Mayor Akiba to the ICNND, Moscow, June 2009
Commissioners, co-chairs, friends,
Before anything else I would like to thank Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, theJapanese Foreign Ministry, Gareth Evans, Yoriko Kawaguchi, and all of you who are serving
as commissioners. This commission has generated tremendous interest in and momentum
toward a nuclear-weapon-free world and helped create the climate that allowed President
Obama to make his historic speech in Prague.
It is gratifying to note that President Obama’s speech is firmly anchored in moral
responsibility. Cities concluded a long time ago that they have suffered for centuries due tothe lack of an effective moral foundation.
The speech was a clarion echo of the most cherished appeal of the hibakusha, survivors ofHiroshima and Nagasaki: “No one else should ever suffer as we did!”
Mayors for Peace, which was created to spread this message and accomplish its goal, hasgrown almost 6-fold over these 6 years to include 2,946 cities round the world because
mayors are determined to rid the world of nuclear weapons. There are 119 Iraqi cities among
them and just last month 25 Israeli cities have newly joined us. I will tell you the implicationsof this fact later if I have time.
We also speak for a majority of humanity, who now lives in cities, represented by the UnitedCities and Local Governments. I believe that I have the largest constituency of any person
who will appear before this Commission.
I am not sure if Prime Minister Rudd intended the timeframe to be a critical factor for thisCommission, but for many of us it is the issue.
First, the average age of living hibakusha is now over 75.
When Mayors for Peace launched the 2020 Vision Campaign to eliminate all nuclear weapons
by 2020, the only request we received from the hibakusha was that the target year should bemuch sooner. “We may not be alive by 2020.” was their reason.
I believe that the world owes them at least this much to our hibakusha: that is, some of themcan carry the news that the world has finally abolished nuclear weapons to those who did nothave the chance to see their dreams come true.

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In the minds of my generation who saw Stanley Kramers movie, On the Beach, set in
Melborne, the final scene says it all: it is a banner fluttering in a humanless world, reading“There is still time, brother.”I have told you these stories because I believe that they represent the dilemma you face.
Stated bluntly, you want to issue a set of recommendations that will be seen as realistic andacceptable by the nuclear-weapon states while simultaneously giving hope to those states thatare near the end of their patience with the two-tiered structure of nuclear haves and have-nots.
And the critical factor is the timeframe you choose as you finalize your report.
Fortunately for all of us, world citizens, this Commission consists of the best and the brightest
who can resolve even the most difficult of dilemmas.
Your stature in the world, passion for and commitment to a nuclear-weapon-free world, richexperiences in politics and international affairs, and skills of persuasion to engage even theincurable skeptics in a dialogue, are enough proof that together we can eliminate all nuclear
weapons from the surface of the earth by 2020.
However, your job is not an easy one. In such a difficult situation, one can and should always
go back to basics.
First of all, we have the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Its Article VI, which has beenendorsed by the International Court of Justice, legally obligates all governments to adhere to it
diligently and faithfully.
And the Court clearly stated that the emphasis must be on the outcome, not on how hard youtry.
I cannot overemphasize the fact that this is the majority opinion of the world. That is why
190 countries are members of the NPT, which binds them to do their utmost to abolishnuclear weapons. More than 110 countries, a clear majority of the 192 members of the UN,
have taken the trouble to sign nuclear-free zone treaties. And every year, approximately 170
countries vote for the Japanese resolution calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons.
President Obama, standing on a solid moral foundation of the majority, has promised toconclude negotiations between the US and Russia on a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty
by the end of this year that will be “legally binding and sufficiently bold.” And I quote “Andthis will set the stage for further cuts, and we will seek to include all nuclear weapons states inthis endeavor.”

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I would also like to applaud President Medvedev for his outstanding efforts in the samedirection.
We have leaders in other countries with strong commitment to a nuclear-free world. We haveother prominent leaders everywhere and devoted NGO’s working for the common goal in
addition to this Commission. So what else is necessary?
One is technical consideration. As you may know nuclear weapon states disassemble theirweapons on a regular basis. If they continue disassembly at the current rate, all nuclear
weapons will be eliminated by 2019. Unfortunately, they also reassemble these disassembled
weapons or manufacture new ones to replace them. Technically speaking, if the nuclear
weapon states are persuaded to abandon this practice of refurbishing their nuclear arsenal, thejob is done. That means that 2020 is a realistic goal.
And let me point out in passing by quoting what is known as Occam's razor: The simplest
answer is usually the correct answer.
It is also necessary and practical to show solid and indisputable results quickly. That is why
President Obama pledged that his “administration will immediately and aggressively pursue
U.S. ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty” as well as the conclusion of a Fissile
Material Cut-off Treaty soon.
This is where mayors, especially mayors from the United States, can play a pivotal role increating a surge of public opinion supporting ratification. As a matter of fact, US Conferenceof Mayors, consisting of 1,200 member cities with populations larger than 30,000 in theUnited States, has been batting for the CTBT since 1990.
But we need more. We need a plan, a plan of action that rallies all these entities into a single,unstoppable force. We also need a timeline for this plan. Just when we build a baseballstadium, as we have recently done in Hiroshima, we need a timeline so that the pubic knowsfor sure that it will be ready for the opening game.
In order to prove that the realistic goal of 2020 is indeed doable, Mayors for Peace has
promulgated the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol, a copy of which, I hope, has reached you bynow.
Today, Mayors for Peace, and, I dare add the obamajority, meaning that the majority ofcitizens and nations are with President Obama, request your full and enthusiastic support for
the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol.
This protocol is the plan that will get us to the unequivocal commitment that was promised by
all the nuclear-weapon states at the review conference in 2000. It stipulates common-sense,3

good-faith behavior to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world by 2020. It eliminates theprovocative discrepancy between nuclear haves and have-nots by stipulating the immediate
termination of all preparations to develop, acquire, deploy or use nuclear weapons. It also
stipulates an immediate start to disarmament negotiations to continue until a nuclear weapon
convention or comparable framework agreement is signed no later than 2015.
The Protocol will ensure that hundreds of days of collective planning are devoted to thisworld-saving project, instead of just a few hours or days during the Cold War and the‘absolute zero’ days since its end.
That is the essence of the protocol. It fits on one page. It is not, however, written in stone.
Indeed, in the course of private and group consultations with States Parties to the NPT, wereworked the protocol in the form of a decision to be proposed and hopefully adopted by the2010 NPT Review Conference. But it could just as well take the form of a resolution in theUN General Assembly.
As you investigate the time it will take to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world, you may findthat the 2015 and 2020 dates need to be adjusted. You may identify additional target dates.
But at the VERY least you must be honest with us about what the minimum times are andexactly why you deviate from them wherever you feel you must.
I would like to offer just one proof that the scenario described in the Hiroshima-Nagasaki
Protocol represents the wishes of the citizens we serve by showing you a resolution, a copy ofwhich I hope you have received, adopted just a week ago in the 77th Annual Meeting of theUS Conference of Mayors.
It urges the ICNND, and I quote, “to adopt 2020 as the target date for the achievement of a
nuclear-weapon-free world.”
The resolution further urges President Obama to announce at the NPT Review Conference
next year the initiation of negotiations to reach an agreement to abolish nuclear weapons by2020.
The resolution also asks you to “recognize the importance of city and citizen level movements
for the abolition of nuclear weapons.” For your reference, I took the liberty of presenting you
with a copy of Peace First by Honorable Uri Savir which explains this point in detail based on
his direct experiences.
I know that American mayors had children in mind when they passed this resolution. I was
there in Providence, Rhode Island.

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I know your heart also goes out for the children of the world. After all, we all are making
such gigantic efforts for all humanity, but especially, for the children of the world.
From these children of the world Hiroshima now receives approximately 10 million paper
cranes every year. They weigh 10 tons. Each of those cranes is embodying the pure hope of achild begging us to save him or her from the horrors of war and, specifically, nuclear weapons.
This is a sincere response after these children learn what happened to Sadako Sasaki, who fell
to leukemia ten years after her exposure to the A-bomb. Learning the Japanese legend thatfolding one thousand paper cranes will make one’s wish come true, Sadako diligently used allavailable pieces of paper to fold more than one thousand. I have brought just one of themhere to show you her fervent wish to live. Sadly she did not live to celebrate her 13th birthday.
If she were alive, she would be the same age as I am.
When you come to Hiroshima, I would like to personally take you to the old baseball stadium
where one year’s worth of these paper cranes are exhibited. They are beautiful andcompelling.
It is time that we start seriously honoring the genuine wishes of children.
I would also like to ask you to listen again to the stories of hibakusha in Hiroshima, which arebasically their dreams when they were children 64 years ago.
When you issue your report, please let your heart speak to them. Let us not make them wait
any longer. The time has come. The political will is available if we have the courage todemand it.
The days are long gone when nuclear weapon states take cities, and especially the children inthem hostage under the name of deterrence.
We must begin the work now. Your Commission can cater to the ‘realities’ of the past or you
can help shape the ‘realities’ of the future.
And let me repeat, you are the strongest hope we have now for creating a nuclear weapon freeworld. You have the POWER. You have the responsibility. And we are the Obamjority.
Together we can do it. Yes, we can!
Thank you very much for this opportunity to speak to you here. I look forward to seeing you
again in Hiroshima.

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