(August 9, '97)

Hiroshima-Nagasaki Appeal, Pledge to Cooperate toward Lasting World Peace

On August 9, the announcement of< Hiroshima-Nagasaki Appeal which was presented and adopted unanimously at the Nagasaki Assembly of the 4th World Conference of Mayors for Peace through Inter-city Solidarity concluded its program. The conference took place at a hotel in Nagasaki City and Hiroshima-Nagasaki Appeal concluded the "discussions for peace" by participants including mayors from so many cities around the world and citizens of both cities. Hiroshima-Nagasaki Appeals states that "The 20th century was an era of brutal world war, depriving the lives of countless citizens. As a result of the discussions, participants pledged to learn from the history of mankind in this century and to appeal to the world for creating the 21st century the "Century of Peace". Moreover, the mayors agreed to strengthen the bonds of solidarity among the cities of the world and make efforts together for the early realization of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) being into effect. They urged the necessity for establishing the international arrangement for abolishing all nuclear weapons.

Hiroshima-Nagasaki Appeal

The 20th century was an era of brutal world wars, depriving the lives of countless citizens. During World War II, Hiroshima and Nagasaki suffered the fist atomic bomb attacks in the history of mankind. In Europe and Asia, genocide of noncombatant civilians was carried out. These events highlighted the extent to which human conduct can be atrocious.

In the latter half of the 20th century, the economic gap between advanced and developing nations has widened drastically. This has lead to further aggravation of poverty in developing nations and has intensified problems that constitute threats to peace such as the spread of hunger and epidemics caused by poverty and conflicts, the increase of refugees, violation of human rights, and ceaseless oppression against women and children in various parts of the world. As well, in addition to the threat of nuclear weapons, the earth now faces the greatest environmental crisis in history in the form of global warming, ozone layer depletion, rapid increase of wastes, marine pollution, desertification and other problems.

In the present century, dramatic progress in science and technology has witnessed spectacular advances in economy, industry, information, communication and transportation. In contrast, however, most nations have prioritized their collective national interests over the promotion of international cooperation and likewise have inclined toward the pursuit for the primacy of economy in negligence of the value of human beings. This focus has begun to influence the life of people adversely in various ways.

In light of this situation, we, the representatives of 117 cities in 33 countries, convened at the 4th world Conference of Mayors for Peace through Inter-city Solidarity, held in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and thoroughly discussed the keynote theme of the conference: "Peace, Justice and Freedom - Efforts Toward Global Harmony -"

As a result of this discussion, we now firmly believe that the confusion and anxieties presently besetting the world can be dispersed by making use of the lessons learned from the history of mankind in this century. We are determined to reinforce the values of civil society by promoting the causes of human rights and humanitarianism, and to strengthen ties linking citizens through international cooperation among cities.

We also reaffirmed the following goals, to be attained by participating cities to transcend national boundaries, to rise above the differences in race, sex and age to open the door to the 21st century as the "Century of Peace":

1. To foster international public opinion in favor of the abolition of weapons of mass destruction, notably nuclear weapons, and the large reduction of conventional weapons.

2. To promote peace education so as to instill the "love of peace and solidarity among people" in the youth, the generation that will lead the world in the coming century; and create a peace culture.

3. To cooperate in various fields, with the goal of resolving poverty, discrimination, violence, environmental destruction and other problems common to cities.

Furthermore, we, the participants in the World Conference of Mayors, jointly appeal to all national governments and international organizations to do the following:

1. To put the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) into effect, as soon as possible, toward the abolition of nuclear weapons and for the same purpose, soon commence negotiations on the Convention Banning the Production of Fissile Material for Nuclear Weapons (Cutoff Treaty); in particular,

(1) To conclude an international treaty banning nuclear weapons

(2) To place an immediate and total ban on subcritical nuclear testing

(3) To promote the establishment of nuclear weapon-free zone on a global scale

2. To ensure the utmost care in the disposal of nuclear wastes produced from the reduction and dismantling of nuclear weapons as well as in the nonmilitary use of nuclear power.

3. To conclude an effective treaty prohibiting the production and transportation of anti- personal landmines, in addition to observing the treaties for banning biological and chemical weapons, and to establish an international system for cooperation in removing anti-personal landmines.

4. To decrease military expenditures through reduction of arms and other measures; and effectively use the enormous amount of funds that will become available as a result of these measures as a dividend of peace, for such purposes as environmental protection as well as the elimination of poverty; and to promote militray-civilian conversion of industrial structure.

5. To hold the 4th Special Session of the General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament

(SSD IV) by the end of the 20th century, in accordance with the decision at the United Nations General Assembly in 1996, with the goal of reaching final conclusions regarding issues related to disarmament.

We hereby resolve the above goals and state our strong support for the 1997 peace declarations of both Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Furthermore, united in solidarity based on our esteem for the diverse political, cultural and religious heritages of participating cities, we pledge to cooperate toward realizing an international community in which citizens can live lives free from the horrors of war, and enjoy affluence on an egalitarian basis, under the secure protection of basic human rights.

August 9, 1997

4th World Conference of Mayors for Peace through Inter-city Solidarity