The grassroots movement of survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, known as hibakushais committed to achieving a nuclear weapons-free world.
Mr. Guterres described the hibakusha as “selfless, soul-bearing witnesses to the horrific human cost of nuclear weapons.”
Although their numbers are shrinking every year, their relentless work and resilience are the “backbone” of the global nuclear disarmament movement, he added.
The Secretary-General said he will never forget the many encounters with the hibakusha over the years.
A global inspiration
“Their terrifying living testimony reminds the world that the nuclear threat is not confined to history books. Nuclear weapons remain a clear and present danger to humanity and are re-emerging in the daily rhetoric of international relations,” he said.
“It is time for the world’s leaders to see as clearly as the world’s leaders hibakushaAnd See nuclear weapons for what they are: deadly devices that provide no safety, protection or security. The only way to eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons is to eliminate them altogether.”
He said the UN proudly stands behind the UN hibakusha which “inspire our collective efforts to build a world free of nuclear weapons.
UN photo/Yoshito Matsushige
Wounded civilians who had escaped the raging inferno gathered on a sidewalk west of Miyuki-bashi in Hiroshima, Japan, at about 11 a.m. on August 6, 1945.
‘Devices of Death’
Reducing and ultimately eliminating nuclear weapons has been a priority for the UN, which was founded nearly 80 years ago.
The very first General Assembly resolution, adopted in January 1946, aimed to address the “problems raised by the discovery of atomic energy” in the aftermath of World War II.
In a recent one speechMr. Guterres reiterated that “there should be no place in our world for these devices that cause death.”
The atomic bombs dropped by the United States on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 marked the only time nuclear weapons have been used in warfare, destroying the two cities.
More than 200,000 people died from nuclear radiation, shock waves from the explosions and thermal radiation. Hundreds of thousands of others have died over the years.
In the aftermath of the bombings, the hibakusha conducted intensive research to prevent such destruction from ever happening again.
The UN and the hibakusha
The UN has had a long-standing relationship with the hibakusha, and several secretaries-general have traveled to Hiroshima and Nagasaki to participate in commemorative ceremonies held each year.
Mr. Guterres attended the 2022 ceremony in Hiroshima, where he warned that “a new arms race is gathering speed” as leaders expand their nuclear stockpiles, with nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons in their possession worldwide.
The UN chief later met with five hibakusha – three women and two men – and heard their stories. He told these survivors that they have the moral authority to tell leaders that “nuclear weapons are nonsense.”
The hibakusha’s pleas for a nuclear weapons-free world were the subject of an exhibition at the UN headquarters in New York that same year.
Organized by the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (ODA), it brought to life the devastation caused by the atomic bombs and their successors, the more powerful hydrogen bombs or “H-bombs”, tested in the 1950s.
Read our coverage of the 2022 exhibition.
