Amsterdam – Greenpeace salutes the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, Nihon Hidankyo, for their decades-long leadership in the struggle to eliminate nuclear weapons and expose its catastrophic consequences. Under the motto ‘No More Hibakusha,’ Nihon Hidankyo has been on a lifelong mission for peace, playing a pivotal role in making nuclear weapons illegal under international law through the historic Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), that entered into force in 2021.

Turning their personal tragedy into a fight for the greater good, Nihon Hidankyo has tirelessly worked to promote the rights of all Hibakusha, both inside and outside Japan. The Hibakusha (Japanese for ‘bomb-affected people’) are survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as victims of nuclear bomb testing conducted around the world. For many, for example victims of nuclear testing in the Pacific, justice has been painstakingly slow and incomplete.

Nuclear weapons were designed and tested as ultimate doomsday devices, leaving behind a legacy of fear and destruction. No other human invention has had such a profound impact on humanity’s story. Like the trauma the weapons inflict, its effects cannot be fully erased or undone. Especially today, as the testing and potential use of nuclear weapons is no longer considered taboo and is once again being contemplated, we must stand in solidarity with the Hibakusha and carry their legacy forward. We call on all countries to sign and ratify the TPNW, striving to make it as universal as possible.

Greenpeace stands with the Hibakusha in fighting for nuclear justice, and for enacting a global effective ban against nuclear weapons, through the Nuclear Ban treaty. 

ENDS 

Contacts:

Jen Maman, Senior Peace Advisor, Greenpeace International, +49 152 52024678, [email protected]

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0) 20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), [email protected]