Mayors for Peace Renews Resolve for Nuclear Abolition by 2020

New York, April 29 (Jiji Press)--Mayors for Peace renewed its determination to realize the total elimination of nuclear weapons by 2020 in its New York Appeal adopted on Wednesday. In the landmark 70th anniversary year of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, both western Japan, in 1945, "Mayors for Peace pledges that we will unite the voices of all the like-minded citizens here in New York and that we will contribute our very best toward nuclear weapons abolition by 2020 and the sublime goal of realizing everlasting world peace, the ultimate common goal of all of humanity," the group said in the document. The document was adopted at a meeting held by the group, an organization of 6,649 cities in 160 countries and regions aiming to realize a nuclear-free world, in New York in line with the ongoing review conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, or NPT, that started at the U.N. headquarters on Monday. Attending the Mayors for Peace gathering were some 50 representatives, including Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, head of the group, and Nagasaki Mayor Tomihisa Taue as well as the mayors of Bangkok and Mexico City. Hiroshima was flattened by a U.S. atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945, in the closing days of World War II, and Nagasaki followed the same fate three days later. The New York Appeal, read out by Matsui, said that this year is an opportunity to honor hibakusha atomic bomb survivors and "recognize the inhumanity of the nuclear weapons that they and their families have had to endure." With their strong message, "No one else should ever suffer as we have," the atomic bomb survivors "have been greatly contributing to the global movement to eliminate all nuclear weapons," the statement said, adding, "Their message is addressed to all humanity and future generations." As the understanding regarding the inhumanity of nuclear weapons "continues to deepen," now is the time "for the policymakers of the world, especially those of nuclear weapons states, to demonstrate decisive leadership and work together toward nuclear weapons abolition and the creation of an international environment that will make it possible," it stressed. According to the document, the number of Mayors for Peace member cities has been increasing rapidly, with the total population of the cities reaching one billion, or a seventh of all the people on the earth. "We are convinced that this expanding worldwide network will certainly act as a powerful driving force in leading international public opinion toward the lofty goal of nuclear weapons elimination," the document said. END