Held in Vienna on 9 August 2010
Vienna, 9 August 2010: Hundreds of balloons carrying messages of peace were released by participants in the Commemoration Ceremony Genbaku No Hi which was held at the Vienna International Centre commemorating the 65th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The release of the balloons was accompanied by the ringing of the Peace Bell, which was presented to the United Nations in Vienna in 1995 as a symbol for the hopes of the Japanese people for world peace.
Co-organized by the United Nations Information Service (UNIS) and the Vienna NGO Committee on Peace, the 65-year-commemoration in Vienna was devoted to victims of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and all acts of war. Speakers at the event also highlighted recent developments in the fight to rid the world of nuclear weapons which should be built on to achieve a world free from all such instruments of mass destruction and death.
Japanese Ambassador to the UN in Vienna, H. E. Takeshi Nakane emphasized the important role of the Vienna-based Organizations such as the IAEA and CTBTO to achieve the vision of a world free from nuclear weapons: "The knowledge deriving from the atomic bomb disaster in Japan is widely reflected in the new agreements on nuclear weapons. To reach the results not only individual countries have to make a great effort but also organizations like the ones located here in Vienna are of huge importance. It is our responsibility to enhance the cooperation with NGOs and civil society to not lose momentum in the fight against the creation of nuclear weapons".
Maher Nasser, Director of UNIS, highlighted Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's participation in the memorial ceremony of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6th of August in Japan. Ban, the first UN Secretary-General to take part in the ceremony, has made nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation a top priority. "A more peaceful world can be ours," Ban said in Hiroshima and has taken concrete steps to implement this vision by putting forward a five-point plan in 2008 that includes recommendations on increasing security, verification, establishing a legal framework for nuclear disarmament, transparency and conventional weapons.
Acting Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Ana Maria Cetto introduced a video message from Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Yukiya Amano, who stressed that "Today Hiroshima and Nagasaki are instances that work as a constant reminder that nuclear disarmament is of upmost importance to create a world without nuclear weapons."
While formal arrangements are an important foundation, Tibor Tóth, Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) urged all parties to take the next step: "In the last 50 years we created layer after layer to make the world safer by different agreements and treaties. But still there are too many nuclear weapons and conflicts. Commitments are important but what we need are actions."
In the closing remarks, Dr. Klaus Renoldner, Chairperson of the NGO Committee on Peace in Vienna and the Representative of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), highlighted the pioneering role played by NGOs in fighting atomic bombs until they are no more. "As a physician, I can tell that that there is no treatment for their victims, the only way is to abolish all nuclear weapons. Their existence is of no help to anybody, they are a threat that kills, could fall in the wrong hands and always endanger peace", Dr. Renoldner added.
Participants from Vienna's diplomatic community, civil society, media and staff of the Vienna-based Organizations joined a traditional Japanese Tea Ceremony performed by Japanese artist Yuko Gulda and later proceeded to the Memorial Plaza to release the balloons and ring the Peace Bell.
