Hiroshima.- The Nobel Peace Prize yesterday recognized Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization of survivors of the atomic bombs dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for its activism against nuclear weapons.
Jørgen Watne Frydnes, president of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the prize was awarded at a time when “the taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under pressure.”
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a change to his country’s nuclear doctrine aimed at discouraging the West from allowing Ukraine to attack Russia with longer-range weapons. It also appears to significantly lower the threshold for possible use of the Russian nuclear arsenal.
Watne Frydnes indicated that the Nobel committee “wants to honor all survivors who, despite physical suffering and painful memories, have chosen to use their costly experience to cultivate hope and commitment to peace.”
The president of the Hiroshima branch of Hidankyo, Toshiyuki Mimaki, who was next to the city hall of this town for the announcement, applauded and was excited when receiving the news.
“Is it really true? “Incredible!” Mimaki shouted.
It is not the first time that the Nobel Prize has recognized efforts to eradicate nuclear weapons. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) won in 2017, and Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Conferences were awarded in 1995 for “their efforts to reduce the role played by nuclear weapons in politics.” international and, in the long term, eliminate this type of weapons.”
Beatrice Fihn, who was executive director of ICAN when she was honored, said recognizing Hidankyo was “quite emotional.”
“We are partners in this fight,” he told The Associated Press.
The survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki “are the ones who know nuclear weapons best… They know what it feels like, what it looks like, what it smells like when your city burns due to the use of nuclear weapons,” he said.
This year’s announcement came against a backdrop of devastating conflicts ravaging the world, especially in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan.
“It is very clear that the threats of the use of nuclear weapons put pressure on the important international norm, the taboo of using nuclear weapons,” Watne Frydnes stressed in response to the question of whether Russia’s rhetoric about nuclear weapons during its invasion of Ukraine had influenced the decision.
“And that is why it is alarming to see how threats of use also damage this norm. Maintaining a firm international taboo against its use is crucial for all humanity,” he added.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in X that “the specter of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still hangs over humanity. This makes Nihon Hidankyo’s defense invaluable. This Nobel Peace Prize winner sends a powerful message. We have a duty to remember. And an even greater duty to protect coming generations from the horrors of nuclear war.”
The United States dropped an atomic bomb on Nagasaki on August 9, 1945, killing 70,000 people, three days after its bombing of Hiroshima killed 140,000. Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, ending World War II and nearly half a century of aggression throughout Asia.
Nihon Hidankyo was formed in 1956 with survivors of attacks and victims of nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific, amid demands for government help for health problems.
“The survivors of the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as hibakusha, are selfless and open witnesses of the horrible human cost of nuclear weapons,” said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in a congratulatory statement.
“Nuclear weapons remain a clear and present danger to humanity, and appear once again in the daily rhetoric of international relations,” he added. “It is time for world leaders to be as clear-eyed as the hibakusha and see nuclear weapons for what they are: instruments of death that offer no safety, security or security.”
Alfred Nobel wrote in his will that the Peace Prize should be awarded for “the greatest or best work in favor of fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of armies and for holding and promoting peace conferences.”
Last year, the award went to imprisoned Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi for her advocacy for women’s rights and democracy, and her fight against the death penalty. The committee then explained that it was also a recognition of “the hundreds and thousands of people” who demonstrated “against the policies of discrimination and oppression against women of the theocratic regime of Iran.”
In a year of conflict, before the announcement there had been speculation that the committee would choose to leave the award vacant. The prize has not been awarded 19 times since 1901, including during both world wars. The last time it was not granted was in 1972.
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