Marking the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Ms. Izumi Nakamitsu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affair, since 2017, read a statement yesterday on behalf of the Secretary General to remember the first nuclear attack. “The A-Bomb Dome, the Cenotaph, and the dauntless hibakusha – the surviving victims – are constant reminders of the catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons”, Ms. Nakamitsu said. Together with the city of Hiroshima, “they have worked tirelessly to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again”.
The UN Secretary General’s statement exhorted all the world leaders to go visit the city to see firsthand the consequences of “Little Boy”–the name of the bomb that was dropped on Hiroshima–and that destroyed five square miles of the city. It caused the immediate death of 78,150, the injury of 37,425, and 13,083 missing. In later years a further 250,000 succumbed to the radioactive effects of the first atomic bomb used as a weapon of mass destruction.
Reading from UN Secretary General Guterres’ statement, Ms. Nakamitsu urged the States that possess nuclear weapons to never use them. “Some countries are recklessly threatening to use these tools of annihilation. In the face of these threats, the global community must speak as one. Any use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable. The only way to eliminate the nuclear risk is to eliminate nuclear weapons”.
“Disarmament is not some utopian dream and we — as in, the United Nations — will not rest until the nuclear shadow has been lifted once and for all”, the statement ended.
