ICAN meeting in Hiroshima

It was the first ICAN meeting to be held in Japan. The objectives included developing a unified global strategy for the coming year; building the campaign’s presence in Asia; introducing campaigners to new action ideas; and developing the concept of a humanitarian-based approach to nuclear disarmament.

At the meeting, ICAN launched a new publication detailing the “catastrophic effects of nuclear weapons on our health, societies and the environment”. The publication argues for nuclear weapons to be banned just as other inherently inhumane and indiscriminate weapons – such as landmines and cluster munitions – have been prohibited by treaties.

It provides information on the immediate and long-term effects of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, the harm caused by radiation, the likelihood of global climate disruption and widespread famine in the event of a regional nuclear war, the enormous toll of nuclear testing and nuclear weapons production on our health, and the opportunity costs of investing in nuclear armaments.

ICAN also launched an initiative to send 1,000 paper cranes to every president and prime minister in the world. The cranes will be accompanied by a request from Hiroshima schoolchildren for a message supporting a global ban on nuclear weapons. Campaigners in more than 80 countries will be involved in the delivery of the cranes, which have become a worldwide symbol for nuclear disarmament.

Hiroshima meeting report (English) →

Hiroshima meeting report (French) →

21 August 2012