Young people from G7 countries call on leaders to honour commitment to nuclear disarmament at Hiroshima summit

Youth delegates from G7 countries, meeting in Hiroshima, are calling on G7 leaders to seize the opportunity presented by their upcoming Summit and take action on nuclear disarmament, reminding them “possession or use of nuclear weapons is illegitimate as recognized by the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and our future security cannot be dependent on distrust”.

Meeting in the city that symbolises the devastating humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, the 50 delegates issued a statement calling on the leaders of the G7 to listen to the survivors of the nuclear attack on the Hiroshima in 1945, known as hibakusha, and recognise the moral imperative of nuclear disarmament.

The statement says: “We urgently demand action on nuclear weapons to honour the lived experiences of the hibakusha and other communities affected by nuclear weapons, and to secure a safer world free from weapons of mass destruction for generations to come.”

The delegates went on to urge the leaders to follow the framework of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) as the best way to achieve disarmament: “Given the conflicts and crises we face today, we believe that the time for action against nuclear weapons is now. As young people, we champion the TPNW as the most effective path to eliminating nuclear weapons.”

The ICAN Hiroshima G7 Youth Summit took place from 25-27 April and was organised by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and hosted by The Center for Peace, Hiroshima University (CPHU). It brought students and youth activists from 19 countries, including all G7 countries to the city to learn about the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons from atomic bomb survivors and other experts, and to discuss actions to realise a world free of nuclear weapons.

Among the summit’s other recommendations to the G7 leaders are the promotion of research into the impact of nuclear weapons on communities, particularly marginalised communities, in order to support victim assistance and environmental remediation; involve marginalised communities in decisions on nuclear policies; and to shift funding from nuclear weapons to sustainable investments in mitigating the effects of climate change, programmes for education, and peacebuilding.