On Friday, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Japan’s Hidankyo. American Atomic Bomb Survivor For activities against nuclear weapons in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Norwegian Nobel Committee Chairman Jørgen Watne Fridnes said the prize was awarded because “the taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under pressure.”
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a shift in his country’s policy. nuclear theorya move by Western countries aimed at deterring Ukraine from attacking Russia. long range weapon. That appears to have significantly lowered the threshold for Russia’s possible use of nuclear weapons.
Watne Fridnes said that the Nobel Committee: We salute all survivors Despite physical pain and painful memories, they chose to use their costly experiences to foster hope and commitment to peace. ”
Toshiyuki Mimaki (right), chairman of Nippon Hidankyo (Japan Federation of Atomic and Hydrogen Bomb Victims’ Associations), reacts to Nippon Hidankyo’s Nobel Prize winning while speaking to media members in Hiroshima on Friday, October 11, 2024. Peace Prize. (Moe Sasaki/AP via Kyodo News)
Toshiyuki Mimaki, head of the Hiroshima branch of Hidankyo, who was waiting at city hall for the announcement, cheered and shed tears when he heard the news.
“Is that true? I can’t believe it!” Mimaki exclaimed.
Efforts to eradicate nuclear weapons have been recognized by the Nobel Committee. In 2017, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) won the Peace Prize, and in 1995, Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs “seek to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in international politics.” The initiative was recognized and received the award. The long-term goal is to eliminate such weapons. ”
Beatrice Finn, who was ICAN’s executive director when it won the Nobel Prize, said it was “very emotional” to honor Nippon Hidankyo.
“We are partners in this fight,” she told The Associated Press.
Survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki “know the most about nuclear weapons. I know what it smells like,” she said.
This year’s award was presented against the backdrop of devastating conflicts escalating in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan.
Responding to a question about whether Russia’s rhetoric regarding nuclear weapons in its invasion of Ukraine was appropriate, Watne Fridnes said: “It is clear that the threat of using nuclear weapons puts pressure on important international norms, namely the taboo on the use of nuclear weapons.” ” he said. It influenced this year’s decision.
This 1945 file photo captures the devastation in Hiroshima, Japan after the atomic bomb was dropped. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nippon Hidankyo, the Japanese organization of victims of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for its work against nuclear weapons. (AP photo, file)
“It is therefore alarming to see how this norm is being undermined by threats of use. Upholding strong international taboos against use is of vital importance to all of humanity,” he said. added.
“The ghosts of Hiroshima and Nagasaki still loom over humanity,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on the This Nobel Peace Prize sends a powerful message: We have an obligation to remember, and an even greater obligation to protect future generations from the horrors of nuclear war.
the US dropped an atomic bomb Nagasaki (August 9, 1945, three days later 70,000 people were murdered.Atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima Killed 140,000 people. Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, ending World War II and nearly half a century of aggression in Asia.
Nippon Hidankyo was founded in 1956 by survivors and victims of nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific Ocean, seeking government assistance for health issues.
FILE – A pigeon flies over the Peace Statue during a ceremony commemorating the 77th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombing at Peace Park in Nagasaki, southern Japan, on Aug. 9, 2022. The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Japan Hidankyo. A Japanese organization of survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that works against nuclear weapons. (via Kyodo News AP, file)
“The survivors of the atomic bombs of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, are selfless witnesses to the terrible human cost of nuclear weapons,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his congratulatory address.
“Nuclear weapons remain a clear and present danger to humanity and have re-emerged in the everyday rhetoric of international relations,” he added. “The time has come for world leaders to look at nuclear weapons for what they are, with the same keen eyes as the atomic bomb survivors: deadly devices that provide neither safety nor protection nor security.”
Alfred Nobel stated in his will that the Peace Prize should be awarded to “the most or most outstanding activities for fraternity among nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies, for the holding and promotion of peace conferences.” Ta.
Last year’s prize was jailed iranian activist Narges Mohammadi defended women’s rights and democracy and opposed the death penalty. The Nobel committee said it was also a recognition of the “hundreds of thousands” who demonstrated against “theocratic regimes’ discriminatory and repressive policies against women.”
In a year of conflict, there was speculation that the Norwegian Nobel Committee might choose not to award the prize at all. Since 1901, the bounty has been withheld 19 times, including during both World Wars. The last time it did not win was in 1972.
Nobel Committee Chairman Jørgen Watne Fridnes speaks during a press conference at the Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway, on Friday, October 11, 2024, announcing that the Japanese organization Nippon Hidankyo has announced the winners of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. It was announced that. Javad Parsa/NTB Scanpix (via AP)
Violence has escalated in the Middle East over the past year, leaving tens of thousands of people dead, including women and children. The war, which began with an attack on Israel by Hamas-led armed groups on October 7, 2023, left about 1,200 people dead, mostly civilians, and spread to the wider region.
Last week, Israel sent ground forces to Lebanon to pursue Hezbollah militants who fired rockets at Israel, and Iran, which supports both Hamas and Hezbollah, fired ballistic missiles at Israel. Israel has not yet responded, but its defense minister made it clear this week that Israel’s retaliation would be devastating and stunning.
More than 42,000 people have been killed in the war in Gaza, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but more than half are women and children. More than 1,400 people have been killed, thousands more injured and nearly 1 million people have been displaced in Lebanon since mid-September, when the Israeli military dramatically escalated its offensive against Hezbollah.
The war in Ukraine, which began with Russia’s invasion, is entering its third winter with massive loss of life on both sides.
The United Nations has confirmed the deaths of more than 11,000 Ukrainian civilians, including 25,000 Ukrainians said to have been killed during Russia’s occupation of Mariupol and unreported deaths in occupied territories. No deaths are taken into account.
Nobel Prize is cash prize 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million). Unlike other prizes, which are chosen and announced in Stockholm, founder Alfred Nobel decreed that the Peace Prize would be determined and awarded in Oslo by the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee.
The Nobel Prize season ends on Monday with the announcement of the winners of the prize in economics, officially known as the Swedish Bank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel.
—-
This version corrects the name of the Nippon Hidankyo Hiroshima Branch Chief to Toshiyuki Mimaki instead of Tomoyuki Mimaki.
___
Mr. Corder reported from The Hague, Netherlands, and Mr. Bekatros from Athens, Greece. Mari Yamaguchi in Tokyo, Philippe Jenne in Vienna, Lori Hinnant in Paris, and Vanessa Gera in Warsaw, Poland contributed.
