% of medical personnel were victims themselves of the bomb, killed or wounded.
Therefore there was no proper mechanism and that is why the Japan Red Cross had tobring teams from outside, but that was not enough.
Then the last aspect is to look into the adjustment of international humanitarian law tocope with the technical development of weaponry and methodologies and conduct ofactivities to make sure that such a weapon would be illegal toward IHL. This global
network would approach different publics and audiences. The first one is the broad
public, the broad audience, to disseminate all those aspects linked to the potential use of
the bomb. The second target public audience that we have to aim at is the national
decision makers, government officials, but also the parliamentarians, those who exert an
influence on the executive in a country, to put pressure on states to negotiate and cometo an agreement. Then help is requested from those people in charge, the healthcommunity, the health specialists, who can speak, who can explain the effect of thepotential use of a bomb on the population. The scientific community and of course thosein charge of the emergency response like civil protection or Red Cross, NGOs, UN
agencies, all those in charge of bringing assistance to a certain context.
And then I would like to conclude, I will stop here, on the fact that for us it is a renewed– it is not a new subject unfortunately – but it is a renewed effort that we have to bringto the reflection which is now conducted within states, within NGOs, communities,
within UN agencies on the need to act. And on the ICRC end, the Red Cross movementin general, we feel that it is a historic moment that we are maybe at the tipping point17

from where our influence can really make a difference and mobilize populations,
governments, media, and all the circles of influence who can apply pressure on
government. Thank you very much.
Ms. Nakamura
Thank you very much Mr. Nicod. The last speaker on the panel is Mr. Akira Kawasaki,
co-chair of the Peace Boat, ICAN. ICAN is to appeal the inhumanity of the nuclear
weapons. Starting from the civil society to the various governments, they are playing avery important role and outlying the nuclear weapons is another movement. They are
acting as a bridge amongst all different civil societies. Also Mr. Kawasaki is the co-chairof the Peace Boat to give support for the hibakusha to appeal to the world theinhumanity of the nuclear weapons. I believe those are the areas he is going to highlight
today. Mr. Kawasaki please.
Mr. Akira Kawasaki, Co-Chair of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear
Weapons (ICAN)
Thank you very much. First of all, I would like you to take a look at a short video clip.
Would you please prepare that, secretariat? This is the video we have also aired in the
beginning of the Oslo meeting.
Video Clips“Hope spread to people in other regions that a new era of peace was possible. But busy
as we were, moving on with our lives and connecting with the world, from paging totexting to tweeting, we began to forget that the biggest threat of the Cold War, thenuclear weapons that had threatened our very existence had not vanished and theirlegacy is still causing victims today.”“Since their invention in 1945, nuclear weapons have twice been detonated over cities.
In a few minutes, bright flashes enveloped the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
marking the beginning of the nuclear era. The citizens of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
experienced the devastating effects of a weapon so terrible and sweeping in its
destructive power that it could not be targeted to avoid killing massive numbers ofcivilians. A weapon unable to distinguish between a building and an infant. Survivors
faced the trauma of radiation exposure. They faced injuries for which doctors have nocure. They faced a lifetime of stigma and prejudice, and the knowledge that the next
generation would also suffer the effects of a nuclear fallout.”18

“I looked around and I saw the procession of ghostly figures. I say ghostly figures
because they simply did not look like human beings. Their bodies were burned,
blackened, and swollen, and skin and flesh were hanging from bones. Hair was standing
up towards the sky and some people were carrying their eyeballs in their hands.”“In Kazakhstan, nuclear weapons continued to be detonated until 1989. The blast left adark legacy of cancer and birth defects.”“My mother died of stomach cancer. She was severely disabled. We realized the reason
much later because my mother had two children before me who did not live up to one
year, dying one after the other.”“If a nuclear detonation occurred in a city today, international and national relief
agencies would be helpless. The International Committee of the Red Cross has said thatno appropriate response could be put in place by any state or humanitarianorganization.”“Neither the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement worldwide, nor any international
agency, has currently the capacity to provide adequate assistance to the victims of theuse of nuclear weapons. In all logistics, training, and material is available around theworld for weapons that are currently in use, conventional weapons, explosives, andbullets, but the effects of nuclear weapons, particular the radiation effects, this capacity
hardly exists.”
Mr. Kawasaki
Thank you very much, please stop the video clip. I would like you to take a look at theseries of pictures while I am talking. As you have seen just now, this is the ICAN
presentation we made at the time of the Oslo meeting on the inhumanity of nuclear
weapons. This is the video clip we have used. When the nuclear detonation took place,what is the inhumanitarian effect we have to suffer? I believe this is the heightening of
the awareness amongst the people as well as pointed out by the panelists already thismorning.
In ICAN, we are focusing on the inhumanity of nuclear weapons. With this as the axis,
it is the high time to un-law the nuclear weapons and try to come up with the nuclear
weapon convention. This is the focus of the campaign of ICAN. With 70 countries, with
300 partnerships, we are expanding such campaigns starting from 2007. Under ICAN,
19

we have already started such a campaign in 1995. There is the Abolition 2000 Network,
we have the liaison and cooperation with them to ask for the nuclear weapons
convention. I belong to the Japanese Peace Boat and under such a campaign, we aremaking a very important role. In this Norway meeting in March and in February next
year there will be the second session to be held on the inhumanity of nuclear weapons in
Mexico.
For the people of Hiroshima and many people of Japan, why are we focusing on theinhumanity? We knew nuclear weapons are inhumane and that is what we have been
appealing in Japan. You might think this is what you have been doing, but as Mr. Nicodsaid, focusing on the inhumanity of nuclear weapons, we are able to focus on theinternational humanitarian law. Then we will be able to start the negotiation to establish
a nuclear weapons convention, including the Norway government and the othergovernments. They are focusing now strongly on the inhumanity of nuclear weapons.
But unfortunately, specific convention negotiations were not declared so far yet.
Amongst the civil societies, we are going to put our hands together by using the
network of Mayors for Peace appealing to the civil government authorities. We would
like to shift the inhumanity discussion onto the negotiation table of the nuclear weapons
convention. In ICAN, starting from 6 July, we are starting the nuclear abolition week.
This is one week for the abolition of the nuclear weapons on a global scale to try to ask
for the establishment of the nuclear weapons convention. You are watching thosepictures. Those are the activities we are engaged in.
Because we are holding this meeting in the very place of Hiroshima, what I would liketo focus here is as follows. The states who do not have nuclear weapons in hand should
check the initiatives because so far the initiative was put on the table by the nuclear
weapon nations not to proliferate nuclear weapons. But non-nuclear weapon countries
should appeal saying that not to cling onto nuclear weapons is the natural course in thematters. Those are the appeals we need to focus on. Unfortunately, including Japan, we
are under the nuclear umbrella although we are a non-nuclear nation, we are dependent
on nuclear weapons.
It looks like this is the dragging effect for our activities, unfortunately. Japan and theother nations under the nuclear umbrella, when it comes to this statement to theinhumanity of nuclear weapons, they did not pick up the signatory to this statement
because this is the dialogue and Mr. Kitano of MOFA is with us. I would like to ask the20

specific question to Mr. Kitano. If there is time, I would like him to answer this question.
You took the example of the Asahi Newspaper by Colin Powell. Colin Powell said, yousaid, “If you are a serious leader, no way can you make a selection of the use of theatrocious horrible nuclear weapon.” You have cited such an example. But the same
Japanese government, at anytime, anywhere, no use of nuclear weapons, that kind ofstatement cannot be committed by the Japanese government and you refused to sign on
the statement of the inhumanity of nuclear weapons. If you are going to place yourself
in the shoes of Colin Powell, it is not a serious person’s decision, I have to say. So
amongst the non-nuclear weapons, there are still several states who are still dependent
on the nuclear umbrella. We should make the change.
We do not have to depend on nuclear weapons. We are able to establish our safety andsecurity without clinging onto the nuclear weapons. That is the importance of theactivities. NPTI, including Japan and Mexico, 10 states are making the negotiation,
many of which are under the umbrella of nuclear weapons. And in Hiroshima Foreign
Minister’s meeting next year, I hope they are going to make the gear shift. This is thePeace Boat activity. This is the perspective we are setting the lights on. We are bringing
the hibakusha on the boat so that we are able to create a nuclear free world in the future.
Thank you very much.
Ms. Nakamura
Thank you very much Co-Chair Mr. Kawasaki. Thank you indeed the panel members.
As was just said, this is the dialogue assembly. Although there is a time limitation, but
as much as possible I would like to give an opportunity to the floor to have the dialogue
with the panelists because this is the critical moment. We all are aware of that. We hopethat this is going to be a very important opportunity for them to join in the discussion.
So I would like to ask Mr. Yuzaki, governor of Hiroshima, to talk about what ishappening Hiroshima to delve into the deep part of the discussion. Governor Yuzaki,
please.

Presentation on the efforts made by Hiroshima Prefectural Government
Mr. Hidehiko Yuzaki, Governor of Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan
Good morning ladies and gentlemen. My name is Hidehiko Yuzaki, governor of
Hiroshima Prefecture. It is a great honor to be given this opportunity to speak to you
today. I am delighted to be with you here in this important meeting. I am very happy

21

that I am given this opportunity to discuss the abolition of nuclear weapons here in
Hiroshima. This is truly a worthwhile mission.
Today I would like to talk about Hiroshima’s commitment to peace. Hiroshima was thefirst city to experience the destruction caused by an A-bomb and it successfully rose up
from the ashes. With this background, I will explain what Hiroshima Prefecture
considers its mission in the role in the world and to how we are intended to act. As
already discussed, nuclear weapons cause mass destruction and murder instantly andindiscriminately. Furthermore, the aftereffects of radiation continue to torment innocent
people of such a large number for many years. Nuclear weapons are extremely
inhumane weapons and therefore must not be used for any reason. On August 6, 1945,
Hiroshima became the first city in the history of mankind to experience the effects of an
A-bomb. The city was destroyed in an instant and countless precious lives were lost.
When the bomb detonated, intense heat, radiation, and radioactive substances spread inall directions and it created an ultra-high pressure blast. The combined energies throughmutual interaction caused immense damage. The exact number of people who were
killed by the bomb is not known even today because all records about them were also
destroyed at the same time in an instant. But it is estimated that as many as 140
thousand people died by the end of December 1945 by when acute radiation injuries had
subsided. This number represents about 40% of Hiroshima Cities’ population at thetime.
There were many places in Japan which suffered huge damage due to air raids but thedeath number represents at most a few percentage and the 40% death of Hiroshima’s
population shows how big the A-bomb was in this destruction. My father wascommitted to finding about the damage caused by the A-bomb. When the war ended, he
conducted a survey on the social damage attributed to the bomb based on interviews
with many hibakusha, or A-bomb survivors, as he was a sociology professor of
Hiroshima University. He was also involved in estimating the number of deaths causedby the bomb I just mentioned earlier. He was really heavily involved in the surveys andstudies about the damage by the A-bomb. He often stated that the destruction by nuclear
weapons brings about a massive power of annihilation as you saw in the photos.
Furthermore, it really annihilates the whole history of the targeted areas and memoriesof the families who lived there. So it is not causing only death and physical destructionof buildings.
Today we are here at the Peace Memorial Park that was built close to ground zero. This
area used to be a thriving downtown district and attracted many people. But everything22

was utterly destroyed and flattened by a single A-bomb detonation. In other words,
destruction by nuclear weapons involve the total destruction of people’s lives,
obliterating all society and life, and even the memories and traces of their wholepresence. This is the destructive power of an A-bomb. I firmly hope that leaders ofrespective countries and people all over the world learn about the disastrous aftermathof A-bombs as well as hibakusha and citizens’ desire for peace and wish for theabolition of nuclear weapons.
Now, about Hiroshima Prefecture’s commitment to peace, I have three points to makehere. First, Hiroshima was destroyed indeed. But it was also reconstructed after thedestruction. Secondly, Hiroshima has an important mission and role to play in theabolition of nuclear weapons and post conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding.
Thirdly, we would like to have activities to make Hiroshima the center of world peace.
In point one, Hiroshima was destroyed but also reconstructed. I believe that Hiroshimaencourages people to have strong determination to the abolition of nuclear weapons byshowing visitors the destruction that such weapons cause. I also believe that Hiroshima
brings a sense of confidence in post conflict reconstruction by showing the people, thepeace that has emerged from the destruction.
The second point, Hiroshima has an important mission and role to play in the abolitionof nuclear weapons and post conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding. In theinternational committee, there were growing threats of nuclear terrorism by non-state
actors. There were growing demands for the abolition of nuclear weapons and removalof obstacles to peace, including conflicts and poverty that breed terrorism. I believe that
under such circumstances, Hiroshima that experienced both destruction andreconstruction can help the world move toward the abolition of nuclear weapons post
conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding through a comprehensive process. For
example, Hiroshima has been actively working toward the abolition of nuclear weapons
as well as post conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding by attracting UN agencies,
UNITAR, and JICA and helping them develop human resources.
The third point, activities to make Hiroshima the center of world peace. A peacefulworld free from nuclear weapons is the wish of people all over the world. In theinternational community, many peace activities are undertaken and efforts are in
progress. I believe it is time to gather resources for peace and information and turn theminto a larger force to lead the world to peace. In this regard, Hiroshima is the ideal place23

as the center of peace as it experienced the tragedy of the world’s first A-bomb, having
rebuilt itself, and being strongly associated with peace.
I drew up Hiroshima for a global peace plan in October 2011 to re-launch efforts basedin Hiroshima toward a peaceful world free from nuclear weapons. In drawing up theplan, we invited leading experts from around the world. We asked Mr. Yasushi Akashi,
former undersecretary general of the United Nations to serve as chairperson of thecommittee, and members from abroad including Mr. Gareth Evans, former Australian
Minister of Foreign Affairs, and professors of universities in the United States. And theHiroshima prefectural governments will need to draw on wisdom from around the world
to establish highly effective policies from a global viewpoint. We are advocating athree-by-three approach for international peace community making. This looks at threechallenges, nuclear abolition, reconstruction and peacebuilding, and envisioning a new
security system. And on the other hand, three actions generating theories and promoting
studies; second, implementing practical programs for peacebuilding; and thirdly,
disseminating peace messages. So three challenges multiplied by three actions. This iswhat we call the three-by-three approach towards a peaceful international community.
As specific actions, Hiroshima Prefecture should carry out, including the following, fiveproposals and points: One, supporting the roadmap for the abolition of nuclear weapons;
two, reducing the risks of nuclear terrorism; number three, developing human resources
to build a peaceful international community; number four, creating ideas for nuclear
disarmament, conflict resolution, and building peace; number and five, building asustainable peace support mechanism. And to give this plan real flesh in fiscal 2012, I
set up a plan promotion committee and guidelines for the advancement of Hiroshima for
global peace. That shows the vision of activities. And based upon Hiroshima’s dual
symbolism I mentioned earlier that it was once destroyed but also it was reconstructed.
In more detail, one is a symbol of determination to abolish nuclear weapons as the firstregion in history to suffer annihilation of A-bomb and the second symbolism is asymbol of faith in construction and hope for the future as a place that rose from theashes of destruction by an A-bomb. The guidelines show how Hiroshima intends tocontribute to global peace during upon the symbolic nature of Hiroshima.
I believe that a peaceful world free from nuclear weapons can be attained not only by
eliminating nuclear weapons from the world but also by concurrent efforts to build astable society. Obviously the abolition of nuclear weapons is important to create apeaceful world, but it is also important to build mutual trust and create a stable society.
And efforts need to be made to eliminate conflicts and root causes of terrorism. We are24

proposing that comprehensive efforts should be made in collaboration with the city ofHiroshima and other likeminded organizations toward the abolition of nuclear weapons,
post conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding by taking full advantage of Hiroshima’s
dual symbolism.
For the abolition of nuclear weapons, we will continue to let the world know the horrorof bombing and urge the abolition of nuclear weapons. And Hiroshima City will play
the leading role in this regard. Mayors for Peace in this connection does play a very
important role and important responsibility. For the nuclear nonproliferation aspect andnuclear disarmament, Hiroshima prefectural government urges the international
community to promote NPT as well as multilateral efforts for nuclear disarmament andwe will also promote the research of nuclear disarmament and nuclear security. As partof these efforts, we released a Hiroshima report in April 2013, this year. This contains
results of surveys and research on the status of respective countries’ commitment tonuclear disarmament. We hope that this report will help the international community
make steady progress towards the abolition of nuclear weapons by building global
momentum towards the abolition and launching new activities toward nuclear
disarmament. We also organized a symposium in Hiroshima in June to look at theresults of the research of nuclear security by universities and other groups. Also as Mr.
Kitano mentioned earlier, we organized the Hiroshima Roundtable at the end of lastmonth to look at the nuclear disarmament and nuclear control in East Asia anddiscussed the basic direction of the efforts.
We will continue with such activities to strengthen the basis for the abolition of nuclear
weapons. For post conflict reconstruction in peacebuilding, first, peace-minded people,
human resources, and experts need to be trained for peacebuilding and post conflictreconstruction. Post conflict reconstruction requires not just knowledge but also a strong
determination and confidence in peacebuilding and reconstruction after the conflict. We
believe that Hiroshima is able to provide such a moral and spiritual momentum.
Furthermore, graduate school for international development cooperation of Hiroshima
University has important resources they can provide. Also we are engaged in developing
experts who can look after the radiation disaster medical care. We would like to use
such accomplishments and draw upon our resources to function as a center for training
human resources for post conflict reconstruction and peacebuilding.
Now about research, I have just emphasized the importance of reconstruction. When thewhole society is destroyed, how was the process of reconstruction made possible in allfunctions of society such as education, health, medical care, and city planning, not much25

study was done about how Hiroshima was able to rebuild itself in such important social
functions. We are now trying to do more serious research on this question. So far, someresearch and findings have been provided regarding the damage caused by the A-bomb
and the experience of the hibakusha but not much study done on the process ofreconstruction after a disaster. Also we would like to make comparative studies
regarding the post conflict reconstruction in different countries. A comparative study ofthis kind would provide important insight to us.
Furthermore, we believe that it is important to construct a support mechanism forpeacebuilding and from the end of July to August 3, we organized the World Peace
Concert. We invited internationally acclaimed musicians and through the common
language of music, they disseminated the strong message of peace from Hiroshima. The
profits from this World Peace Concert is going to be allocated to various peace activities.
Our prefecture is going to push in the days ahead. 68 years ago, Hiroshima experienced
the atrocity of an A-bomb which was a tragedy indeed. But at the same time, theHiroshima we know today, and we have today is enjoying the benefits and fruits ofpeace, and peace has the capacity and allows us to build prosperity.
Two sides of one phenomena is what I think Hiroshima experienced. One is destroyed,that is one aspect. But on the other hand, toward the bright future, Hiroshima can serve
as a place which can demonstrate to the world that we can rebuild and be peaceful andprosper once again. I hope that you will give us your support and endorsement toHiroshima’s efforts and join us in our efforts. Thank you very much.
Ms. Nakamura
Thank you very much Governor Yuzaki, please return to your seat. Now we would liketo invite three speakers who are registered as speakers in this session. The first one isfrom the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Mayor of Semey City, Mr. Aibek Karimov. We
saw the video in Kazakhstan, there have been 450 times the nuclear explosion
experiments testing and there is still damage left so Mayor Karimov is active inrehabilitation.
Mr. Aibek Karimov, Mayor of Semey, Kazakhstan
Distinguished participants and guests, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, on behalf of thepeople of Kazakhstan, the city of Semey, allow me to welcome all honorable
participants of such an important international meeting and wish your noble mission
fruitful results. Taking this unique opportunity, I would like to express special words of26

gratitude to H.E. Mr. Kazumi Matsui, mayor of Hiroshima and president of Mayors for
Peace, for his kind invitation to such a distinguished international forum.
Under the initiatives of the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, this authoritative
non-governmental organization facilitated more serious public attention to the issue of
nuclear security as well as the development of public solidarity aimed at theachievement of a nuclear weapon free world through strengthening links between
different cities around the world.
In our town, Kazakhstan has hosted a Mayors for Peace conference on March 17, 2012,
during which the European Delegation headed by H.E. Mr. Luc Dehaene, then mayor of
Belgian city of Ypres and chair of the board of the 2020 Vision Campaign. Members ofthe delegation participated in the international conference entitled New Generation for a
Nuclear Weapon Free World, as well as in the opening ceremony of Mayors for Peacebranch in Semey, the organization which is important for the Republic of Kazakhstan.
We are confident that these two events gave additional replenishment of new adherence
to this important peace initiative. For example, only in my home, the East Kazakhstan
region, heads of 10 towns became new members of the organization.
Today, Kazakhstan I learned was among the international countries as one of therecognized leaders of the international movement towards a nuclear weapon free world.
By its own experience, Kazakhstan demonstrates international community, openness on
nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation issues, as well as continuously advocating forcomplete and irrevocable elimination of the terrible arsenals. It should be noted that a
special role in this process belongs to H.E. Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev, President of the
Republic of Kazakhstan. The person who fundamentally and consistently defends in his
own views and initiatives at various international forums including at the UN meetings.
The people of Kazakhstan still remember the tragedy that befallen on the people ofHiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. Even now, we still hear the ringing of bells for the
innocent victims of the cruel atomic creations. The undying pain echoes in our own
hearts that was cultured by nuclear weapons as well.
Speaking about some sad moments in the history of my own country, I would like toremind that during four decades of severe nuclear tests at the Semipalatinsk Nuclear
Test Site, the enormous damage to the health of more than a million and a half people as27

well as radioactive contamination of the past territories was costly. It is clear that theformer Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site plays a special role in the history of nuclear
testing.
Before 1949, my home city lived in harmony and was probably able to achieve moresignificant social and economic results in its own development. Unfortunately, a huge
nuclear test site with an area of 18.5 thousand sq. km. was built near the city in the late
40s of the 20th century.
The Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site was one of the world’s free largest nuclear testsites that served the development of new sophisticated nuclear weapons. At a distanceof 120 km from Semey City, from 1949-1989, during four decades there were 458
nuclear explosions at the nuclear test site, including 148 in the air, 28 on the land
surface, and 343 underground. The power which was created from a few kilotons to 1.5
megatons.
In 1955, the first H-bomb was tested at the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site. It is known
that during a nuclear test in the atmosphere, no comprehensive measures to ensure thesafety of the population from radiation fallouts were carried out. The evacuation tosafety zones was organized only once in 1953.
Underground nuclear explosions were accompanied by destructive seismic phenomenon
that negatively the resilience of buildings, engineering networks, as well as violated thestructure of roads and destroyed hundreds of wells that provided water supply toinhabited villages and livestock farms. The tragic consequences of nuclear testing arestill alive. The subsoil, soil, plants, water resources, and atmosphere are stillcontaminated with the radioactive fallout. The Polygon deprived the most precious partof the people, their health.
It is not clear how horrible the consequences of the nuclear tests would be if President
Nursultan Nazarbayev did not make his decision to stop nuclear tests and shut down the
Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site by signing his historical decree on August 29, 2001.
Since that time, Kazakhstan voluntarily renounced from nuclear weapon arsenals thatwere stockpiled on our territory during that period. Here the proactive efforts in thisfield allowed our country to acquire the status of a nonnuclear state.

28

Problems of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, negative effects of decayed nuclear
tests, and its impact on the people’s health are object of constant attention from doctors,
scientists, ecologists, economists, etc. The huge number of books, pamphlets, andscientific papers were already published. The great number of various recommendations
including on medical and social rehabilitation of population were also developed.
The common assessment of the situation regarding the former nuclear test site is
obvious, irreparable damage to the environment of the region, its economy, and healthof its people was done. It is gratifying to know that immediately after the adoption of
the resolution at the 53th session of the United Nations General Assembly oninternational assistance at the Semipalatinsk region. In September 1999, Tokyo
International Donors Conference on problems of my home region was held. During thattime, we became assured about the fact that international participants, especially thegovernment and people of Japan fully understood our problems.
In 2000, the Government of Japan dispatched its expert to Kazakhstan to study thecurrent situation in the region and prepare a basis for an ambitious project, Improvementof Healthcare services in the Semipalatinsk Region. During the implementation of thisimportant project for us, we had received expensive medical equipment, conductednecessary medical surveys, and all important, our own experts were able to participate
in useful training programs in Japan. An invaluable contribution was made by leading
scientists from Hiroshima and Nagasaki Universities as well as mayors of both thesecities. Today we had established close and warm relationships with Hiroshima andNagasaki.
Dear ladies and gentlemen, the issues of nuclear nonproliferation of course are of great
importance for our future generations. I am confident in the recommendation of thepresent forum will be especially relevant today when the world is facing future
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. In order to commemorate the sacrificemade by our people, we should take decisive actions against the threat of further
spreading of nuclear weapons. It also obligates us to care more about the peaceful life of
our children, the future generations of our beautiful but fragile planet. We ought toensure the future safety for our people as well as life without production and testing of
weapons of mass destruction. At the conclusion, I think that representative of
progressive humankind will support the initiative of the present conference. Thank you
for your attention.

29

Ms. Nakamura
Thank you very much. Now we would like to make a slight modification of the programand I would like to ask for you kind understanding. Currently, it has been two hours
since the start of this session and we are supposed to finish but there are two more
speakers who would like to make a speech on this occasion. However, the next program,
Oliver Stone’s directors program so for the time adjustment we would like to have Mr.
Oliver Stone’s message first and then would like to resume back to the rest of thissession for a short period of time after Mr. Oliver Stone’s session. So I would like to ask
for the understanding of the speakers who were planning to make a speech here which
will be postponed to a later stage. So the panelists, you can stay on the stage. Governor
Yuzaki, unfortunately, will have to leave because of his other public duties. Governor
Yuzaki, thank you very much for your participation up until now.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are very happy to have a special guest who is going to give
us a message for peace. The American film director, Mr. Oliver Stone, please give him a
big hand of applause as he enters the room. Mr. Oliver Stone.
Mr. Stone received Academy Awards for his work on the films “Platoon” and “Born on
the Fourth of July” which are deeply associated with his own experience as a Vietnam
war soldier. Also he filmed “JFK” and “Wall Street” and many other best-selling films.
Now I give you Mr. Stone, please.

Message of Peace
Mr. Oliver Stone, Film Director, USA
Welcome and thank you for having me here. I have lived my life in the shadow of theatom bomb. I was born one year after the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were
eviscerated by my government. My father served under General Eisenhower on his staff
in Paris where he met my mother. I grew up in New York City in the 1940s and ‘50s andthere was no more exciting city in the world at the time. But a sense of danger andunease always lurked. In the event of nuclear war, New York was in the Soviet
crosshairs. We all knew it. New York, we would either be target number one or target
number two.
We had no illusions about survival. We went through the charade of civil defense drills
at school as if these flimsy little desks would protect against the fury of atomic orhydrogen bombs. We ducked and covered even though no one in his or her right mind30

could possibly believe the drills would do an iota of good. And throughout mychildhood, I listened to President Eisenhower extol the virtues of the peaceful atom thatwould produce too cheap to meter, and watched documentaries like Walt Disney’s “Our
Friend the Atom” about the wonders of nuclear power. I learned that the atom was ourprotector, not our destroyer; as Disney said, “Our friend.”
The week I was born, President Truman fired Henry Wallace from his Cabinet. Wallace
had been Roosevelt’s Vice President from 1941-1945 and Roosevelt later appointed
Wallace Secretary of Commerce after his term of Vice President ended. I mention thisbecause unknown to me at the time, Wallace was our last best hope for avoiding thenuclear arms race. He was a man of vision. We highlight his heroic attempt to safeguard
the world from the threat of nuclear annihilation in our documentary film series andbook, “The Untold History of the United States.”
Wallace had largely been purged from historical memory in the United States until our
project brought him back to life. He stayed in the Cabinet after Roosevelt died andTruman became President and watched with frustration as Truman betrayed Roosevelt’svision for the post war world and an alliance with the Soviet Union. From inside theCabinet, Wallace fought gallantly to prevent the Cold War and stop the nuclear arms
race before it got started. He worked closely in this effort with the atomic scientists who
understood what was really unfolding. As Robert Oppenheimer had warned American
military and political leaders in May of 1945, within 3 years, the US would likely have
weapons between 10 and 100 megatons in destructive capability; up to 7,000 times thedestructive force of the weapon the US dropped on Hiroshima – 7,000 times.
In 1954, Physicist Edward Teller actually proposed building a nuclear weapon 700
thousand times as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb and the US Congress held closed
door hearings on it. Harry Truman was onboard the USS Augusta when he learned thatthe city of Hiroshima had been destroyed. He jumped up and exclaimed, “This is thegreatest thing in history.” Wallace, who really should have become President instead of
Truman, was appalled, as were many others. Among the reasons that Truman fired him ayear later was Wallace’s leadership of the effort to abolish all nuclear weapons.
The night Truman fired him, September 20, 1946, Wallace told a national radio
audience, “Winning the peace is more important than high office. It is more important
than any consideration of party politics. I wish to make it clear again that I am against
all types of imperialism and aggression, whether they are of Russian, British, or31American origins. How we resolve this debate over foreign policy will determine
whether we live in one world, but whether we live at all.”I was five days old when Henry Wallace made that speech. With Wallace out ofgovernment, the hopes for averting the Cold War and nuclear arms race disappeared.
Americans learned the wrong lessons from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The atomic
bombings taught US policy makers that might made right. US leaders credited Fat Man
and Little Boy with forcing Japanese surrender, thereby justifying them as legitimate
weapons of war.
I wonder how the world would view nuclear weapons if Nazi Germany had used themfirst instead of the US. I think they would have been looked at with the horror they
deserved. They would have been abolished or regulated long ago. But the United Statesconcocted the fiction that the bomb was benevolent because it allowed the US to avoid
an evasion, which would have killed supposedly a hundred or more thousand American
soldiers. But as we explain in “Untold History of the United States,” the bomb did notforce Japanese surrender. The Soviet invasion of Manchuria did; and Japan. And US
policy makers fully understood that the Soviet invasion would convince Japaneseleaders that both their diplomatic and military strategies were bankrupt and it was timeto throw in the towel.
Many people now look back nostalgically on the 1950s, but the more I study, the more I
realize what a dangerous time it was. Most Americans have a benign image of President
Eisenhower as a war hero who was a likable grandfatherly figure as President, that he
was a comforting presence, a wise and intelligent man. If young Americans know muchabout him today, it was that he warned the world about the dangerous of the militaryindustrial complex in his farewell address. They think of him as an antimilitarist. The
truth was quite the opposite.
The US had a little more than 1 thousand nuclear weapons when he took office inJanuary ’53. By the time he left eight years later, it had almost 23 thousand. When his
budgeting cycle was finished, a couple of years beyond that, the US had some 30
thousand nuclear weapons. Under Eisenhower, nuclear weapons went from being a lastresort to a primary option in the event of war. We went from having one finger on the
button to having dozens through delegation and sub-delegation of war-making authority.

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The Pentagon estimated that the US war plan alone would result in some 615 million
deaths worldwide. So this was the world of my youth. It was a scary world for theJapanese as well. In 1954, the Lucky Dragon incident occurred and the public response
was so strong that Tokyo housewives began circulating petitions to ban hydrogen bombs.
The movement caught on across this country and by the next year, an astounding 32
million people, or one-third, of Japan’s population had signed anti-H-bomb petitions.
In 1955, when I was nine, the great Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa wrote anddirected a very powerful movie called “Ikomono no Kiroku,” “I live in Fear,” in which
Toshiro Mifune convinced that nuclear war is imminent, attempts to move his family to
Brazil. This movie like the Godzilla films provided a sober reflection of how frightened
Japanese citizens were. That was also the year the stirring manifesto circulated by
Bertrand Russell and Albert Einstein, drafted by the future Nobel Peace Prize winnerJoseph Rotblat. It pleaded with passion and urgency, “We are speaking on this occasion
not as members of this or that nation, continent, or creed, but as human beings,
members of the species man, whose continued existence is in doubt.” They expressed
concern. One particularly relevant to the world’s mayors that most people still thoughtin terms of the obliteration of cities. “Demolition of cities in an H-bomb war,” they
warned, “is one of the minor disasters that would have to be faced. If everybody in
London, New York, and Moscow were exterminated, the world might in the course of afew centuries recover from the blow.” But now, “the best authorities are unanimous insaying that a war with H-bombs might possibly put an end to the human race.”
I watched that nightmarish scenario played out in great Hollywood films like “On the
Beach” and “Doctor Strangelove.” But I would like to end by discussing a scene fromone of my favorite Japanese movies “Rhapsody in August,” also by the great Akira
Kurosawa. In this 1995 film, Kurosawa expresses the dilemma of the hibakusha whohave waged a valiant struggle against forgetting. The movie recounts the four young
people’s encounter with Nagasaki as they go to visit their elderly grandmother, ahibakusha whose husband was killed in the bombing.
One poignant scene depicts sightseers casually strolling around the Nagasaki Peace Park,
eating ice cream, and photographing the monuments. In a voiceover, the narrator
observes, but nowadays for most people, Nagasaki happened once upon a time. As theyears pass, people are apt to forget even the most dreadful things. That captures the
problem that we all face. That is why we spent five years making untold history. That is33

why the nuclear arms race is at the center of our story. That is why I am in Japan today.
It has been 68 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
It is time to end the hyper-militarization of this planet. We should begin by closing the
US bases on Okinawa where people are struggling heroically to end decades of militaryoccupation. I will be visiting Okinawa next week to support their efforts. We must alsoabolish nuclear weapons and this continuing mentality of militarization, evident in all
governments, come to life once again in the Far East, and do so not only in our lifetime
but in the lifetime of the aging hibakusha who have sent a message of love, not revenge,
peace not war, as they dedicate their lives to making sure that Hiroshima and Nagasaki
never happen again and that no one else suffers the way they have. Thank you.
MC
Thank you very much Mr. Stone for a great message for peace. Please give him a big
hand of applause. We heard the message of peace by Mr. Oliver Stone. Now we would
like to go back to the Dialogue Session. Ms. Nakamura, please.
Ms. Nakamura
We changed the schedule so that we could welcome a special guest and it was a rareopportunity for me because I stayed on stage together with Mr. Oliver Stone while hewas talking. I was saying that there are two more speakers who have registered inadvance and the first is Mr. Nobuyuki Asai, chair of the Youth Peace Conference ofSoka Gakkai.
Mr. Nobuyuki Asai, Chair of Soka Gakkai Peace Conference
I am Asai from Soka Gakkai. From December last year to February 2013, we conducteda survey of awareness about nuclear weapons among the young people in nine countries.
This is the result. I think you have the handouts. Please refer to them. The young people
including those living in the nuclear weapon states think that nuclear weapons are
inhumane and support our convention to completely ban nuclear weapons and this was
encouraging. The next was about the knowledge about the nuclear weapon states. Many
respondents could name the US and Russia, but fewer than 20% named other countries.
After 20% respondents, in eight countries other than Japan named Japan not a nuclear
weapon state.
In the UK, a nuclear weapon state, more than 30% of young people did not know that
their country has nuclear weapons. We believe that if more people learn about nuclear
34

weapon states, the target countries of the campaign to seek abolition will become moreevident and the campaign will be more effective. The survey shows that in all countries,
the younger the respondents, the less they knew about nuclear weapon states and so theless motivated they are to oppose nuclear weapons. The more respondents knew about
nuclear weapons, the more divided they are in their attitude towards nuclear weapons
for or against. Those who are well-informed about the impact of radiation are more
likely to oppose nuclear weapons.
These results suggest the ongoing education about peace being important and inparticular, education about the impact of radiation is vital in seeking the abolition of
nuclear weapons. We believe that it is essential to publicize the history of hibakusha in
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the gravity of the damage, and the continuing impact ofradiation in human bodies more than 60 years after the bombing. Thank you very much.
Ms. Nakamura
Thank you very much. Listening to what has been said, as for the survey, I believe Mr.
Asai is going to tell you how you are able to make access to the results of the survey
data. Now one more person to make the registration to speak to you, we would like towelcome Mr. Takayuki Kusano from CANVAS, please.
Mr. Takayuki Koasano, Leader of the International Exchange Group“CANVaS”
Ladies and gentlemen, I am the leader of CANVaS, a group promoting international
exchange programs. I am involved in activities to facilitate friendly interaction withyoung people in Kazakhstan where nuclear tests were repeatedly conducted during thedays of the Soviet Union. In doing so, I am to encourage young people of both Japanand Kazakhstan. I believe there are a lot of young people, including three young people
from Kazakhstan, sitting on the sitting floor.
I became involved in peacemaking efforts while at university in 2001 when I met
members of the Hiroshima Semipalatinsk project, a Hiroshima-based NGO that
supports nuclear test victims in Kazakhstan, I was interested in their activities andjoined their study towards Kazakhstan where I learned the Soviet Union carried out
more than 450 nuclear tests in Kazakhstan. As a result, as many as 1.5 million people
are estimated to have been exposed to radiation. I was also shocked to learn that many
people near the testing sites are still suffering from health problems even now.

35

This experience made me decide to continue peacemaking activities and interact withpeople in Kazakhstan so I established CANVAS in 2003. Since 2007, CANVAS hasorganized five tours to Kazakhstan, enforced friendship with young people in the
country, mainly in Semey City which is located near the former nuclear testing site. The
year 2009 marked the 60th anniversary year since citizens became victims of radiationfrom nuclear testing in Kazakhstan. That year we held a conference in Almaty, aninternational city of Kazakhstan to enable young people of Japan and Kazakhstan tothink about peace by learning from each other about the A-bombings and nuclear testingsince then.
We have been working with young people from both Semey and Almaty to increase
public awareness of peace nuclear issues. Last year for example we held a conference inSemey to discuss the peaceful uses of nuclear technology. Amid the growing threat ofnuclear weapons and emerging doubts about the safety of nuclear power plants, these
activities have helped young people of both countries to build friendship and solidarity
in making the most of those friendship ties. We also organize online meetings for theseyoung people while co-creating the website that provides information.
Let me discuss the roles of NGO. Today, people around the world are exposed tonuclear threats. I believe that peacemaking efforts by young people who will leadsociety in the future through international exchange activities such as ours will
eventually develop into widespread actions, demanding the abolition of nuclear
weapons around the world. I believe in the immense potential of non-governmental
activities because they help build solidarity among citizens outside of politicalframeworks and without consideration of national interests. Considering imminent
nuclear threats, I think that groups involved in peacemaking activities around the world
should work together to help raise public awareness of nuclear and peace issues so thatthe nuclear threats will be recognized and addressed from a global perspective. To
achieve this, a network is needed that allows various NGOs to publish and share
information.
I think the Mayors for Peace is ideally placed to operate such a network. The network
will give national governments around the world systematic access to information about
peacemaking activities undertaken by NGO bodies and their visions of peace. Suchinformation will help launch international peacemaking projects through collaboration
between governments and the private sector. I sincerely hope that the national36

governments will actively work together in developing a network NGO centered on the
Mayors for Peace. Thank you very much for listening.
Ms. Nakamura
Thank you very much Mr. Koasano. We have already used up all the allocated time. We
apologize. But since this is the very important dialogue, if there is a burning question
from the floor, we would like to entertain one question from the audience. If you haveany, please raise your hand. Yes, please.
Please be short and concise, then I will give one more chance to one more person to ask
questions; two questions all together.
Ms. Jacqueline Cabasso, Executive Advisor, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation;
Mayors for Peace North American Coordinator, USAI will put aside my own question and I would ask Mr. Kitano to please answer Mr.
Kawasaki’s question.
Ms. Nakamura
Mr. Kitano, you have the floor to respond.
Mr. Kitano
I was asking for taking the floor. Yes, I appreciate that point of the question, thank youvery much. As I have just presented earlier, on behalf of the Japanese government, I
believe the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons is critically important. Because ofthat we are taking the various measures. As Mr. Ambassador of Norway said, we havesent the delegates to the Oslo meeting and we are quite positive in attending thosevarious meetings. To us, humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons is very important as I
have said earlier. I believe it is necessary to appeal to the states, including the nuclear
weapon states and also the states which have intentions.
What is important here is the humanitarian impact of the nuclear weapons. This concept
has to be cherished and fostered. By that I mean is that the international community, we
would like to have the involvement of as many countries and states as possible. Of
course that includes the nuclear weapon nations. We have to try to aim at the abolitionof nuclear weapons. We have to have the involvement of nuclear weapon states.
Therefore, when we deal with the humanitarian impact of the nuclear weapons, there
has to be the activities to get the involvement of as many countries as possible. When it
37

comes to the abolition of the nuclear weapons, there are different approaches by thedifferent states. There are some moves to establish the convention of the treaty toabolish nuclear weapons. President Obama is quite positive amongst all the people of
the United States. In the Prague speech there was also the reference made for deterrents
by nuclear weapons. Colin Powell is quite positive but it is very difficult to make it tozero. That is why we are promoting nuclear disarmament and I believe there aredifferent approaches for the abolition of nuclear weapons. We have to be open for thevarious approaches of the abolition of nuclear weapons so that we will be able to havethe involvement of many people from the world. To this effect, we have to appeal now.
I have received the question from Mr. Kawasaki. Why did we not join on behalf ofJapan for the joint statement? When it comes to the humanitarian impact of nuclear
weapons, it is not only the joint statement issue alone, but when I read the content of thejoint statement, I concur. As far as the concepts are concerned, but partially there aresome differences in our opinion and this did not match with what was written in the
joint statement. Unfortunately we did not sign on that joint statement because of somepartial differences. But whenever there is an opportunity for the discussion, we arewilling to participate in any type of the meetings. Thank you very much.
Ms. Nakamura
One more person. I think I see one more hand out, please. Please be brief.
Mr. Pol D'Huyvetter, Executive Advisor, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation;
Director, International Campaign Secretariat, Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision
Campaign
I am Pol D'Huyvetter. I have been based in Latin America to develop Mayors for Peaceand it is a question for our colleague from the International Red Cross. When you
presented the target groups of the global campaign, I didn’t see the local governments
and I would commend you to add local governments as a target group. I know in Latin
America we really need the information for example about global climate change to getto the mayors and global governments so they feel concerned. What has happened in
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 is very important, and the exhibitions, I know there isgoing to be cooperation on exhibitions with the International Red Cross and that is goodbut I think we need to go beyond that and look to the actual threat also for local
governments in Latin America or Africa – I mean the nuclear weapon free zones. So I
hope we could discuss this as a target group.

38

Mr. Vincent Nicod, Head of the ICRC Tokyo Mission
Thank you very much for the question. We are creating a global network of all National
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies from all around the world. And I think they willbe the relay who will go further up. As far as ISIS is concerned, we dialogue with states
and with governments. We cannot afford, we are too small, to go to the local level so weare going to use the relays through the National Red Cross and Red Crescent to do that,but we take note of your suggestion. Actually, our presence here leading to Mayors for
Peace is the first signal of our interest to that and are going to pursue it but throughpartners and relays, not directly always. Thank you.
Ms. Nakamura
Lastly, amongst the panelists, I wonder whether you have any burning points you would
like to make a point amongst the panelists. Please be free to make the final comment. I
thought I was going to give one minute to one person but if I try to do that, everybody
speaks rather longer so maybe those who volunteer to make burning comments, pleasebe free to do so. Mr. Kawasaki, please.
Mr. Kawasaki
In summarizing this session, I think this is the gathering of the mayors and also thecitizens. Therefore, in that sense, the action to be taken in the near future, I do have a
proposal. In each city, in each town, when you go back, please hold meetings, please
have gatherings amongst the people working in the city office and also the citizens andinhumanity of the nuclear weapons. But if nuclear weapons were to be utilized as oftoday, what is going to happen? Those kinds of discussions should take place. And
another thing you should never forget is what is the number of nuclear weapons present
and what is the risk and threats imposed over us? We need to know the movement of theabolition of nuclear weapons on a global scale. You can have the meetings, you canhave the exhibitions, I think there is a lot of ample room and elbow room for you to doso. Not specifying a particular country, I hope you will be able to do that in each
respective country.
Ms. Nakamura
Any panelists? Any other comments? Now then, if not, as a coordinator let me wrap up.
We are going to have the 68th anniversary tomorrow after the A-bombing. As of today,
still, nuclear weapons do give the threat for its use. We are exposed to the world where
there is always a threat of nuclear weapons. That has to be recognized. And theinhumanity of nuclear weapons has to be loudly voiced out. We just do not stick to what39

we had experienced in the past. What is the selection in the future? What is the selection
as of today? This is the realistic issue and challenge we are faced with. The heads of thelocal authorities and cities, and also representatives of the central government, NGOs
and citizens, each individual does have the huge, colossal responsibility for the future
generations. It is high time for you to make the selection. It is the critical moment.
Why? We have to voice out the inhumanity of the nuclear weapons. What is the
direction we are heading for? I think we had a very thorough discussion today in thissession. I think this was a very good opportunity. I apologize as the chairman andcoordinator that we have exceeded the time allocated to us today. I am very sorry but
thank you very much for having joined with us. Now to the panelists, I would like tothank you all who have given us the wonderful presentation and comments. Please givea big hand to the panelists. Now ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for yourattention. The meeting for this session is adjourned. Thank you very much.

40

The 8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace

Session Ⅳ
The Path toward the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons
August 5 (Mon), 2013 14:30-15:30
International Conference Center Hiroshima (Himawari)

Chairperson:

Kazumi Matsui
President of Mayors for Peace
Mayor of Hiroshima

Reports on the Outcomes of Sessions II and III and the Dialogue Sessions by the
Respective Coordinators:
Yasuyoshi Komizo
Chairperson, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation
Thore Vestby
Mayor of Frogn, Norway
Kazumi Mizumoto
Vice President, Hiroshima Peace Institute, Hiroshima
City University
Keiko Nakamura
Associate Professor, Research Center for Nuclear
Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University
Adoption of the Hiroshima Appeal

MC
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting. Now we would like to commence Session
IV of the conference. The session chairperson is Mayor Kazumi Matsui of Hiroshima
City. Now I would like to hand it over to Mayor Matsui.
Chairperson: Mr. Kazumi Matsui, President of Mayors for Peace; Mayor of
Hiroshima, Japan
Thank you. Now we would like to commence Session IV. I will be serving as the chair. I
am Kazumi Matsui, mayor of Hiroshima City. Good afternoon everyone. In this general
conference, first we had Session II and Session III and dialogue sessions. In this session,
I would like to ask the coordinators of each session to report on the outcome of each of
the sessions and then finally we would like to proceed to the adoption of the Hiroshima
Appeal. First of all, I would like to hand it over to Session II coordinator, Chairperson
Komizo of Hiroshima Peace and Culture Foundation.

Report on the Outcomes of Session II
Coordinator: Mr. Yasuyoshi Komizo, Chairperson of the Hiroshima Peace Culture
Foundation, Japan
Since there are many Japanese participants, I would like to present in Japanese. At
Session II we spoke about the 2020 Vision Campaign, our future initiatives under the2020 Vision Campaign and we had discussions. There are two major parts. The first partof the discussion was shared by France’s Mayor Vestby who was the chairperson and he
explained about the 2020 Vision, secretariat activities, and other people who have beenpromoting the 2020 Vision Campaign. He presented their activities. The second part ofthis session was in addition to the former presentation, there were individual
presentations made about individual activities and examples of their actions so there
were two sessions. Two-thirds of the session time consisted of these presentations. In
the first part, because this year marks the 10th anniversary of the 2020 Vision Campaign,
which started back in 2003, so we reviewed over the past 10 years 2020 Vision
Campaign history and at the same time we introduced to the audience the future
activities we were planning under the 2020 Vision Campaign. As for the 2020 Vision
Campaign as we look back on it, there was NPT review meeting so we had preparation
activities towards it. As appropriately and timely as possible, as the representatives ofcities, we try to take appropriate measures in light of the situation of each time andprogress of the NPT conference sessions each time.

1The first trigger of this initiative was the 2003 meeting in Geneva. Mayor Akiba of thattime proposed the urgent initiative and the following year in Manchester I believe in the
Executive Committee of the Mayors for Peace, the 2020 Vision Campaign’s vision was
discussed and in the latter half of the year at the meeting held in Nagasaki, the 2020
Vision Campaign was officially commenced. That is how the 2020 Vision Campaign
officially started in 2003. The presentation was in great detail so I am just going toreport on some of the major key points. The first point, as I already said, in accordancewith the NPT review meeting and preparatory committees to NPT review meeting, we
try to be timely responding to those progresses by implementing activities in a timely
fashion. In terms of structure building of the campaign, in 2005 the first name of thecampaign was the emergency campaign but we changed the name to the 2020 Vision
Campaign which was in 2005.
At that time, the city of Ypres of Belgium started proactive initiatives and in 2006, the2020 Vision Campaign secretariat office was established in Ypres, Belgium, along withof course support from Hiroshima Secretariat. So the proactive initiatives started in2006. In 2007, the then Ypres mayor started fundraising from various sources to fundvarious movements and activities of the campaign. Significant funds were raised
through that fundraising activity. At the beginning, Mayors for Peace was not such alarge organization and took a long time to grow into an organization of a thousand cities.
But after the start of the 2020 Campaign, our organization quickly expanded to over
5,700. The background of it was the 2020 Vision which was the clear roadmap toabolish nuclear weapons by 2020. Because we started initiatives and activities withconcrete goals that attracted support and understanding of various parties, and then our
membership expanded quickly.
Another point is different member cities. In Europe and Japan we expanded
membership rapidly and various cities did their own and unique activities in France,
Germany, the UK. Different cities have creative and unique activities to enhance theinitiatives, and together with other movements in the private sector such as Abolition
2000 and ICAN, which is another organization; and also IPPNW and others under
ICAN. Our activities collaborated closely with other initiatives and organizations togrow into the current stage and campaign that we have today. In the presentation,
another topic that was presented were our future initiatives and future challenges. Now
we have a great foundation and how are we going to ensure effective initiatives will be
carried on into the future?

2

There were four main items that were presented for the future. The first one was 2015
NPT Review Conference and we have work to do towards that. Some development after
2010, the International Committee of the Red Cross referred to and highlighted theinhumanity of nuclear weapons. In the previous session we discussed this. It will be
momentum in our efforts to bad nuclear weapons by highlighting the inhumanity of thenuclear weapons to outlaw them. So we create trends toward outlawing nuclear
weapons to ban them. In this trend in Oslo, in May this year there was a conference heldin which humanitarian impact of the nuclear weapons was discussed and that was the
topic of the meeting. And the Non-allied Countries Movement together with our
campaign, what happened was in the first half of this year in the United Nations there
was an unofficial working group held towards accelerating the elimination of nuclear
weapons. Another resolution was made in the United Nations.
In September 26 of this year, for the first time in the history of the United Nations, on
the first day of the general assembly, there will be a nuclear disarmament high levelmeeting will be held. So we in Mayors for Peace have written letters to the highest levelof the government, calling upon them to pay highest level participation to this assembly.
One of the main pillars of our activities is to call upon national governments and the UN
to act. So we are trying to enhance and support our activities by action alerts. In
addition, there are some more concrete activities that are planned.
First, the “I was her age” Campaign. The hibakusha who are offering testimonies when
they were struck by the bomb, they were in their teens. So they themselves and theirmothers would try to make people imagine the image of a mother and daughter struckby atomic weapons. The Peace Boat has been doing an around the world trip withhibakusha testimony so we collaborate with this. Around the timing of the 2015 NPT
Review Conference, we use this campaign to have hibakusha have exchange andcontact with the youth generation and from a humanitarian point of view they canconvey the reality of the nuclear weapons and try to create a movement towards
abolition. This is not directly related to nuclear weapons themselves. At 2015 is thehundred year anniversary of the first use of weapons of mass destruction in the city ofYpres, which is the campaign head of the 2020 Vision Campaign. So on this occasion
we decided to have a meeting.
Of course we aim for the abolition of nuclear weapons but also we have to learn fromthe example of use of other weapons of mass destruction to support the movement
towards the abolition of nuclear weapons. Another initiative is the World Peace
3

Calendar. Again in order to foster our movement on a global basis, different cities can
put their events and commemoration days related to wars and peace into the calendar to
create a movement towards abolition throughout the year. That is another item under the2020 Vision Campaign.
I shouldn’t spend too much time so Japanese presenters and European presenters andpresenters from India and one scholar was invited from Germany to explain the
Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Course and how that course was implemented inGermany. That was another presentation made in a session. In Session II, we discussed
the 2020 Vision Campaign. Based on the 2020 Vision Campaign we discussed how we
can enhance and enlarge our measures and discussed our history and future plans.
Thank you.
Mr. Matsui
Thank you very much. And next on Session III, we are going to ask the Mayor of Frogn,
Norway, Mr. Thore Vestby for the report.

Report on the Outcomes of Session III
Coordinator: Mr. Thore Vestby, Mayor of Frogn, Norway
Thank you very much. The session is not over yet because it was a long session. In my
outline, it says .4 Summary by the Coordinator, we dropped that. I guess we are at the
moment to do that summary. It was scheduled for 2.5 hours. I think we passed 3. And
you are still alive? Thank you. It was a challenge at the time. But it tells me that there
are so many in the audience, so many people, so many mayors, so many ambassadorsthat have so much to say about their activities. I felt that everybody accepted in a waythat this is important, that we spent more time than was scheduled for. This is also what
it is all about. We are coming together; we share views; we tell about our experiences;
we inspire each other; we are picking up activities to bring back home; when speakers
are asked, they use so many minutes, some are using more, we are as mayors very
familiar with that so that is how it is when you are really onto something. You can speak
for hours.
There were 15 speakers. Two were invited and it was very interesting I think for theaudience to hear what they are doing in France, how they are doing it, how active they
are, how long they have been in this organization. And we also had from Hannover,Germany, presented a film. I think it inspired a lot of ideas; came through to speakers.
4All the others, I am quite sure that most of them have tried their very best to be as shortas they could and I am quite sure that everybody could have brought up and gone deeper
into what they were saying. But I would like to mention a couple of subjects that were,to me at least, quite new. I wrote them down. First I would like to mention, I think it
was Mayor Ayabe, he mentioned that we should look upon nuclear plants as nuclear
land mines. That was at least quite new to me. Maybe you should take that into
consideration. If we shall take it into our goals, that is another discussion. A long
discussion. But it is quite an interesting point.
We also had an independent statement from a guy from Australia addressing the
opening of Uranium mines. It is also an interesting issue but it is probably not directly
into our organization.
I would like to end with bringing some comments about the last three Kurdish speakers.
The session got in a way really emotional in the end. They were addressing their
mission, described through the tragedy in Halabja, and we learned also that there has
been structured genocide for 182 thousand people in 4,000 villages. That was a verystrong speech so we ended there. These are emotional things when you get down to it.
You saw it in the movie earlier today also. That is what we are dealing with. Overall, thesession was very long, maybe too long. But we did it and we are happy with it now.
Thank you.
Mr. Matsui
Thank you very much. As Mayor Vestby touched upon Mayor Ayabe, I think it was
Mayor Mikami of Kosai City. Now let us hear the report from the dialogue session withcitizens and A-bomb survivor groups. The coordinator was Professor Kazumi Mizumoto,
vice president of Hiroshima Peace Institute, Hiroshima City University, please.

Report on the Outcomes of the Dialogue Session with Citizens and A-bomb
Survivor Groups
Coordinator: Professor Kazumi Mizumoto, Vice President, Hiroshima Peace
Institute, Hiroshima City University
Allow me to report to you the discussion. On the dialogue session with citizens andbomb survivor groups, there were reports by four groups. I would like to give you thesalient points. From the hibakusha groups there were two presentations. The firstpresenter is Mr. Sunao Tsuboi, Co-chairperson of the Japan Confederation of A- andH-bomb Sufferers Organization. One kilometer from the epicenter, he was hit. He was5covered by fire and he escaped at huge risk and he is 88 years old but is suffering fromthe after effects because of the radiation from the A-bomb. But he is making his best
efforts to appeal the abolition of the A-bombing. Indeed, we listened to the real voicesof the feelings of hibakusha.
The second speaker was Mr. Kazuo Ookoshi, secretary general of Hiroshima Prefectural
Conference of A-bomb Sufferers Organization. There were three activities. First to
appeal the reality of the A-bombing as well as the succession of the experiences. As
many as 40 thousand people are recruited in the meeting for the testimony of the
hibakusha and for the abolition of the A-bombing. Just like Mayors for Peace, appealed
for the CTBT and are asking for the petition for signatures is also included. The third
activity is to appeal for the protection of the hibakusha. The Japanese government has
underestimated the damage and the suffering of the hibakusha that was reported. Also,
hibakusha of the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant and hibakusha ofHiroshima are coordinating. Also, as the citizens of Hiroshima who still lead the way inlife in Hiroshima, Mr. Nobuhide Okamura, president of the Hiroshima Consumers’
Co-operative Union, made a presentation. There are 14 co-operatives underneath theunion. One-third and 900 thousand people were members of the cooperative union.
Peace and betterment of life is their theme. Through those activities, they are also
promoting the abolition of nuclear weapons, they listen to the testimony of the
hibakusha, and have tours to the places of the A-bombing, and focusing on peace, they
are engaged in various events and activities.
The last presenter on behalf of the young generation was Ms. Yui Tamitani, Emi
Inazumi, and Noriko Murakami of Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High School. Ms.
Tamitani in April this year went to Monterey International Graduate School in
California to have a discussion with colleagues for the abolition of nuclear weapons. In
the dialogue session yesterday, she has also made a similar presentation on peaceeducation in Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High School. Specifically speaking, three
students made the speech very fluently in English. The first point is the introduction in
History of Hiroshima Jogakuin Senior High School. And also for six years, they are
engaged in peace education. There were suggestions by the high school students
engaged as of today by using smartphones and websites, they are working around thestreets and they are sending the information on Hiroshima archives in Hiroshima Peace
Boat, as well as engaged in the guided tour as the guide to Hiroshima Museum.
Hiroshima International Cooperation Society is the study association whereby they are6engaged in the various peace activities. That is their extracurricular activities. Those
were the presentations by four groups.
And after that on behalf of the Mayors for Peace, there was one more presentation.
Specifically speaking, the documentary film “That Day” was the basis for activities toappeal the atrocity of A-bombs. Mr. Richard Mirocco made the presentation. The
purpose of the film is to give the reality of the A-bombing as well as the folly of Iranand DPRK, who are engaged in nuclear testing, and to all the people in the world, they
are approving to the abolition of nuclear weapons. In our dialogue session with citizens
with A-bomb survivors, with the young generations, and filmmakers, there were a lot ofcommonalities to focus on the inhumanity of the nuclear weapons as well as the atrocity
and horror of the nuclear weapons. This is the common sense of the feeling. This is thereport on behalf of the dialogue session with the citizens. Thank you very much.
Mr. Matsui
Last but not least, I would like to invite Ms. Keiko Nakamura, Associate Professor with
the Center for Nuclear Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University.

Report on the Outcomes of the Dialogue Session with Government Officials andNGOs, etc.
Coordinator: Ms. Keiko Nakamura, Associate Professor, Center for Nuclear
Weapons Abolition, Nagasaki University
On the last session we had, it was all with respect to governance and NGOs for theabolition of nuclear weapons. Please allow me to go through a quick summary of the
discussion we had. Just a few hours ago, our session ended. Perhaps many of you still
have a vivid recollection of what we discussed. With that in mind, I will not go througha lengthy summary of each presentation. Rather, in my opinion, I would like to makesome comments of which I thought were rather important out of the discussion.
First, speakers. We had speakers from four governments; from Norway, Mr. Midthun;
Dr. Claude Heller from Mexico; and from Japan, director-general of Disarmament
Non-Proliferation and Science Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr.
Kitano; and Mr. Sanjay Panda from India; and from NGO ICRC Tokyo mission, Mr.
Nico; and from international NGO ICAN, co-chair Mr. Kawasaki. These two gentlemen
represented the NGOs. Also we had Mr. Hidehiko Yuzaki, Hiroshima Prefecture
governor who discussed the importance of Hiroshima as a center for peace around the7world and its missions for dialogue as a matter of fact. Due to the time factor, we are notable to really execute a kind of dialogue as the theme of this session describes. That isperhaps due to my poor chairmanship, but the honorable mayor of Kazakhstan came tothe podium and gave his talk. Also from Soka Gakkai and from CANVAS which has
good interaction with the youth in Kazakhstan, gave us their talk with respect to theirexperiences.
The theme throughout the session, needless to say, is the inhumane nature of nuclear
weapons. And the 2010 NPT Review Conference was held, and since then throughout
the discussion of international nuclear disarmament discussion, this inhumane naturebegan to draw central attention of the discussion around the world. As you know, lastyear in the NPT, PrepCom and the UN General Assembly in the fall, and in this year’s
Geneva PrepCom for NPT Review Conference, the joint statements were issued with 64
countries’ signatures. Really, one of the central issues of international discussion is theinhumane nature of nuclear weapons. Really one of the central issues of international
discussion is the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons and one of the speakers regarded
the situation as a tipping point of the whole framework of the discussion. Yes indeed
that is a tipping point, the nuclear weapon states. How should they reduce nuclear
weapon arsenals?
The so-called theory of national security has been the central theme of nuclear
disarmament discussions, but with an inhumane nature, we are able to place humans andpeople at the center of the discussion and that is gaining momentum as the central themeof our discussion today. This time here in Hiroshima, I described key players as I madeopening remarks in a very timely manner. Key players gathered on the stage as speakers
and that was hard to get an opportunity, I believe. From Norway in March, as was
described already, also hosted a conference where they led the movement towards a
joint statement release. Mexico is going to hold a follow-up discussion meeting in
February next year after the Oslo conference and NPDI process, the meeting to be heldin Hiroshima on next year on the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons. That is inrelation to the position of Japanese government. Under said circumstances, the common
thread running through all those talks is the very strong sense of risk and danger
concerning the risk of nuclear weapons used and we are really living side by side withsuch an extremely dangerous risk. How can we address the situation?
Under said circumstances, one of the very important tipping points which were brought
about was the focus upon the inhumane nature of nuclear weapons and I think that8

understanding was shared by all the speakers. Then what are the ways forward? The
reality of hibakusha’s experience was mentioned and also the nuclear testing done in
Semipalatinsk. And the consequences of nuclear testing, and the scientific aspect. That
was one of the main points in the Oslo conference. From such a scientific background
we can enhance the international understanding of nuclear weapons and also one of theactivities carried out by Peace Boat NGO is to listen to the real voices of hibakusha andothers who were exposed to radiation effects. Also, especially young people as was
discussed by a gentleman from Soka Gakkai Peace Committee, the ignorance of theyoung people, especially of the reality of the hibakusha is an important hurdle in peaceeducation and as has been tackled by Mayors for Peace needs to be promoted in consult
with NGOs and states and other players to enhance peace education and awareness.
As such, a commonly shared recognition, we were able to find, fortunately, among all
those speakers, but on the other hand, inhumane nature of nuclear weapons. The
consequences of a nuclear weapon. Why are we discussing those aspects today? And
beyond that, what are we able to find and move forward? In this aspect, I think we sawsome differences in the positions and attitudes among the speakers. To speak of theinhumane nature of nuclear weapons is of course reflecting the voices of the hibakusha.
But beyond that, never allow the use of such a weapon. In order for that to happen, thetotal illegalization of nuclear weapon studies and the Nuclear Weapons Convention isnecessary. The inhumane nature of nuclear weapons can become meaningful.
As we lead from this discussion to the total ban on nuclear weapons as illegal weapons,that is one opinion. But on the other hand, in relation to the security environment, direct
discussion leading to the illegalization and ban on nuclear weapons may seem rather too
premature according to some discussion and speakers. Also, the challenge being faced
by Japan was pointed out. A Japanese government representative was given a question
concerning that Japan didn’t sign that joint statement. It seems that Japan is trying toseparate the discussion on inhumane nature from the total ban on nuclear weapons as anillegal weapon. We are not at that stage yet, according to some discussion, including
Hiroshima and Nagasaki and from other sites exposed to radiation. Consequently,
voices of criticism and disappointment has been voiced and expressed towards such an
attitude and position of the Japanese government.
To place the inhumane nature at the central theme of discussion is forming a core ofinternational discussion. I think this is really the truth in fact. However, beyond that, as
we look to the meeting in Mexico next year, and also 2015 NPT Review Conference,9where can we go from the discussion of inhumane nature of nuclear weapons and fromthere, what is the direction or step in our discussion we can go forward. And opinions
still seem to be divided in this regard. At this very important juncture, voices ofHiroshima and Nagasaki, which is the theme of this general conference, and alsosolidarity with NGOs and other players around the world are gathering importancegreater than ever before. And as coordinator or moderator of this session, I should keepa more neutral position in my summation, but as was mentioned by a Japanesepresentation, the objective of recognition of the persons of many kinds of weapons, thepoint was made that we need to reduce the need for having weapons, including nuclear
weapons. Nuclear weapons have no value or no utility. That is a very important point.
For that reason we cannot rely upon the nuclear umbrella of another country. Japan as
the first A-bombed country needs to have such a position and Japan can lead the world
into the discussion towards nuclear weapons abolition. And I think that important
challenge facing Japan seems to once again surfaced in that discussion. Thank you verymuch.
Mr. Matsui
Now we have been able to hear the summary of the three days conference and theindividual sessions. If any of you have any questions or impressions or wish to speak
out here, please raise your hand. Anyone who would like to offer comments? The
person at the back. Please state you city and your affiliation.
Mr. Adrian Glamorgan, Representative of the City of Fremantle, Australia
I am Adrian Glamorgan from the city of Fremantle, Western Australia. I have a question
or clarification as a newcomer here, I admire the work that has been done for a longtime. I am less clear about where issues such as the stockpiling of plutonium byparticular countries which can only be used then for nuclear weapons. How Mayors for
Peace can make a contribution to that? Arigato.
Mr. Matsui
So your question is directed to all coordinators? Who would you like to have thisquestion answered by?
Mr. Glamorgan
I think I would be guided by the chair as to who you think would be the best person toanswer it but particularly those people who have influence over governments or

10companies that stockpile plutonium, it would be of interest, but how the action plan
actually fades into that.
Mr. GlamorganOkay, so in terms of the plutonium stockpiling and if you do not address this problem,
does Mayors for Peace function effectively without dealing with this problem?
Mr. Komizo
Whether it is military or civilian nuclear activities, the accumulation of plutonium, how
to balance it and how to prevent plutonium to be used for military purposes. It is a very,
very important issue. As of now for the Mayors for Peace, our activities are actuallyconcentrating on two fronts. One is the campaign to promote Nuclear Weapons
Convention. That is one. Number two, for longer term goals, even if it is a very difficult
thing but even if we eliminate nuclear weapons, if we leave in the situation where wekeep distrust and threat that would invite human beings to come up with some nasty,
dirty, explosive devices. So it is very important to cultivate the human relationship, likein Europe. They have been fighting all the time but once they develop a sense ofcommunity and build a system upon it, they are not going to war against each otheranymore. So I think our long-term goal is to cultivate a sense of community as one
human being on a global scale.
We are working on the immediate goal, and then the long-term goal, and in between weare encouraging governments and the UN to come up with a major confidence building
measure. For example, the various measures prevents, not use, nuclear bombs again.
Those are the activities. At the same time, we are cooperating with various entities, like
ICAN and IPPNW and I think plutonium issues are dealt with by other expert bodies
because they are not experts on the plutonium issue. So although we recognize that thisis a very important issue, this is not our main campaign agenda item. But we are going
to expand our cooperation with wider civil society and also those various expert groups.
That is something I would just like to describe the current situation. Thank you.
Mr. Matsui
Does that answer your question? Okay, thank you. Any other comments? If there are nofurther comments or questions, we would like to close the reporting session of theprevious sessions.

11Adoption of the Hiroshima Appeal
Mr. Matsui
Based on the discussions we have had, now we would like to proceed onto the adoptionof the Hiroshima Appeal. In your handouts, have you received the Hiroshima Appeal?
Please distribute the Hiroshima Appeal document. Please distribute the Hiroshima
Appeal. There is a Japanese version and English version so please tell the nearby staff
which version you would like to receive. Now ladies and gentlemen, do you all have
Hiroshima Appeal document in front of you? Please raise your hand if you have still notreceived one. Does everyone have it now? Now I am going to read it out in Japanese.
Then the interpreter will interpret it simultaneous into English. This English document
is the fruit of robust discussions we have had. So we have been discussion to almost
midnight yesterday so please keep that in mind as you listen to it. Now I will read it.
“The Hiroshima Appeal. We representatives of 5,712 cities from 157 countries andregions around the world have met at the 8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace
held in Hiroshima and engaged in extensive discussions on the theme toward a world
without nuclear weapons conveying the spirit of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the world.
In August 1945, the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were reduced to ruins in bothcases by a single atomic bomb and more than 210 thousand people from the two cities
lost their precious lives. The suffering of the atomic bomb survivors, known ashibakusha, from the blast, heat, and radiation continues to this day, 68 years later.
Having lived through an experience too cruel to be put into words, the atomic bomb
survivors have continued to appeal for nuclear abolition and to extend their desire forpeace to the people of the world that their dedication stems from their deep
humanitarian conviction that no one should ever again suffer as we have. Mayors for
Peace, which feels a strong sense of responsibility to guarantee the safety and welfare of
citizens everywhere, empathizes profoundly with the spirit of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
in striving for nuclear abolition and peace and is intensifying its activities to promote
the abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are names that are
well-known throughout the world. However, though the states that possess nuclear
weapons have turned a deaf ear to the earnest appeals of the hibakusha and during theCold War, they engaged in a nuclear arms race that eventually increased their number tothe current total of nine.

12

While there has been some reduction in the number of nuclear weapons, this has been
too slow and inadequate. Today, almost a quarter of a century since the Cold War ended,
an estimated 17,300 nuclear weapons continue to pose an intolerable threat to humanity
and to the environment. With about 2,000 nuclear weapons on high alert, the threatened
use of nuclear weapons, euphemistically called ‘deterrents,’ and the unspeakable horror
it implies is still the mainstay of the international security regime. Furthermore, nuclear
proliferation remains a current and dangerous threat and we cannot deny the possibility
that a subnational terrorist group might obtain nuclear weapons. And yet, in a time of
unprecedented global economic crisis, fantastically expensive programs to use new tests
to modernize nuclear weapons systems are underway in all of the states that possess
nuclear arms with no end in sight, misappropriating resources that are badly needed tofund basic human needs.
The need to achieve a world without nuclear weapons that will be sustainable over the
long-term compels us to build a new society in which mutual distrust and threats are
replaced by a shared sense of community rooted in awareness that we all belong to thesame human family. In such a society, diversity will be treasured and disputes will be
resolved through peaceful means. The road to this goal may be long and difficult but it
is certainly achievable and we must proceed with determination. At the same time,
while on this path, it is absolutely necessary to prevent the criminal act of another use of
nuclear weapons which would result in unfathomable disaster to humanity and to theenvironment. To descend concrete policies, frameworks, and confidence building
measures to promote international and regional peace and security must be put in place,in particular, in regions such as the Middle East, South Asia, and the Asia Pacific where
nuclear tensions are on the rise.
Facing the continuing threat posed by nuclear weapons, we need to redouble our efforts
to bring all states to the table to commence negotiations for the complete elimination of
nuclear weapons at the earliest possible date. This is the main goal of the Mayors for
Peace 29020 Vision Campaign to ban nuclear weapons. While we acknowledge themany complimentary efforts to abolish nuclear weapons, we, Mayors for Peace, place apriority at this stage on promoting Nuclear Weapons Conventions or other effectivemeans of establishing a world free of nuclear weapons. In this context, we welcome
several promising new developments that are highlighting the inhumanity of nuclear
weapons and accelerating the momentum toward their becoming outlawed.

13

The final document of the 2010 NPT Review Conference referred for the first time tothe inhumanity of nuclear weapons and the Nuclear Weapons Convention. In March thisyear, Norway hosted a groundbreaking conference in Oslo on the humanitarian impactsof nuclear weapons with 127 governments in attendance. A follow-on conference hosted
by Mexico is scheduled for February 2014. In May, a new United Nations Working
Group opened to all member states began meeting in Geneva to develop proposals totake forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations for the achievement andmaintenance of a world without nuclear weapons. And the first ever United Nations
High Level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament will take place on September 26 in New
York. Mayors for Peace calls on all states, including those that possess nuclear weapons,
to participate constructively and in good faith in the new UN Working Group. The
United Nations High Level Nuclear Disarmament Meeting and the Mexico Conference
on the Humanitarian Impacts of Nuclear Weapons as well as in preparations for the2015 Nuclear Non-proliferation Review Conference. Along with this immediate
campaign, we will also expand our activities to advance the long-term goal of
cultivating the sense of global community as one human family. That will ultimately be
the basis for lasting world peace.
In order for Mayors for Peace to carry out this ambitious agenda, further expansion of
our membership and the development of proactive and independent activities at theregional level are necessary. Further, we need to convince people around the world toactively support the heartfelt desire of the atomic bomb survivors for peace to raise
global awareness as widely as possible but the harsh reality of the bombings ofHiroshima and Nagsaki, especially among future generations. We must strengthen our
relationships with the United Nations, parliamentarians, associations of local authorities,
the International Committee of the Red Cross, international peace organizations, otherorganizations working for peace, human rights and protection of the environment, andprominent figures in culture, the arts, and sports. Our collaborative activities can help tomobilize widespread international public opinion for peace by expanding the number ofour member cities and deepening the involvement of existing members and throughincreased networking with diverse organizations who will overcome the barriers ofmutual distrust based on nationality, race, or religion and create a security system rooted
in a sense of global community as members of the same human family.
In light of the 25th anniversary of the gas attacks on Halabja and the upcomingcommemorations of the commemoration of the centennial anniversary in 2015 of thefirst use of a weapon of mass destruction on Ypres, Mayors for Peace will use these14

tragic examples of the use of other weapons of mass destruction to further our goal of a
nuclear weapons free world. Mayors for Peace has been a humanitarian organization
since its founding in 1982 by the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Cities joined firstand foremost out of human solidarity with the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
especially the survivors of 1945. Membership has grown to 5,712 member cities in 157
countries and regions, and we now represent more than 1 billion people. We shallfurther enhance our capacity to serve member cities and support their activities, and callupon others to join our efforts to further nuclear abolition and peace.
Finally, whatever the source of radiation may be, we must do everything we can toprevent any more hibakusha anywhere. Mayors for Peace calls on the United Nations
and all governments to take the following measures:
1) To Make sure that policy makers and officials from governments and international
agencies responsible for nuclear disarmament visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki in orderto deepen their understanding of the indescribable human tragedy of the atomic
bombings and disseminate the earnest wish of the atomic bomb survivors for theabolition of nuclear weapons.
2) To establish policies and frameworks for confidence building measures among
nations to make sure that nuclear weapons will never be used again.
3) To aim for the early implementation of a nuclear weapons convention or othereffective means of establishing a nuclear weapons free world and to start concrete
negotiations towards its conclusion.
4) To actively work on replacing the current security system of nuclear deterrents,
which attempts to maintain peace through the threatened use of nuclear weapons
with one rooted in the shared sense of community as fellow members of one humanfamily, taking into account experiences gained by regional communities such as the
EU, ASEAN, and SELAC.
Addressing the above points at its 8th General Conference, Mayors for Peace adopted a
dynamic action plan for the period from 2013 to 2017. We hereby pledge to make every
endeavor to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020.
August 5, 2013
8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace
Hiroshima.”

15

Thank you very much. Now with the clapping by the audience, we assume that you allagree to adopt this appeal. As for this appeal, all member nations, we will send it to allmember cities, all the governments, NGOs, and the United Nations, and to other related
international organizations. Now this brings us to the end of Session IV. Thank you verymuch for you cooperation with a smooth administration of this session. Thank you.

16

The 8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace

Closing Ceremony
August 5 (Mon), 2013 15:30-16:00
International Conference Center Hiroshima (Himawari)

Closing Remarks:

Fumio Kishida
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan
Delivered by Mitsuru Kitano, Director-General, Disarmament
Non-proliferation and Science Department, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs
Donald L. Plusquellic
Vice President of Mayors for Peace
Mayor of Akron, USA
Tomihisa Taue
Vice President of Mayors for Peace
Mayor of Nagasaki
Kazumi Matsui
President of Mayors for Peace
Mayor of Hiroshima

MC
Now we would like to commence the closing ceremony for the 8th General Conferenceof Mayors for Peace. First we would like to invite Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida forgreetings.
Closing Remarks
Mr. Fumio Kishida, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan
Delivered by Mitsuru Kitano, Director-General, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation andScience Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, JapanI am Director-General Kitano, Disarmament, Non-Proliferation, and Science
Department, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I would like to read out Mr. Kishida’s
message.
The president of the general conference, Mayors for Peace, and distinguished guests,
and all the participants. In light of the significance of this general conference, I wish toattend myself. However, unfortunately I was not able to do so. So please let me have
Director General Kitano, Department of Disarmament, Nonproliferation, and Science
carry my message. I appreciate your understanding. From not only within Japan but also
from overseas, thank you for coming to Hiroshima, which is my hometown as well as acity which experienced the atomic bombing to attend the General Assembly of Mayors
for Peace, held every four years for the purpose of abolishing nuclear weapons toachieve eternal peace for the world.
We are the only atomic bombed country and therefore we know the reality of nuclear
weapons used better than any other nations. It is our mission to convey the catastropheof Hiroshima and Nagasaki beyond generations and national boundaries. We aim tocultivate proper understanding of nuclear weapons use and its humanitarian impact as
the starting point for further international nuclear disarmament initiatives. In April 2014,
NPDI Foreign Ministerial Meeting will be held here in Hiroshima on that occasion to
spread the awareness of inhumanity of nuclear weapons to as many nations as possible,
we plan to construct messages to be sent out from Hiroshima, a city that experienced
nuclear bombing.
Also from a nonproliferation education point of view, in order that we communicate theinhumane impact of the use of nuclear weapons, we appointed the first Youth
Antinuclear Ambassador in Hiroshima. I hope that young generations will learn fromthis what they can do to advance towards a nuclear free world. To achieve a nuclear free1

world, not only the government but also all citizens must think about the way forwardfrom all possible different aspects and the Mayors for Peace activities are conducted
exactly to that end. Let me thank you again for attending the 8th General Conference ofMayors for Peace from Japan and all over the world and I am committed to make steadyprogress forward with you towards a world free from nuclear weapons. With that I
would like to conclude my remarks.
MC
Thank you very much. Next, on behalf of the participants, the vice president of Mayors
for Peace, the Mayor of Akron, Mr. Plusquellic, please.
Mr. Donald L. Plusquellic, Vice President of Mayors for Peace, Mayor of Akron,USA
Thank you. To our hosts, Mayor Matsui, other honorable mayors and distinguishedleaders, ladies and gentlemen, I am very honored to be here in Hiroshima for my second
time to represent the US Conference of Mayors as well as my own citizens. I apologizethat I am not the celebrity that Oliver Stone is to appear here to speak in a way that hecan do so well in talking about his riveting movies and the things that he does muchbetter than I do to get messages out. But I am here and privileged to join with all of you
concerned citizens in this global community. I say global community because here weall realize that we are one people, residents of one Earth, and what happens to one place,to one city, has consequences worldwide.
In today’s world, more than any other time, our citizens no matter where they live havethe opportunity to travel more than ever. They have more information available. They
are linked instantly by international news stories, by the Internet they are provided more
information, and it is more available by not only our present day world but out history
and how we got to this point in 2013. And yet, I would argue, unfortunately, that many
people, especially in my country, are less knowledgeable about our history. They havenot taken the time or the energy to learn the lessons that we need, not just about things
important in their little world in which they live, but important lessons about how welive together and should live together in this shrinking world.
I would argue that we must know, we must encourage people to learn, not as something
nice, but a commitment to learn something that is absolutely a necessity so that we donot make the mistakes that we have made in the past as I said in my first opportunity
here in Hiroshima and then in Nagasaki. 60 years or 6 decades or more after any
2historical event in the history of the world, all of us can look back and criticize or findfault or blame, but the most important thing is to learn from those tragic incidents, thosetragic events, so that we don’t make that mistake again and that is why the work that allof you do, all of us, Mayors for Peace, especially provided the leadership by the twooutstanding mayors is so vitally important because as opinion makers we can help takethose rightful positions to our government leaders and hopefully they will listen andhopefully our citizens will help learn that lesson from past experiences. I cannot standhere and speak for my federal government. In fact, mayors in the United States are very
frustrated. We can’t get our own federal government to understand the necessity ofreinvesting in our cities, to build new bridges and highways and to invest in water andsewer lines, so for me to say here today that somehow I am going to change what goeson in Washington, DC, would almost be funny if it wasn’t so shameful.
But I do believe that mayors can help push the discussion. And with over 190 mayors
signed up for Mayors for Peace in the United States, we have joined in this effort and I
do think that the President of the United States has a philosophical position and opinion
that has given us some hope that there may be some progress on this although, again, I
cannot speak for him. Global nuclear disarmament in my opinion is something that weshould continue to push our leaders because it is possible in our lifetime. And it should
not be viewed as just an option, something that would be nice to do, but actually anecessity.
I say this with vivid memory of a young lady, 12 years old, who reminded me so muchof my grandchildren and I carry, maybe many of you do when I wonder some days why
I do all the crazy things that I do in this very difficult time of being mayor, I always
carry pictures of my grandchildren because I want their world to be better. And so it is
not in my opinion a nice option for our governments. It is a necessity. Why? For ourchildren and our children’s children, which means the future of this world that each oneof us cares about. The work of the Mayors for Peace is vitally important, a necessity forthe future of our world and I thank you sincerely for the opportunity to join with you inthis effort and I especially thank all of you for your leadership in your home countries.
MC
Thank you very much. Next speaker is vice president of the Mayors for Peace, mayor of
Nagasaki, Mayor Taue please.
Mr. Tomihisa Taue, Vice President of Mayors for Peace, Mayor of Nagasaki
3

In the 8th General Conference of the Mayors for Peace end is closing ceremony onbehalf of one of the vice presidents, allow me to say a few words. We have had a lot of
discussions in the past three days to all the people who are involved in this conference. I
would like to express my appreciation. Members of the Mayors for Peace amounted to
5,712. When it goes beyond the level of 5,000 we thought about the ways it means to
expand the membership and strengthen our efforts and how each city is able toparticipate very actively in our organization in the past 2 years we have exhausted our
discussion, culminating to this general conference.
We have set the action plans which were approved in the general conference and wewere able to share the next step action plan in this general conference. I believe in thatsense, the general conference we have just completed was a very important one. In thepast three days, personally in my mind, there were two key words which were movingaround in my heart. One is no more Hiroshima. For hibakusha from Nagasaki, there is
Mr. Senji Yamaguchi. Since he was young, he has been appealing as the leader for theabolition of nuclear weapons.
In 1982, he even as the first hibakusha who delivered a speech in the United Nations.
He had demonstrated by showing his own keloid scars on the face and body in front of
the government officials saying, “No more Hiroshima, no more Nagasaki, no more war,
no more hibakusha.” That was his earnest appeal. On the 6th last month, he passed away.
His appeal, his voice can be shared by all of us gathered here because this is the sharedgoal we have set in our organization. We need to create the nuclear free world and weare going to put our hands together to accomplish that ultimate goal. I think we are able
to share that feeling in the past three days. No more Hiroshima. Let us not forget about
this word. No more Hiroshima, no more Nagasaki, no more war, no more hibakusha.
Another key word is, “Peace from Nagasaki.” This word is the importance of appeal
peace. On top of that, in the community, we are going to start the peace building activity.
That is how I took it from this word. Peace from Granollers. Peace from Halabja. Peacefrom Kodaira. Wherever you put your name of the town, this is the very valued andinvaluable word. As a mayor, each one of us needs to build up our confidence and create
a community where people are able to have a trustworthy relationship among them. At
the same time, this Mayors for Peace is the organization, is the gathering of the mayors
from different cultures, different challenges and issues, but still we share and build theconfidence through the discussion and exchanges of views.

4This conference itself is indeed the very important foundation and forum to deepen our
understanding, peace from this organization. “No more Hiroshima and peace from
Nagasaki,” those are the keywords I was able to always remember through the 8thGeneral Conference of Mayors for Peace. I hope everybody else will be able to sharethose two key words. Lastly, those who have worked very hard at the back of the stage
for the preparation of this general conference, Mayor Matsui, Mr. Komizo, and Mr.
Yowasa, and also all the staff members of Hiroshima City, I would like to thank you all.
Mayors for Peace General Conference, the next round of the meeting will be held in
Nagasaki four years from now. I am very much looking forward to seeing you four
years from now. In the coming four years, I hope there will be more and more
opportunities to deepen our understanding and confidence before we meet again. Onceagain, my thanks goes to all of you. Thank you very much.
MC
Thank you very much. On behalf of the organizers, the Mayor of Hiroshima, Mr.
Kazumi Matsui, president of Mayors for Peace, will give us a few words of closing.
Mr. Kazumi Matsui, President of Mayors for Peace, Mayor of Hiroshima
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much. This is going to be the real last greeting I
am going to deliver to you. In my feeing, I am very happy and feeling relieved that wewere able to complete this general conference in such a successful and fruitful manner.
This is because we were given such a tremendous support from the member cities,
government leaders, NGOs, and all the volunteers and staff concerned who supported
this general conference behind the scenes. As Mr. Taue, mayor of Nagasaki, mentioned,
we adopted a new action plan and direction of activities. And after this conference, it isgoing to be the time for us to really act upon what we decided.
On our part, we will try to further expand the membership so that we can gain more
power and influence. Especially for Japan, we will try to achieve universal membershipof all local authorities in Japan. And through the concerted efforts of all member cities,
we would like to further enhance the efforts for nuclear weapons eradication by 2020.
Through our work and efforts, citizens, governments, and NGOs, without your supportand involvement we will not be able to be successful in our work. Your support andinvolvement, engagement are essential. In this regard I would like to continue to countupon your understanding and your cooperation. With this, I would like to conclude mywords of sincere gratitude. Once again, I would like to thank you very much for yoursupport. Thank you.
5

MC
Thank you very much Mr. Mayor. With this, all the programs of the General Conference
for the Mayors for Peace have been completed. I thank you very much for your kindattendance and active engagement for the past three days.

6

The 8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace

Press Conference
August 5 (Mon), 2013 16:15-17:00
International Conference Center Hiroshima (Himawari)[Executive Cities of Mayors for Peace]
President (Hiroshima)
Vice President (Hannover)Vice President (Malakoff)

Vice President (Muntinlupa)

Vice President (Manchester)Vice President (Akron)Vice President (Biograd na Moru)

Vice President (Granollers)Vice President (Halabja)Vice President (Mexico City)

Vice President (Frogn)

Kazumi Matsui
Mayor, City of Hiroshima, Japan
Paul Burkhard Schneider
Head of the International Unit of the Lord
Mayor’s Office, City of Hannover, Germany
Michel Cibot
Special Advisor to Mayor, City of Malakoff,
FranceMarissa Cole-Rongavilla
Head of International Affairs Office, City of
Muntinlupa, Philippines
Mark Hackett
Councillor, Manchester City Council, UK
Donald L. Plusquellic
Mayor, City of Akron, USA
Jasminka Bajlo
Mayor’s Counselor, City of Biograd na Moru,
Croatia
Josep Mayoral i Antigas
Mayor, City of Granollers, Spain
Khder Kareem
Mayor, City of Halabja, Kurdistan, Iraq
Rosa Icela Rodriguez
Secretary of Social Development, Government of
Mexico City, Mexico
Thore Vestby
Mayor, City of Frogn, Norway

Mr. Toshiro Yuasa, Executive Director, Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation,Japan
Now we’d like to start the press conference summarizing the 8th General Conference ofMayors for Peace. My name is Yuasa, and I am the executive director of the Hiroshima
Peace Culture Foundation. So in this press conference, we have executive members who
have attended the general conference, and we are planning to allocate 45 minutes forthis press conference. Firstly, we would like to explain the Hiroshima Appeal which has
just been adopted, and then we’d like to have the participants to express their comments
and impressions. Then we’d like to invite questions from the press people after that.
Firstly, we’d like to hear explanation from Mayor Matsui of Hiroshima about theHiroshima Appeal.
Mr. Kazumi Matsui, President of Mayors for Peace, Mayor of Hiroshima, Japan
Thank you. Now I am going to explain some major points about the Hiroshima Appeal
which has been adopted in this general conference. So, we represent 5,712 cities from157 countries and regions are the participants of this meeting. In order to achieve aworld without nuclear weapons we try to convey the spirits of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
to the world. So that was the purpose of the meeting. The result was please look at theappeal—the Japanese version—the first page, the fourth paragraph. It says, “The threat
and use of nuclear weapons, euphemistically called deterrence and the unspeakablehorror it implies is still the mainstay of the international security regime.” So we shared
this understanding in this conference, and furthermore, nuclear proliferation remains acurrent and dangerous threat. Also, we cannot deny the possibility that a sub-national
terrorist group might obtain nuclear weapons. So we had our discussions with a sense ofurgency.
Moving onto the next paragraph, please look at the fifth paragraph. “Under the current
unprecedented global economic crisis, and yet, fantastically expensive programs to use
new tests to modernize nuclear weapon systems are underway in all of the states thatpossess nuclear arms. Misappropriating resources that are badly needed to fund basic
human needs.” So this shows that we were aware of this point in conducting our
discussions. That’s expressed in this appeal.
So the next page, I would just like to focus on some main points. Another characteristic
is if we skip to page three, the third paragraph, the first line, it was talking about the25th anniversary of the Halabja gas attack, and also the commemoration of thecentennial anniversary in 2015 of the first use of the weapon of mass destruction. So it
1

says, “Mayors for Peace will use these tragic examples of the use of weapons of mass
destruction to further our goal of a nuclear weapons free world.” And moving onto thenext paragraph, towards the bottom, it says, “Finally, whatever the source of radiation
may be, we must do everything we can to prevent anymore hibakusha anywhere.” Soagain, this was the confirmation that we shared. So that was one important point.
In this context, Mayors for Peace calls on the United Nations and all governments totake the following measures. There are four points that we call upon the UN and othergovernments to heed. First, is to make sure that policy makers and officials will
understand more profoundly about the tragedy of nuclear weapons. Policy makers andgovernment officials would like to have them come to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, so thatthey can understand the heartfelt wishes of the hibakusha for the abolition of nuclear
weapons, and we would like them to disseminate those wishes. The second point isbuilding trust. Confidence building. So we want the policy makers and the internationalorganizations to build an appropriate framework for confidence building so that nuclear
weapons will never be used again. The third one is to aim for the early implementationof nuclear weapons convention or other effective measures, and we want them to start
concrete negotiations towards the conclusion of such conventions. The fourth point isthere are many initiatives attempted in the EU, ASEAN, and so on in these regionalframework in establishing these organizations. We have learned good lessons, and also
we should learn from negative lessons from the past, so that we can move away fromdeterrence based security regime to a new security regime that is based in the sense ofbrotherhood or sense of community as the same members of the human race.
These are the points that we call upon the UN and international organizations andgovernments to implement. Then we address these and appeal these between the periodof 2013 and 2017. Those are the main points of the Hiroshima Appeal.
Mr. Yuasa
Thank you very much. We heard the address from Mayor Matsui and Mayor Taueearlier, so we would like to ask other executive city members to say a few words fromeach of you. Starting with the representative of the city of Hannover, please.
Mr. Paul Burkhard Schneider, Head of the International Unit of the Lord Mayor’s
Office, Hannover, Germany2

In the first place, on behalf of the delegation from the city of Hannover, I would reallylike to give my deepest gratitude to the city of Hiroshima for hosting this conference ina really warm and excellent way. Thank you for that.
With regard to our conference, I would say two things. I have the feeling we had done areally major step forward within our organization. After having reached the 5,000
member goal almost two years ago, we started in the thinking shift from quantity toquality, and with deciding about regionalization of Mayors for Peace, we really got a big
step forward. With that, we will be able to strengthening the network among themembers and with that strengthening as well our voice towards governments, politicalleaders, and last but not least the United Nations and not to forget about our citizens as
well. Additionally, with regard to the declaration, I’m really fond of one of theparagraphs at the end when it says and calls upon the leaders in the world to send allthese people working related to the topic of nuclear disarmament once to Hiroshima andNagasaki to deepen their knowledge about what happened 68 years ago. I myself had
the chance, and several meetings to talk to ambassadors and staff of foreign ministries,
and a lot of them took this issue we are talking about here as a technical issue. It is not
so much time left that they have the possibility to talk to hibakusha. And we should
force them to do so as well, and especially in the light of our 20/20 vision campaign.
Therefore, I’m really happy for the outcome and the discussions here today and the lastdays. And once more, thank you very much for hosting and chairing as well in a very
good manner, especially for yesterday night, thank you very much.
Mr. Yuasa
Thank you very much. Mr. Michel Cibot, Special Advisor to Mayor of Malakoff, please.
Mr. Michel Cibot, Special Advisor to Mayor of Malakoff, France
Thank you very much. I think I can make one comment. I could feel that we haveestablished a close relationship with Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The threat of
the nuclear weapons is what we are dealing with, and philosophically, this is about thehuman’s killing human. Meaning that the humans have the capability to kill others
unfortunately. With nuclear weapons, the existence of the possibility of nuclear weapons
does influence the way of thinking of people, so we have to get rid of them. The Mayor
for Peace is now aiming at regionalization, so that there would be regional activities aswell. We are now faced with new sets of issues, and for Japan, we do have a serious
problem that is Fukushima. And I think it’s going to be necessary for us to deepen our
discussion about the Fukushima. There are many crisis like financial crisis. We have3

insufficient amount of financial resources available for us, but the crisis can meansomething if we are able to find other available resources, we should be able to identify
them if we are wise and intelligent enough. Of course we do have financial problem, butthat should not hamper our progress in our mission. So the management of paradigm at
the local government must be transformed.
Mr. Yuasa
Thank you very much. Next, the Head of International Affairs Office of Muntinlupa, Ms.
Marissa Cole-Rongavilla.
Ms. Marissa Cole-Rongavilla, Head of International Affairs Office of Muntinlupa,
Philippines
Good afternoon everybody. I, on behalf of my city, I am Marissa Cole-Rongavilla. I am
giving you thanks for inviting me to come over, especially mayor of the two great cities
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. While on my way coming here in Hiroshima I was really
nervous and I am still nervous. This is my first time to set my foot here, and this is myfirst time to attend such a big conference. I am an international affairs officer back in
our city, but I am just barely a month in my office, and I really thank god that I was able
to make it here. Why? I’ve learned a lot. I have so much to bring home, and I would liketo share whatever I have learned here back home.
We’ve been hearing a lot of things about Hiroshima, and I read a lot of articles about it.
But, it is really different when you set your foot here and be here and listen to thevictims. So, from the bottom of our hearts, we will try and give our best to help informall the people wherever I go about Hiroshima, about the nightmare that happened here,
and how it helped the people to be the Peace center of the world. And I’m sorry that forso long our city had been delinquent being part of the Mayors for Peace. I think sevenyears we haven’t participated in this conference, but no matter what, even if we change
our mayor for say three, or six, or nine years, maybe personally as an individual I would
come again and again to help this cause. I believe that we all come from different—wehave our own social way of life. Economically we’re all different, but one thing for sure.
No matter how big, or no matter how small, no matter how poor, or no matter how richa country is, we have a common thing, and we love peace. So this conference—I reallypray to god that we could reach come 2020 or even earlier we would realize a nuclear
free world for a peaceful and full of love world. Thank you so much. Again, thank you
Mayor—the two of you—and to all my colleague executive members, thank you formaking me a part of this conference, and I hope I can help in the near future, thank you.
4Mr. Yuasa
Thank you very much. Next is Mr. Mark Hackett, Councillor of Manchester City
Council.
Mr. Mark Hackett, Councillor of Manchester City Council, UK
I’d like to start by thanking our hosts and recognizing the fantastic work that the mayors
in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and all their staff and supporters have made to put into
making this conference a success. It’s a big thing to organize, and I think it’s all too easy
to think that these things just do themselves. They don’t. On the conference as a whole,I think we have made some real steps forward. We have an awful lot of members, andthe drive to make that happen over the last few years has borne fruit. We now have todeepen that and professionalize that organization so that we can implement and work onthat action plan. The appeal itself clearly focuses on some tasks for moving us towards aworld without nuclear weapons, and conveying the spirit of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to
the world. We’ve had some difficult discussions because as well as focusing on that,what are the consequences of nuclear weapons? Whether it’s stockpiling of uranium,
whether it’s testing, whether it’s the connections between nuclear power and nuclear
weapons. All of these things we have to try and strike a balance as to what the members
want, so that we don’t lose the traditions of this organization, but we do make it relevant
to our members, so the regional and national chapters. And I do know that if, you know,
it’s very sobering and moving, and I’ve got a tear in my eye, being here and thinking ofrecent events of Fukushima, which is part of perhaps the legacies that we have to deal
with. But in the UK, where these matters are of an extreme concern, we are also facing
the potential of a new generation of replacement for Trident missiles.
We have a job as part of Mayors for Peace for campaigning to stop that happening aswell as working at the level of the United Nations and of the world. So we havecomplex tasks and it’s not easy to bring all these things together. I think this conference
and the appeal allows us a good starting point for the next four years, and if things wereeasy, we’d have already succeeded. They’re not, and we have got to contribute in our
different ways, in our different parts of the world, and learn from the good and the badexperiences so that we can deliver and help and support our executive cities, Mayors for
Peace internationally, and help and support Hiroshima and Nagasaki over the next threeor four years to deliver on the Action Plan. We must bring as much pressure as we canto bare on governments around the appeal which we’ve just agreed. So, thank you
everyone that’s been involved in the conference and all their contributions, and it’s a5

great and humbling privilege to play some small part in hopefully carrying thisabsolutely crucial work forward over the next few years.
Mr. Yuasa
Thank you very much. Next, Mr. Plusquellic, Mayor of Akron please.
Mr. Donald L. Plusquellic, Mayor of Akron, USA
I obviously had an opportunity to speak earlier, and I’m not going to repeat mycomments except for one, which I think is vitally important. I want to thank Mayor
Matsui for his hospitality and his city’s hospitality, and thank Mayor Taue for theirleadership of this organization. As I thought about that comment, I thought about insome ways the injustice of this. These two cities have had to experience all of thetragedy that we’ve heard so many comments about, and yet both of you have had toshoulder the responsibilities to almost carry this organization from the inception, and so
I think each one of us here and others in our own respective countries need to step up
and do more to make certain that we’re leading and providing that information—thelearning experiences and carrying forth the dissemination of the information that wetalked about in several of these points to get our citizens. But most importantly to get
our leaders to understand the importance of what we’ve asked for here in the Hiroshima
Appeal. So mayors take many more words then we should, but I just should have said
thank you.
Mr. Yuasa
Thank you very much. Next, Mr. Dominique Dehaene, Alderman of Ypres City Council.
Mr. Dominique Dehaene, Alderman of Ypres City Council, Belgium
Thank you very much. I of course subscribe to all the remarks that have been made by
my colleagues. Just a few personal remarks. For Ypres, this event was a bit of a turning
point. We have a new mayor I’m proud to represent him here at this meeting. It alsomeans that we renew our engagement for Mayors for Peace for the coming years ofcourse, and we hope to continue to take on the leadership as we did in the past amongst
others by hosting the Secretariat for the 2020 Vision Campaign, and having that further
implemented. I think that this was also, although it was my first time here, a turning
point for Mayors of Peace. It has been made clear that we had a long and fruitful
discussion on the Appeal, which we gladly and fully subscribe of course. I thankexecutive cities for the recognition they make of Ypres in that text, and I of course
would like to take the opportunity to invite everyone to one of the commemorations in6

Ypres in the upcoming years of the hundred anniversary of WWI. Especially on the
22nd of April 1915, when we will remember the first ever gas attack in the world. And
then to the executive committee which will take place in Ypres as well.
I would, on a personal level, like to thank Hiroshima for the warm welcome, for the
professional organization. As I said, it was my first time here. I had the chance to visit
the museum and it made a deep personal impact on me. Not only because of the horrorsof what happened here 68 years ago, but especially because it reminds me also of thelink between Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Ypres—where the horrors of war are
tremendously recognizable. I thought of the stories my grandparents told me long ago
about the first World War, and it’s terrifying how similar they are to the stories the
hibakusha tell us. So that was for me very revealing. So I feel very connected with
Hiroshima and Nagasaki, not only because of the horrors of the past, but also because of
the goals of Mayors for Peace. I think we, as executive cities, must continue to take up
our leading role in spreading the word and trying to abolish nuclear weapons. It was forme, personally as well, a warm meeting with both mayors of Nagasaki and Hiroshima,
and the other executive members, so thank you for the welcome we had on this 8th
conference, and I hope to see you again if our mayors should not be able to make it on
the next meeting.
Mr. Yuasa
Thank you very much. Ms. Bajlo of Mayor’s Counselor of Biograd na Moru please.
Ms. Jasminka Bajlo, Mayor’s Counselor of Biograd na Moru, Croatia
Greetings to you all, and thank you very much to our host Mayor Matsui and to all those
who have been in the organization, because this was really very well organized. It wasvery nice to be back here again. I was here four years ago when we had the general
conference in Nagasaki, but we had our 2020 Vision here in Hiroshima, so we were in
Hiroshima and in Nagasaki our delegation. This time I’ve come alone. Biograd na Moru
is a small town in Croatia, and to tell you the truth, Croatia is a very small country. We
began with our participation in Mayors for Peace about seven years ago, and four years
ago at the General Conference, which was held in Nagasaki, we became executive
members. With Mayors for Peace, I have been to Semipalatinsk, and I have seen thehorror that has happened there. I’ve been to Ypres—we all know that from history—butwhen we go straight on the spot, then we know actually we see what has happened.
Then I also went to Iraq, I went to Halabja this year for the 25th commemoration of the7

genocide that happened there, and was appalled at all the stories that I heard there. It
just gave me more fuel to fight, as I should say it.
Since Croatia is such a small country, I thought to myself, what can I do besides allthese meetings and various actions that we are doing. But how can I get the message
through, because every time I get home, I feel so unsatisfied that I haven’t gotten themessage through to the citizens. And so, it came to my mind with the help of Ms.
Mihoko Sakamoto, who has become a very dear friend of mine, who was earlier
working for Mayors for Peace, and now she’s working here at the memorial museum. I
proposed whether Hiroshima would accept having the official A-bomb exhibition in
Croatia, and then having an A-bomb exhibition in Biograd, which is quite a small town
on the coast. It wouldn’t have much meaning, so I asked my mayor, since he is thefriend of the mayor of Zagreb, the capital city of Croatia. We only have four million
inhabitants, but the capital city has one million. So we asked whether he would host thisA-bomb exhibition, and then it would come to Biograd. So, they accepted and I am sosatisfied because finally people are going to be able to see pictures, to read, and what’seven more important, the hibakushas are coming. Every time I mention the word
hibakusha, tears come to eyes because I have heard hibakushas speaking in New York, I
have heard them speaking in Manchester, and I have heard them speaking here. Whenyou hear their testimonies it makes a big, difference, particularly after you’ve seen the
exhibition, and then the hibakushas will come at the end of the exhibition, and they will
be in Zagreb, and they will come to Biograd.
So I think that is going to make a very, very, big difference. Then I hope that after that,
we’re going to have many more members. We are a small country—we have 35
members—but with a population of four million, I think 35 is quite a sufficient number.
So thank you once again Mayor Matsui, thank you everyone in Hiroshima for making
our stay so very comfortable. Thank you.
Mr. Yuasa
Thank you very much. Mayor of Granollers, Mr. Mayoral i Antigas please.
Mr. Josep Mayoral i Antigas, Mayor of Granollers, Spain
Good evening ladies and gentlemen. A the outset, I am very much grateful, and it was agreat honor that we got to attend together with you in the 8th General Conference ofMayors for Peace and in the 68 years anniversary I was able to attend this meeting
together with you. My thanks deeply goes to Mayor Matsui as well as the staff members8

of Hiroshima City. This very important meeting is now being held in Hiroshima, and I
am very much appreciative that this has completed with success. I believe this was thevery matured, growing organization, and it has been almost thirty years since thefoundation of the Mayors for Peace. It has a very strong foundation with that of apotential development. I believe we are now making the very good turning point. Thishas been demonstrated already by the data. This is the gathering of the local authorities
among which there are that of the local authorities who have participated with their own
will in this Mayors for Peace. They’re seeking for peace among the representatives of
the world, and also what’s important here as the representatives of the local authorities
are the determination to seek for peace. I said this is the matured organization because
you can tell from the content of the Hiroshima Appeal. We have adopted this Appeal
and we have also adopted the ambitious action plan, and we do have the calendar for the
future.
Now as to how we are going to go through from now on, the destination and the goal isvery clear, which is the total abolition of the nuclear weapons, and we are going to go
through the roadmap we have said in search for peace. Those are the activities we aregoing to implement. Unfortunately because of the economic issues we are faced withthe recession, in some of the countries they are putting a lot of money in the defense
budget instead of putting a lot of investment in the infrastructure development andsocial welfare. In such circumstances, we have to take responsibility to tell the others,
especially to the central government, don’t be silent. While the central government issilent, we local authorities in cities have a louder voice in the region in the local cities
we have to voice out our input to seek for peace, and we have to bring and communicate
the voices of Nagasaki and Hiroshima. Nagasaki and Hiroshima have been taking theleadership to create peace in the world. This is the indispensable contribution they aremaking—I am very much appreciative, thank you very much.
Mr. Yuasa
Mayor of Halabja, Mr. Kareem please.
Mr. Khder Kareem, Mayor of Halabja, Kurdistan, Iraq
I would like to thank the Mayor of Hiroshima and mayor of Nagasaki, for their hosting.
I am in Hiroshima, and in here I don’t feel I am guest—it seems my city, because themassacre that happened also in our city, Halabja. And I see that the Hiroshima hasdeveloped and reconstructed very good, and we also as Halabja city, we will get theirexperience to reconstruct our city. This is my first trip to visit to Hiroshima city, and I
9feel that I am in Halabja city. I am so thankful for the secretariat for their efforts for thisgreat conference, and I am also thank for their support and effort to Halabja, andmention the Halabja name in the Appeal of Hiroshima City.
I hope that we will not get tired to work for peace and for a peace especially for the next
generation and for children. As we see, especially as Southeast Asian countries, andespecially Middle Eastern countries, is the fighting area and is destroyed too much. And
to add, I am so thank you for all participants, and I hope the nuclear weapons will beabolished in 2020. Thank you very much.
Mr. Yuasa
Thank you very much. Next, Mexico City please, Ms. Rodriguez please.
Ms. Rosa Icela Rodriguez, Secretary of Social Development of Mexico City,
MexicoTo the sponsoring organization, Hiroshima city and Nagasaki city—I would like tocommend you for the great success of the conference because this wonderful conference
has borne the very great fruits for Nagasaki city and Hiroshima city and Mexico city.
Amongst three cities, we do have the very strong solidarity even inside of the cities, andalso amongst the countries. Especially in Mexico city, at the time of the anniversary of
the A-bombing of those two cities, we share and sympathize saying that we should not
admit the reuse of the A-bombs anywhere in the world. At the same time, on the part ofthe local authorities, we need to expand the membership in Mayors for Peace especiallyfrom Latin America and Caribbean nations we hope that we will able to make the best
efforts to contribute to increase the membership. Lastly, in the 8th General Conferenceof Mayors for Peace to all the participants of this, and also we hope that we were able tobuild up the confidence among the cities, and we will continue to do that. By so doing,
we will continue to have the success in the Mayors for Peace series, and next year withthe same objective and goal we are going to have the very big meeting. Therefore, lastly,
I would like to thank you two mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki city. Thank you verymuch.
Mr. Yuasa
Thank you.
Mr. Thore Vestby, Mayor of Frogn, Norway

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It makes it very easy for me, because I support everything I’ve been saying. So there’s
almost nothing more for me to add. Except for one word—I would like to underscorethe word humanitarian. It is a sentence on page three saying, “Mayors for Peace has
been a humanitarian organization.” I would say it still is, and it should be. I believe verystrongly in that path. I think that is the track to so that we can reach our goals to abolishnuclear weapons. And there is also—I would not use the word weapon—but there is atool that we should use more. We are and have been here been displayed by tragic
horrifying stories, and it’s not easy to smile. But I think a smile is a good tool to use if
it’s used right. Linking the smile and the humanitarian—it is very human to smile, andas a mayor, we are responsible for every citizen’s well behaving in a way. We are also
dealing with a serious business, in all our meetings. Let me give you one example. We
have in my time as a mayor, made a decision that Santa Claus, as far as we know him, isborne in our city. And Santa Claus is the most human person in the world. That links mealso to Oslo to what we call the ground-breaking conference. And that again links me tothe two mayors and their visit in Geneva, which I think played a vital role in the run-up
for this conference in Oslo. So I’m glad that we had found that path, and the best luckfor the upcoming conference in Mexico. When this press conference is over, we canprobably smile a little bit more to each other and to our citizens. I don’t think that weshould forget that. Thank you.
Mr. Yuasa
Thank you very much all of you. These were all the main panelists on the stage, themain participants, who have given us comments and impressions. Now I would like toopen the floor for questions from the press. Please identify your organization and also towhom you would like to address your question. Please.
Question: the Yomiuri Shimbun
I have a question to Mayor Matsui. First question. For Japan, NPDI in April next year isgoing to be a very important meeting for Japan to lead to nuclear weapons abolition. Asa host city, or as the Mayors for Peace organization, what kind of commitment is going
to be made? That is the first question. The second question can be answered by anyone
on the stage. 2020 Vision—in your session number two, Mr. Hackett talked about 2020
Vision, but the situation in the world is quite difficult. By two years, perhaps a successor
vision needs to be prepared replacing 2020 Vision. In the directing committee of theHiroshima appeal or in the executive conference was there any discussion concerning
the successor vision to 2020 Vision? Realistically when you look at the world situation,11

it doesn’t look very easy to achieve your 2020 Vision, and is there anyone who cananswer this discussion from anyone on the stage? So two questions.
Mr. Matsui
About your first question addressed to me, NPDI planned for spring next year. On thepart of Hiroshima, we have to put together a conference as a host city, so we need to be
fully prepared for good conference. So logistics and some substantial role what can beplayed by Hiroshima city. About the meeting itself, for NPDI, we are going to be thehost city and perhaps this is one of the rare occasions that we can host as the city
because this is a former ministerial meeting. In drafting Hiroshima Appeal, somediscussion was made concerning the foreign ministers, and so far the nuclear weapon
states among themselves had some skeptical ideas about each other and they mainly
discussed nuclear disarmament or nuclear non-proliferation. Under the circumstances,
there has been various serious and difficult situation to break through. So on the other
hand, non-nuclear weapon states, not from the viewpoint of national security, but with astance upon the human individual security we need to take a look at the nuclear
disarmament issues. This is what we expect to take place at the NPDI, and thisorientation is what we, the Mayors for Peace and Hiroshima city are seeking for.
Thank you very much, and the second question that is the 2020 Vision, and any
successor vision or plan, anyone who would like to answer? With respect to 2020 Vision,
basically we didn’t have such an in-depth discussion, however by 2020, the hibakusha
are still with us. We would like to really create the world free of nuclear weapons andthat is the major goal of the 2020 Vision, and we still have a strong spirit andcommitment to continue to move toward that goal by 2020. With respect to protocol,
this is in the same direction with the CTBT, and we are still oriented toward that
direction, but with respect to the 2020 Vision, are we going to have a new naming
replacing 2020 Vision on what is going to be the next step beyond 2020 if that isnecessary? You mentioned that Mr. Hackett mentioned this possibility, and I think wewill enter into the time period where we might have to discuss such a point. Thank you.
Any other questions?
Question: the Kyodo NewsI have a question to Mayor Matsui. Hiroshima Appeal—regarding one of the points you
raised. Whatever the sources of radiation is, we must make all the efforts so that no
more hibakusha can take place. So, regarding the Fukushima accident and hibakusha in

12katakana in Japanese alphabet and not using Chinese characters, you decided to use
katakana letters for hibakusha in Japanese language version.
Mr. Matsui
Yes, we took into consideration matters such as nuclear power generation.
the Kyodo News
Mayor, I believe that you have been talking about the differences between the nuclear
weapons and nuclear power. So, with that distinction you have been making between
the nuclear weapons and the nuclear power generation, don’t you think it seems a bit
contradictory?
Mr. Matsui
No, I don’t think so. This is not a contradiction at all. As I mentioned in the drafting
committee for Hiroshima Appeal, nuclear weapons are to kill people, and the peacefuluse of nuclear energy. The purpose and the intents are different. That is the starting
point of our discussion, and that’s what I explained at the drafting committee. However,radiation consequences, when that takes place, they are the same in terms ofconsequences of radiation exposure. So we have to make efforts so that no one is goingto get exposed to radiation exposure or effects. That is what we are trying to do. We
want to make efforts in our respective capacity not to create anymore person being
exposed to radiation. In that sense, we are one in our thinking. But, on one hand, this is
an issue of creating energy, and on the other, as is being discussed in NPT review
process, some are in the orientation to admit the use of nuclear power for peaceful use.
On the other hand, the nuclear weapons abolition, as the weapons to kill people, I think
those two matters need to be understood separately, and I think I got the understandingof the other members.
Question: the Chugoku Shimbun
One of the main pillars of your action plan about the nuclear weapons ban treaty, butthere was nothing new I found in your action plan with respect to nuclear weapons
convention. The conclusion of the nuclear weapon convention has been demanded byNGOs and non-nuclear weapon states. So toward nuclear weapon states, in order to gettheir understanding toward the nuclear weapons convention, what kind of specificactions do you think are necessary? This is a question I would like to be answered by
Mr. Mayor Matsui and also someone from the nuclear weapons state.

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Mr. Matsui
In my understand, in nuclear weapon states, before they begin to take the concrete
action, I think they really need to be once again made aware of the reality, and that is
one of the points we try to make clear in our Hiroshima Appeal. Security system based
upon the nuclear deterrence they think is useful. And that is why they have been
spending so much money into modernization of weapons which could have been spent
in other useful purposes. Financial resources need to be spent on other purposes. Then,
we have to make sure that they understand that nuclear weapons as a nuclear deterrence
measure is not useful at all. And this is what we need to try to make them understand.
Not a makeshift measure, but the policy makers of nuclear weapon states really have tochange their whole mindset regarding the nuclear weapons utility. Thank you verymuch.
Mr. Yuasa
Well this is August the 5th, the day before the important Peace Ceremony we are goingto have tomorrow, and there are a lot of events we have to go through. So we can accept
just one more question. Now if someone form the nuclear weapon state, would you liketo mention to whom you would like to address this question to? Then Mayor from
Akron, would you like to answer this question?
Mr. Plusquellic
In my comments I want to say that mayors can’t speak for their federal government. We
don’t agree on half of the things that our own federal government does, so I’m not surethat I’m prepared to answer this specific question, and partly because I wasn’t
understanding what the question was. The obvious discussion that we’ve had, and thepoints lead in a simplistic way to first say that, people need to be more aware, andsecondly I think we changed the order to say that there needs to be a level of trust, andthen third point was we asked for people to get in a room and talk about how we could
carry out some global nuclear disarmament, and I think each one of those points isvitally important. As I see it, one of the most important things that the Mayors for Peaceare doing, is to make people more aware and continue to push our federal governments
sit down collectively and figure out a way to do this. If I had the answer on how to do it,
I should be paid a lot more money than they pay for being mayor.
Mr. Yuasa
As I have just introduced to you, this is going to be the last question. One more question,
anybody from the press please? Are there any more questions? If there will be no more14

questions, this concludes the press conference, thank you very much for yourparticipation, and thank you for the panel and mayors.

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