ID :
139365
Thu, 08/26/2010 - 10:28
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/139365
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Experts explore steps toward nuke-free world at U.N. Saitama meet
SAITAMA, Japan, Aug. 25 Kyodo -
About 85 government officials, academic experts and civic group representatives
from 18 countries gathered in Saitama, north of Tokyo, to discuss concrete
steps to realize a nuclear-free world in a three-day U.N. meeting on nuclear
disarmament from Wednesday.
The U.N. Conference on Disarmament Issues, which has been held annually in
Japan since 1989, opened with speeches by Sergio Duarte, U.N. high
representative for disarmament affairs, and Koichi Takemasa, Japanese state
secretary for foreign affairs, on promoting nuclear disarmament and
nonproliferation.
Durante said the timing of the Saitama conference that followed U.N. Secretary
General Ban Ki Moon's ''historic'' visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki earlier in
the month ''could hardly be better.''
''I believe the year 2010 will mark a turning point in the history of nuclear
disarmament and nonproliferation -- these issues are certainly back on the
global agenda and are viewed by increasing numbers of states as matters of some
urgency,'' he said.
The Saitama meeting will examine progress in the area of nuclear disarmament
and nonproliferation by looking back on the outcome of such events as the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference and the Nuclear Security
Summit earlier this year and also takes up regional issues including nuclear
ambitions of North Korea and Iran.
Takemasa said the Japanese government is eager to spearhead international
efforts to promote nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation by advocating
concrete steps toward a nuclear-free world, such as cutting nuclear arsenals
and lowering the role of nuclear weapons to reduce risks posed by nuclear arms.
Asako Toyoda, deputy mayor of Hiroshima, said her city that suffered the 1945
U.S. atomic bombing aims to achieve a world completely free of nuclear weapons
by the year 2020 so that as many A-bomb survivors as possible can see the total
elimination of nuclear arms while they are alive.
She said political will is required to give further momentum to a global
movement toward a nuclear-free world and that Japan should lead that drive.
==Kyodo
About 85 government officials, academic experts and civic group representatives
from 18 countries gathered in Saitama, north of Tokyo, to discuss concrete
steps to realize a nuclear-free world in a three-day U.N. meeting on nuclear
disarmament from Wednesday.
The U.N. Conference on Disarmament Issues, which has been held annually in
Japan since 1989, opened with speeches by Sergio Duarte, U.N. high
representative for disarmament affairs, and Koichi Takemasa, Japanese state
secretary for foreign affairs, on promoting nuclear disarmament and
nonproliferation.
Durante said the timing of the Saitama conference that followed U.N. Secretary
General Ban Ki Moon's ''historic'' visits to Hiroshima and Nagasaki earlier in
the month ''could hardly be better.''
''I believe the year 2010 will mark a turning point in the history of nuclear
disarmament and nonproliferation -- these issues are certainly back on the
global agenda and are viewed by increasing numbers of states as matters of some
urgency,'' he said.
The Saitama meeting will examine progress in the area of nuclear disarmament
and nonproliferation by looking back on the outcome of such events as the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference and the Nuclear Security
Summit earlier this year and also takes up regional issues including nuclear
ambitions of North Korea and Iran.
Takemasa said the Japanese government is eager to spearhead international
efforts to promote nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation by advocating
concrete steps toward a nuclear-free world, such as cutting nuclear arsenals
and lowering the role of nuclear weapons to reduce risks posed by nuclear arms.
Asako Toyoda, deputy mayor of Hiroshima, said her city that suffered the 1945
U.S. atomic bombing aims to achieve a world completely free of nuclear weapons
by the year 2020 so that as many A-bomb survivors as possible can see the total
elimination of nuclear arms while they are alive.
She said political will is required to give further momentum to a global
movement toward a nuclear-free world and that Japan should lead that drive.
==Kyodo
