MPs from across the G7 call on their leaders

Saturday 29th April 2023 at12:49 PM

Take action on nuclear disarmament at upcoming Hiroshima summit

Hiroshima: 29 April 2023: (The Eagle Eye News Bureau)::

Parliamentarians from the G7 countries have urged their leaders to take concrete action on nuclear disarmament at their summit in Hiroshima in three weeks’ time. The MPs have been attending the G7 Parliamentarians’ Forum for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons in Tokyo and Hiroshima, where they met survivors of the world’s first nuclear attack that killed 140,000 people and obliterated the city in 1945. The forum was organised by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and concluded with a collective statement.

Quote Hon. Laura Boldrini (Italy):

“Visiting the Peace Memorial in Hiroshima gives a clear idea of what war and peace mean. It is more powerful than a 1000 speeches. Everybody, especially Youths, should once in a lifetime take the opportunity to come here and listen to Hibakusha’s stories, the impact the atomic bombing had on their existence, and their suffering. This leaves no doubt on the importance of promoting the abolition of nuclear weapons. This is why we have to urge the G7 leaders to increase their efforts towards a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons and to adhere to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.”

Quote Hon. Heather McPherson (Canada):

“There is no better place than Hiroshima to recognize that the use of nuclear weapons would have catastrophic consequences for humanity and the planet. Visiting these memorial sites, particularly in light of the recent nuclear threats by countries like Russia and North Korea, highlights the urgent need to eliminate these weapons of mass destruction. The upcoming G7 summit in Hiroshima is the perfect opportunity for Canada to join the growing international consensus and announce a delegation to observe the next meeting of states parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. We have heard a lot of empty rhetorics by Prime Minister Trudeau, now is the time for action. ”  

In the collective statement the participants urged the G7 leaders to listen to the survivors they will be meeting in Hiroshima– known as Hibakusha – and to acknowledge the devastating harm to people and the environment caused by nuclear weapons. The statement calls on the G7 leaders to unequivocally condemn any and all threats to use nuclear weapons and to recognise the significance of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which came into force in 2021 and has broad and growing international support, in advancing global nuclear disarmament efforts.

It continues: “We maintain that all countries should engage in sincere and constructive negotiations to achieve the total elimination of nuclear weapons so that never again will any person be subjected to the fate endured by the Hibakusha.”

Their statement condemned North Korea’s missile tests and nuclear weapons programme for “dangerously and irresponsibly” increasing the risk of nuclear war. It also condemned Russia for its illegal war in Ukraine which has exposed the “unacceptable risks associated with nuclear weapons” that Russia has brandished to intimidate other countries from intervening to stop its invasion.

Nuclear threats are explicitly banned under the TPNW and the statement says: “In order to strengthen the norm of not using and not threatening to use nuclear weapons, we condemn any and all nuclear threats and reiterate that the only guarantee of non-use is the total elimination of nuclear weapons.”

The MPs called for an end to the nuclear arms race in which all nuclear weapon states are involved because it increases the risk of the use of these weapons either by accident or design and “must therefore be stopped as a matter of international urgency”.  In this light, they called on their governments to engage constructively with the TPNW and highlighted how the TPNW complements the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). They made personal commitments to strengthening both treaties that “together provide the crucial, mutually-reinforcing framework for achieving a world free of nuclear weapons”.

The MPs were hosted by their Japanese counterparts at the Diet’s House of Councillors in Tokyo on April 28 where they made official statements and were addressed by Kuniko Inoguchi, LDP MP and Japan’s former Disarmament Ambassador. They then travelled to Hiroshima where they visited the Peace Memorial Museum and attended an official remembrance event at the Hiroshima Cenotaph. Following this they took part in a workshop with Hibakusha to learn more about what happens to people when they are attacked with nuclear weapons.