Declaration of the World Nuclear Victims Forum in Hiroshima(Draft Elements of a Charter of World Nuclear Victims’ Rights)
November 23, 2015
1.

We, participants in the World Nuclear Victims Forum, gathered in Hiroshima from November 21 to 23 in2015, 70 years after the atomic bombings by the US government.

2.

We define the nuclear victims in the narrow sense of not distinguishing between victims of military andindustrial nuclear use, including victims of the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and ofnuclear testing, as well as victims of exposure to radiation and radioactive contamination created by
the entire process including uranium mining and milling, and nuclear development, use and waste. In
the broad sense, we confirm that until we end the nuclear age, any person anywhere could at any time
become a victim=a potential Hibakusha, and that nuclear weapons, nuclear power and humanity
cannot coexist.

3.

We recall that the radiation, heat and blast of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
sacrificed not only Japanese but also Koreans, Chinese, Taiwanese and people from other countries
there as a result of Japan’s colonization and invasion, and Allied prisoners of war. Those who survived“tasted the tortures of hell.” We pay tribute to the fact that the Hibakusha question the responsibilityof the Japanese government which conducted a war of aggression; call for recognition of the right tohealth and a decent livelihood; have achieved some legal redress and continue to call for state redress
to be clearly incorporated within the Atom Bomb Victims Relief Law; struggle to guarantee the rights of
those who experienced the atomic bombings yet are not recognized as Hibakusha; and call not only for
nuclear weapons abolition but also oppose nuclear power restarts and exports, and demand adequate
assistance for nuclear power plant disaster victims.

4.

We noted that through the international conferences on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons
held in Oslo in 2013 and in Nayarit and Vienna in 2014, the understanding is widely sharedinternationally that the detonation of nuclear weapons would cause catastrophic harm to theenvironment, human health, welfare and society; would jeopardize the survival of the human family;
and adequate response is impossible. We warmly welcome the Humanitarian Pledge endorsed by 121states, pledging to fill the legal gap for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons. We support
the adoption in early November 2015 at the UN General Assembly First Committee, by an
overwhelming majority of 135 in favor with only 12 opposed, of a resolution convening an open-ended
working group “to substantively address concrete effective legal measures… and norms that will need
to be concluded to attain and maintain a world without nuclear weapons.”
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We acknowledge that the mining and refining of uranium, nuclear testing, and the disposal of nuclear
waste are being carried out based on ongoing colonization, discriminatory oppression, andinfringement of indigenous peoples’ rights, including their rights to relationships with their ancestral
land. These activities impose involuntary exposure to radiation and contaminate the local environment.
Thus, the local populations are continually and increasingly deprived of the basic necessities for humanlife with ever more of them becoming nuclear victims.

6.

We also reconfirmed that every stage of the nuclear chain contaminates the environment and damages
the ecosystem, causing a wide array of radiation-related disorders in people and other living beings.
Through the experience of the nuclear disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima, we see that nuclear
accidents inevitably expose entire populations living near the power plants and the workers assigned tocope with the accident to harmful levels of radiation, and that adequate response to such a disaster isimpossible. We further see that radioactive contamination is inevitably a global phenomenon. We knowthat “military” and “industrial” nuclear power are intimately connected within a unified nuclear
industry, and that every stage of the nuclear chain, including the use of depleted uranium weapons,creates large numbers of new nuclear victims.

7.

Complete prevention of nuclear chain related disasters is impossible. No safe method exists for
disposing of ever-increasing volumes of nuclear waste. Nuclear contamination is forever, making itutterly impossible to return the environment to its original state. Thus, we stress that the human familymust abandon its use of nuclear energy.

8.

We acknowledge that the Atomic Bomb Trial against the State of Japan (the Shimoda Case; December1963) found that the US military violated international law in dropping the atomic bombs, and that theadvisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice stated that “there exists an obligation topursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its
aspects under strict and effective international control” (July 1996). We support the Marshall Islands,
whose people have suffered the effects of intensive nuclear testing, in bringing this issue back to theCourt in April 2014 through filing cases against nine nuclear armed states.
Furthermore, we recall the World Conference of Nuclear Victims which pursued criminal liability on thepart of the nuclear weapon states and the nuclear industry (New York Resolution, 1987), and that themilitary industrial complex was found to have the responsibility of providing damages compensation(Berlin Resolution, 1992). In addition, we confirm that the International People’s Tribunal on theDropping of Atomic Bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki found all 15 defendants guilty, including
President Truman (July 2007).

9.

We emphasize that all states that promote nuclear energy, the operators that cause radioactive
contamination, and the manufacturers of nuclear facilities including nuclear power plants must bear2

liability for damages done, as do their shareholders and creditors. We are gravely concerned that theexport of nuclear power plants is extremely likely to result in severe human rights abuses andenvironmental damage.
10. We accuse the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the International Commission on
Radiological Protection (ICRP) of underestimating the harm done by radiation exposure and hiding thetrue effects of nuclear power accidents. We demand the abolition of the IAEA’s mandate to “promote
the peaceful use of nuclear power”.
11. We have identified that the military-industrial-government-academic complex and states that support it
have, through the use of nuclear energy, degraded the foundations of human life, and violated the rightto life of all living beings. We assert that the acts of members of this complex violate fundamental
principles of international humanitarian, environmental and human rights law.
12. We condemn the Japanese government for failing to learn from the Fukushima disaster, withoutcarrying out adequate investigations into the facts and impacts, hiding and trivializing the damage, andcutting off assistance to the victims, while investing in the restart and export of nuclear power plants.
We oppose the building, operating or exporting of nuclear power plants or any industrial nuclear facility
in Japan or any other country.
13. We call for the termination of uranium mining, milling, nuclear fuel production, nuclear power
generation and reprocessing, and for the abolition of the entire nuclear chain.
14. We call for the urgent conclusion of a legally binding international instrument which prohibits andprovides for the elimination of nuclear weapons.
15. We call for the prohibition of manufacture, possession and use of depleted uranium weapons.
16. With the momentum of this World Nuclear Victims Forum, we confirm our desire to continue tocooperate in solidarity and share information regarding nuclear victims, and disseminate our message
through various methods including art and media.
17. Thus, as a result of this World Nuclear Victims Forum and in order to convey to the world the draft
elements of a World Charter of the Rights of Nuclear Victims, we adopt this Hiroshima Declaration.

3Draft Elements of a World Charter of the Rights of Nuclear Victims[I] The Basis of Rights of Nuclear Victims
1.

The natural world is the foundation of all life, and each human being is an integral member of thehuman family innately endowed with the right to partake in human civilization with equal rights to life,
physical and emotional wellbeing, and a decent livelihood.

2.

All peoples have the right to be free from fear and want, and to live in an environment of peace, healthand security.

3.

Each generation has the right to enjoy a sustainable society and the responsibility of effective
stewardship for the benefit of the future generations of all living beings.

4.

There exists the inherent dignity of the human person and the right of all peoples to self-determination
as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, the rights to life, health and survival as stipulated ininternational positive law including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, International Covenantson Human Rights, and the Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, as well as exists the principle
of international customary law which helps to shape the emerging “law of humanity”.

[II] Rights(1) To alleviate current and prevent future nuclear catastrophes, all persons living in the nuclear age have theright to demand the following:1.

Not to be exposed to ionizing radiation other than that which occurs in nature or is for medical
purposes,2.

Prohibition of coerced labor involving potential exposure to ionizing radiation, and when labor involving
such potential exposure cannot be avoided, for exposure to be minimized,

3.

Minimization of medical exposure to ionizing radiation, and4.

Full, accurate information regarding the dangers of ionizing radiation exposure through school andcommunity education; this information to include the facts that no level of radiation exposure is
without risk and that children, women and girls are especially sensitive to radiation.

(2) Additionally, nuclear victims have the right to demand the following:
5.

Nuclear victims have rights under domestic law derived from human rights and basic freedoms,
including personal rights and the right to health.

6.

To receive free of charge the best possible medical care and regular examinations for effects related topast, present and future exposure; this right to extend to the 2nd, 3rd and future generations.

47.

An apology and compensation from the offending party for all damage to life, health, finance, suffering,and culture related to the use of nuclear energy.

8.

The remediation of radiation contaminated land and domicile, and the renewal of community and localculture.

9.

Thorough scientific investigation of the victim’s exposure by competent scientists independent of theoffending party, with all findings and information completely open to the public, and the victims
themselves involved in the investigation and control of information.

10. To not be forced to return to radiation contaminated land, and for the freedom to choose whether toevacuate from or remain in a radiation affected area. And, no matter this choice, to receive support tominimize exposure to radiation, protect health, and maintain and rebuild a way of life.
11. To refuse to work in an environment where radioactive contamination could constitute a health threat,said refusal having no negative ramifications for the victim.

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