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8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace
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The General Conference of Mayors for Peace, which takes place once every four years, was held in Hiroshima City from August 3-6 last year.
This was the 8th time that the conference has been held.
A total of 305 people from 157 cities, 11 national governments and 18 NGOs and other organizations from Japan and overseas attended the conference,
which had as its keynote theme "Toward a World Without Nuclear Weapons－Conveying the 'Spirit of Hiroshima and Nagasaki' to the World".
Participants discussed concrete initiatives to achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020.
Opening Ceremony
The conference was opened with a speech by Hiroshima Mayor Kazumi Matsui, as representative of the host city.
Mayor Matsui spoke about the keynote theme of the conference, stating that the theme
"reflects our determination that we must achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons while as many atomic bomb survivors as possible are still alive".
He called for support to further strengthen initiatives aiming for the prompt realization of a nuclear weapons convention.
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Opening ceremony of the 8th General Conference of Mayors for Peace
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Next was a speech by Hiroshima Governor Hidehiko Yuzaki, representing guests at the conference.
Messages were then read out from United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the president of the Russian Cities Federation.
A-bomb witness testimony
Mr. Keijiro Matsushima, an atomic bomb witness, gave an A-bomb witness testimony in English.
Mr. Matsushima spoke about the tragic situation at the time of the bombing, saying
"The same mistake must not be repeated ever again anywhere in the world. Please go back to your countries and tell people what you have learned in Hiroshima".
AgendaⅠ
Mayor Matsui facilitated deliberations on five bills, including the election of executive officials and the action plan from 2013 to 2017.
All proposals were passed without change.
AgendaⅡ
Mr. Yasuyoshi Komizo, Chairperson of this Foundation, coordinated deliberations on the theme of "Future Initiatives for the 2020 Vision Campaign".
A report was given on activities to date aiming for the abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020, and participants discussed future initiatives.
At this session there were presentations on activities by the 2020 Vision Campaign Association, Japanese member cities, 2020 Vision campaigners, and Berlin University of Applied Sciences, which is running the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Peace Study Course.
There were also proposals made on future prospects for the campaign.
AgendaⅢ
Mayor Thore Vestby of Frogn City in Norway coordinated this session on the theme of
"The Creation of Mayors for Peace Regional Groups and the Promotion of Joint Activities with Citizens".
Presentations were given on peace initiatives from all over the world, and discussions were held.
First was a presentation on French activities and plans for a new activity－a peace conference held jointly by cities in the Mediterranean region.
There were other presentations on initiatives by cities in Germany, Japan and other nations.
Representatives from Turkey and Iraq explained the history of the Kurdish people, many of whom have lost their lives in chemical weapons attacks.
Mayor Vestby closed the session stating "All participants must take what you have heard today back to your home countries, discuss it and move to take action".
Dialogue Session with Civic and A-bomb Survivors' Organizations
The theme of this session was "What should we do as citizens to abolish nuclear weapons?"
Mr. Kazumi Mizumoto, vice-president of Hiroshima City University's Hiroshima Peace Institute, coordinated this dialogue session between participants and civic and atomic bomb survivors' organizations.
Firstly, activity reports were given by two representatives of the Hiroshima Confederation of A-bomb Sufferers' Organizations, as well as representatives of two civic organizations, Hiroshima Kenren and Hiroshima Jogakuin High School.
This was followed by a presentation from the floor, in the form of a film-based introduction of the activities of an organization that produces documentary films on nuclear weapons.
Vice-President Mizumoto summarized the session saying
"In this session we were able to reaffirm the existence of a common awareness among people from various positions of the need to decry the inhumanity, risks and horror of nuclear weapons, and work to prohibit and eliminate them".
Dialogue Session with National Governments and NGO Representatives
This dialogue session between participants and representatives from national governments and NGOs was held on the theme of "The Role of National Governments and NGOs in the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons",
and coordinated by Ms. Keiko Nakamura, associate professor at Nagasaki University's Research Center for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons.
The session started with activity presentations by embassy representatives from Norway, Mexico and India, as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the international NGO International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
These were followed by a speech by Governor Yuzaki on the topic of the "Hiroshima for Global Peace" Plan.
There were then comments from the floor and a question and answer session.
Associate professor Nakamura summarized the session saying
"It was extremely meaningful that we could hold this discussion on why the inhumanity of nuclear weapons is being raised as an issue now and where we are heading".
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Dialogue session with national governments and NGOs
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Peace Message
The American film director Mr. Oliver Stone gave a lecture as a special guest at the General Conference.
During his lecture, Mr. Stone said "The hibakusha have spent their lives communicating not revenge, but a message of love, not war, but a message of peace".
He said that we must achieve the abolition of nuclear weapons during the lifetime of the hibakusha.
AgendaⅣ
Mayor Matsui facilitated a discussion on the theme of "Toward the Abolishment of Nuclear Weapons by 2020".
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Director Oliver Stone delivering his peace message
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After the coordinators of the AgendaⅡ and AgendaⅢ sessions as well as the dialogue sessions had provided summaries of their respective discussions, there were comments from the floor and a question and answer session.
Mayor Matsui then summarized this general conference by reading out the Hiroshima Appeal.
The appeal was adopted with a round of applause, ending conference proceedings.
Closing Ceremony
The closing ceremony commenced with greetings by Foreign Affairs Minister Fumio Kishida, read out in his absence.
This was followed by speeches by Mr. Donald Plusquellic, Mayor of Akron City in America, and Mr. Tomihisa Taue, Mayor of Nagasaki City.
Mayor Matsui concluded the closing ceremony by thanking attendees for their participation and cooperation, and a statement of determination to
"consolidate our strength and work to enhance initiatives for the abolition of nuclear weapons by 2020".
The Hiroshima Appeal was sent to the United Nations Secretary-General and each nation's government in September.
The Hiroshima Appeal and other bills may be viewed on the Mayors for Peace home page.
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| (Peace and International Solidarity Promotion Division) |
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