2023 World Conference against A and H Bombs
Virtual remarks by Izumi Nakamitsu, Under Secretary-General andHigh Representative for Disarmament Affairs
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am, once again, honoured to participate in this important conference, whichshines a spotlight on the testimonies of the hibakusha – the courageous survivorsof the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
This conference is an opportunity to collectively reflect upon the unparalleleddestructive power of these cataclysmic weapons and reaffirm, once again and withrenewed vigor, our commitment to bringing about their total elimination.
It is also an opportune moment to acknowledge the indomitable spirit of thehibakusha, the human face of nuclear catastrophe. I would like to take thisopportunity to thank the hibakusha for transforming their suffering into a force
for good and for their decades of service to the cause of a world free of nuclearweapons.
Ladies and gentlemen,
Nearly eight decades have passed since the destruction of Hiroshima andNagasaki. Since its inception, the United Nations has made the elimination ofnuclear weapons its highest disarmament priority.
Yet, our goal of achieving a world without nuclear weapons remains unfulfilled.
Current events – including the use of nuclear weapons as tools of coercion – have
spiked the risk of these heinous weapons being used to levels not seen since thedepths of the Cold War.
The increasing prominence of nuclear weapons in national security strategies isaccompanied by modernization programmes to make these already calamitous
weapons faster, more accurate and stealthier.
Technological developments, competition – economic and military – and evolving
strategic conditions warrant a re-examination of our approaches to peace andsecurity.
The world is in transition, and we need new impetus to drive humanity forward in1

its quest for peace.
To this end, the Secretary-General has proposed a New Agenda for Peace, toelaborate on how we can manage competition and collectively seek solutions tonew and emerging risks. The New Agenda for Peace will reinvigorate efforts toensure that the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, with the Treaty
on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons – the NPT - at its center, remains
fit-for-purpose.
Civil society must be a catalyst for turning the tide of nuclear risk. It was civilsociety, together with the hibakusha, who provided the impetus for the NPT. They
helped galvanize the frustration felt by many countries at the slow pace of nuclear
disarmament into the negotiation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear
Weapons – the TPNW. I warmly welcome the successful conclusion of the first
Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW and the adoption of a practical action planfor the Treaty’s implementation. I trust that the second Meeting of States Parties,
to be held later this year, will be equally inclusive, innovative and forward-looking.
With so many leading civil society organizations present at this conference, I takethis opportunity to call on all of you to redouble your efforts to reverse the current
dangerous trends and to return the world to a common path for the elimination ofnuclear weapons. At the United Nations, we will continue to strive to make surethat your voices are amplified, and your actions compounded.
The United Nations is staunchly dedicated to ensuring that the survivors’
testimony lives on and is spread to the broadest possible audience, including toyounger generations. We must invest in and empower today’s young people to bechangemakers for a safer and more secure world, including through initiatives
such as the newly established Youth Leader Fund for a World Without Nuclear
Weapons, generously supported by Japan.
We have lived for too long under the spectre of nuclear catastrophe. For the sakeof all of humanity, let us all use this solemn occasion to recommit to theachievement of a safer and more secure world – a world that is finally free ofnuclear weapons.
I reiterate, once more: No more Hiroshimas. No more Nagasakis.
Thank you.

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