G-7 Foreign Ministers Vow to Move toward Nuke-Free World

Hiroshima, April 11 (Jiji Press)--The Group of Seven foreign ministers vowed to make progress toward a world without nuclear weapons in a joint declaration adopted at a two-day meeting in the western Japan city of Hiroshima that ended Monday. "The people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced immense devastation and human suffering as a consequence of the atomic bombings" in August 1945, near the end of World War II, said their Hiroshima Declaration on Nuclear Disarmament and Nonproliferation. The declaration was one of the statements adopted by the top diplomats of the seven industrial countries--Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States--plus the European Union. In other statements, the participants said they "are concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas" and that they will release an action plan on measures to counter terrorism at the G-7 summit in the Ise-Shima area in central Japan in May. The statements were announced by Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who chaired the Hiroshima meeting. It is unusual for the G-7 foreign ministers to release a special paper on nuclear disarmament. Earlier on Monday, the G-7 foreign ministers, including those of the nuclear powers of Britain, France and the United States, made a historic visit to Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. Together with the visit, the nuclear disarmament paper highlighted calls from the city to eliminate nuclear weapons from the world. Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the only places in the world that have been attacked with atomic bombs. The paper is "a ground-breaking document jointly released by nuclear and nonnuclear nations," Kishida told a news conference. In the declaration, the G-7 ministers reaffirmed their commitment "to creating the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons in a way that promotes international stability." The declaration urged all nations to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, including the United States, which has not ratified the pact. "For decades, political leaders like us and other visitors have come to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and been deeply moved," the paper said, inviting leaders around the world who have not made such visits to do so. In their statement on maritime security, the G-7 diplomats expressed "our strong opposition to any intimidating, coercive or provocative unilateral actions that could alter the status quo and increase tensions." Apparently mindful of the Philippines' application for a ruling by the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague on its dispute with China, the statement asked all states to pursue the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes in accordance with international law and to fully implement decisions made by relevant courts. The fight against terrorism was covered in their joint communique. "Countering terrorism and violent extremism and bringing perpetrators to justice remain top priorities for the whole international community," the communique said, condemning terrorist attacks by Islamic State and other groups. The G-7 ministers stressed the importance of addressing "the political and economic grievances that may be drivers of violent extremism," calling for efforts to stabilize societies and reduce income and other inequalities. On the issue of refugees, over which the G-7 nations are not fully united, the communique said only, "It requires a decisive response by the international community" for the management of migration flows in all aspects "in full respect for human rights and international obligations." The ministers condemned "in the strongest terms" North Korea's nuclear test and ballistic missile launches earlier this year. Over Ukraine, the communique urged all parties concerned to fully implement the Minsk agreements on a ceasefire and underscored the importance of continued dialogue with Russia. END