World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates

To prevent war, wisdom of the world gathers

	Frederik de Klerk, Former President of South Africa (recipient in 1993・・/div>
	Honored for his work in bringing a peaceful end to the system of apartheid

Mutual respect and tolerance is vital

1) What do you feel is the significance of holding the summit in the city of Hiroshima?

The decision to hold the Summit in Hiroshima this year is highly symbolic and appropriate. 2010 is the 65th anniversary of the atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima. The city remains the primary symbol of the devastation that atomic weapons can cause and of mankind's need to ensure that such an event never occurs again.

2) How would you describe the conditions of peace?

Since the early nineties we have moved away from the bipolar world where two super-powers confronted one another with the threat of all-out nuclear war. The main threats now come from the proliferation of nuclear weapons to states like North Korea - and possibly Iran - and the appalling possibility that terrorists might one day gain possession of a nuclear weapon.

We are also in a new age where there are few or no wars between countries. Nearly all the conflict that continues to afflict mankind now takes place within countries between religious and ethnic communities - in places such a Darfur and the recently concluded civil war in Sri Lanka.

3) What do you think must be done to create a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons and war?

The world should unite to demand the implementation of NNPT and other international agreements on nuclear weapons. In particular, this means that existing nuclear weapon states must take active, visible and verifiable steps to reduce their nuclear arsenals with the ultimate goal of their total elimination. In addition, the world must do much more to resolve existing conflicts - particularly those involving nuclear states - like India and Pakistan - to ensure that there is no possibility into their escalating into open war.

At the same time, the international community should be doing much more to find solutions to ethnic and religious conflicts within countries, by recognising and respecting the rights of minorities and by cultivating mutual respect and toleration.

4) What do you think junior high and senior high school students, like us, can do to promote a peaceful world?

Young people can make a positive contribution by studying other societies; by questioning their own prejudices and by practising mutual toleration and respect for people from other societies, communities and countries.

5) What would you like to focus on at the summit in Hiroshima?

We should focus on the threat that nuclear weapons still pose to the world and on the need to take real steps to ensure compliance with international treaties and conventions - such as the NNPT.

	Jody Williams, Peace Activist (recipient in 1997)
	Honored for her work in the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines

Youth should take action

1) What do you feel is the significance of holding the summit in the city of Hiroshima?

The devastation that befell Hiroshima in 1945 is not simply another page in the history books of human conflict. It is an enduring reminder to us all of the immense cost of nuclear war: thousands of innocent civilian lives, and years of insidious suffering that this kind of weaponry inevitably inflicts long after the radioactive dust has settled. Holding the World Summit in Hiroshima symbolizes why our pursuit of peace and world without nuclear weapons is so critical.

Hiroshima, and its mayor have made a great effort to increase activism on the abolition of nuclear weapons. Much of the upsurge in international awareness of the issue can be attributed to their work ? and their advocacy before and during the recent Nuclear Proliferation Treaty Review.

2) How would you describe the conditions of peace?

Peace is not just the absence of conflict. Peace is an on-going process of discourse and negotiations which bring a world of justice and equality. A world in which the peoples of the world can live in freedom from want freedom from fear. This can only result from a real dialogue between citizens and their governments resulting in governments acting on behalf of their citizens not to maintain themselves in power and the status quo. Historically such 'dialogue' has been civic participation and advocacy, from lobbying to letter writing campaigns to non-governmental organizations pressing governments to meet the needs of their people. It is people who must be the agents of peace by pressing their governments to stop insisting that 'security' comes from having more military might. It is clear that there is great potential at this moment for this kind of change, and we must seize that moment.

Opinion polls conducted in 21 countries in 2008 show that 76% of people around the world?including major nuclear states--support the idea of a binding, verifiable nuclear convention. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has called for a treaty; in fact every year, more than 120 states in the UN General Assembly vote in favor of a resolution on the illegality of nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council recently backed the idea of a treaty to make the Middle East a nuclear weapons free zone, and last April, US and Russia signed renewed arms reduction agreement in Prague. We need to capitalize on these beginning steps to press relentlessly for a world free of nuclear weapons through a treaty banning the use, production, trade and stockpiling of nuclear weapons.

3) What do you think must be done to create a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons and war?

We cannot wait for governments to negotiate peace ? we must spur them to action! The 1998 International Campaign to Ban Land Mines is an example of how non-governmental organizations can work together with civil society to address and attain consensus regarding humanitarian concerns on an international level. It is my belief that looking at the models of 'citizen diplomacy as exemplified by the International Land Mines Campaign, and the Cluster Munition Coalition, it is citizen diplomacy that must be the engine of change. We must single-mindedly push for an international convention that completely bans nuclear weapons for all time. And our work does not stop there. We must continue applying pressure on governments until this goal is realized. A treaty on nuclear weapons is achievable!

4) What do you think junior high and senior high school students, like us, can do to promote a peaceful world?

We cannot underestimate the importance of individuals of all ages working together and with governments bring about real leadership on negotiating the weapons convention. Youth should organize themselves, take action, speak with their leaders and find ways through creative civil society action to connect and share with others around the world and speak the 'truth' of a world free of nuclear weapons to world leaders.

How do you do this? You can start by taking part in existing campaigns reach a "critical mass" of public pressure to push for an abolition treaty.

I want to underscore the importance of visionary leadership and action -- believing that what seems impossible can be made possible. Things that seemed impossible have been achieved in the past ? thus proving that really nothing is impossible. You can make this a nuclear free world.

The youth of Hiroshima can learn from the history they have inherited through no choice of their own, the experiences their families or community have experienced first-hand?and then share it with the rest of the world. You are all technologically well-connected, and can already know much more than I do about "social networkring' and connecting with other youth from around the globe to change this small planet that we all share for the betterment of us all. Inspire other youth to act and create global partnerships to push for a world free of nuclear weapons through a treaty completely banning the use, production, transfer and stockpiling of nuclear weapons. Thank you!

	International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) (recipient in 1917, 1944 and 1963) Alexandre Liebeskind, Personal Advisor to the President of the ICRC
	Honored for their work protecting victims and delivering aid in conflict areas

Youth should study living conditions in developing countries

1) What do you feel is the significance of holding the summit in the city of Hiroshima?

Hiroshima has been the theatre of one of the most brutal man made humanitarian catastrophes in the world's history. Holding the Nobel Peace Laureates' summit in this martyr city is a way to pay tribute to the victims of the atomic bomb but also to those, who are still caring for the survivors. I think among others of the volunteers of the Japan Red Cross and the delegates of the ICRC who put their life in danger in order to save others. But the summit is also a way to focus the attention of the world on the fact that nuclear weapons still constitute a threat to humanity and still have not been formally outlawed by international humanitarian law.

2) How would you describe the conditions of peace?

In today's world conflicts between nations have become rather exceptional thanks to better functioning international institutions, with the notable exceptions of the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. These conflicts highlighted the need for States to adhere to the rules set by the Charter of the United Nations, and somehow reinforced their conviction in their relevance. But internal conflicts remain a plague for humanity, and avoiding them requires social justice and well functioning political institutions allowing for every citizen to feel that he or she is considered by the State.

3) What do you think must be done to create a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons and war?

The European Union has set an example of how Sates that went to war against each other for centuries can unite and pacify their relationship to a point where they do not find it useful anymore to protect themselves militarily against each other. I believe that the day people will no more rely on nuclear weapons to feel secure, they will be ready to get rid of them. Until then it would be an additional safeguard to clearly prohibit the use and trade of such weapons through an international treaty as was done for the chemical weapons or landmines for instance.

4) What do you think junior high and senior high school students, like us, can do to promote a peaceful world?

I suggest that you study the conditions of living in less favored countries in order to understand their people's aspiration for a better life. You should also get acquainted with the state of research around notions such as durable development and zero growth, and try to tackle the philosophical issue of the balance between wealth and happiness in modern societies. You are likely to become the generation that will have to face two major challenges: the end of growth and the end of oil. It is difficult to imagine today, but you had better be prepared for this if you want to avoid major conflicts around vanishing resources.

5) What would you like to focus on at the summit in Hiroshima?

I would like to take advantage of the Summit to get an understanding of the Japanese people's hopes and fears towards a globalizing world. I would also like to grasp some of the formidable energy and creativity that emanates from the Japanese youth, and inspire them to contribute to humanitarian action too.

	American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) (recipient in 1947) Shan Cretin, General Secretary of the AFSC
	Honored for their worldwide efforts for social welfare, humanitarian aid, and the peace movement

Invest in people's spiritual activities

1) What do you feel is the significance of holding the summit in the city of Hiroshima?

The people and city of Hiroshima, the victims of the world's first atomic bombing, play unique, and uniquely important, roles on the world stage. The very word "Hiroshima" communicates the imperative of abolishing these genocidal weapons. The courageous efforts of the Hibakusha; the city's peace community, and city leaders like Mayor Akiba who initiated the Mayors for Peace Vision 2020 campaign have provided the vision, and the inspiration, for people everywhere to work to secure humanity's future through the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Holding the summit in Hiroshima will encourage the Nobel Laureates to issue an urgent call for complete abolition. The site will add resonance to that call as it circles the world.

2) How would you describe the conditions of peace?

Peace is not simply the absence of war. Peace requires the presence of justice and respect for the dignity of each individual and of each of the world's diverse cultures.

While tensions are necessarily a dimension of the human experience worldwide, societies of peace commit to resolve conflicts that arise from tensions nonviolently, by means of respectful dialogue and negotiations.

Peaceful societies do not waste their precious resources maintaining vast militaries. They do not pursue their ambitions by means of military threats. Instead peaceful societies ideally invest their resources in meeting essential human needs on an equitable basis; in creating environmentally sustainable and dynamic economies, and in affirming humans' spiritual dimension in many ways, including support for the arts.

3) What do you think must be done to create a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons and war?

The most essential step to creating a world free of nuclear weapons is for the world's nuclear powers to meet both their diplomatic and moral obligation by fulfilling the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty commitment to negotiate a nuclear weapons abolition convention. This can be done in a manner that ensures abolition within the next decade, as Mayor Akiba has correctly stressed.

We simultaneously need to work within our respective societies ? block by block, city by city, state by state, prefecture by prefecture - to halt the modernization of all nuclear weapons and to sharply cut military spending.

In the United States we have a saying, "When the people lead, the leaders will follow." We all must lead people in our societies by helping them understand that building prosperous, sustainable economies cannot be achieved when our precious and all too limited national and cultural resources are devoted to militarism.

4) What do you think junior high and senior high school students, like us, can do to promote a peaceful world?

There is much that young people can do. First, you can study history thoroughly and bravely. That history for you would include the history of Japan's military aggressions; the current and ongoing U.S.-Japan military alliance, and the presence of foreign military bases in Japan. You can examine how those facts may have undermined the peaceful and prosperous development of Japanese society.

You can invite Hibakusha, others who have worked for peace and foreign guests to your schools and community forums where you and your peers can learn from their experiences and vision.

If possible you can travel to other countries to learn about their societies. You also can create Internet paths to talk with and learn from people in other countries.

You can discuss and discern ways to work for greater equality, justice and mutual respect within Japanese society. You can work to alleviate poverty at home or abroad.

And finally, you can help others in need, be they aging Hibakusha, refugees, or victims of wars and natural disasters.

5) What would you like to focus on at the summit in Hiroshima?

The team from the American Friends Service Committee will focus on the urgent need to completely abolish nuclear weapons by 2020, and simultaneously, make drastic cuts to the world's military expenditures, so that the nations of the world can devote their resources to meeting human needs.

	International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) (recipient in 1985) Vappu Taipale, Co-President of the IPPNW
	Honored for their work in research and education concerning the medical impact of nuclear war

Voices for peace should be raised

1) What do you feel is the significance of holding the summit in the city of Hiroshima?

Hiroshima is the symbol of our constant struggle for peace, therefore it is highly important to see and feel the history of this city. This will strengthen our minds and activities.

2) How would you describe the conditions of peace?

Peace is an active state of living together with rich culture, good communication and vivid cooperation , without conflicts and wars. Today, there are many obstacles in reaching this. The arms trade is a highly profitable business worldwide, the inequalities in health and living standards, poverty and marginalization create conflicts.

3) What do you think must be done to create a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons and war?

The Millennium Goals could be reached, if we only could have our priorities right. The voice of the people of the world hoping for peace should be raised; we have to work together

4) What do you think junior high and senior high school students, like us, can do to promote a peaceful world?

You are a very important generation, you didnﾂｴt create the weapons of mass destruction but inherited them. You can work for peace in many ways, in your own organizations, joining the peace movement of the world, speaking about peace, creating positive opinion among young people etc. Nothing is too little, together we will win.

5) What would you like to focus on at the summit in Hiroshima?

IPPNW would focus on total nuclear disarmament and on Nuclear Weapons Convention

	Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) (recipient in 1999) Nobuko Kurosaki, President of MSF Japan
	Honored for engaging in such activities as emergency medical services in poverty areas and conflict areas

Seek to resolve problems around you

1) What do you feel if the significance of holding the summit in the city of Hiroshima?

In my personal view, I see this as an excellent chance to convey to people that nuclear weapons are a threat to everyone in the world. As I was born in Nagasaki, I have had more opportunities than most to learn about nuclear arms. Nuclear weapons wreak enormous damage to human beings, both physically and mentally, which lasts throughout the lives of the victims.

2) How would you describe the conditions of peace?

It's hard to express "peace" in words. I think it suggests the situation in which human life is respected and each individual can preserve his or her rights and dignity as a human being. It appears simple, but in reality it's very difficult.

3) What do you think must be done to create a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons and war?

No doctor can bring about war or put an end to war. Humanitarian aid is the most nonpolitical of actions, aiming to alleviate some of the pain we see before us. Nations, though, not MSF, must work out concrete and appropriate solutions to their problems.

4) What do you think junior and senior high school students, like us, can do to promote a peaceful world?

MSF has a clear objective in the activities it pursues: we seek to provide support, effect change, and reveal injustice. I would like young people to learn how to resolve their own problems within their teams, classes, schools, families, and communities. It may seem simple, but it can be a difficult task at times. I hope, too, that you will show interest in others, and different cultures, and exchange ideas.

5) What would you like to focus on at the summit in Hiroshima?

In conflict areas where I was dispatched, I performed many operations on people involved in these conflicts, and I hope their lives will never be put in peril again. I would like to convey the straight facts as I have experienced them in situations of providing humanitarian aid.

	Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (recipient in 2007) Rajendra Pachauri, Chair of the IPCC
	Honored for their efforts to compile and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change

Meeting the needs of all

1) What do you feel is the significance of holding the summit in the city of Hiroshima?

I think the significance of holding the Summit in the city of Hiroshima is unique, because this is one of the two cities in the world which have unfortunately suffered from the worst destruction that war can create, namely the use of a nuclear bomb;

2) How would you describe the conditions of peace?

I believe the conditions of peace lie in the essence of Gandhian philosophy. Mahatma Gandhi believed that peace and nonviolence have to go hand in hand with care and protection of the environment, an emphasis on meeting everybody's need and not anybody's greed. He also believed that human society has to be conscious of its overall social responsibilities, particularly those who are privileged owners of capital;

3) What do you think must be done to create a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons and war?

I believe we have to bring about a major change in lifestyles and values, so that greed and avarice give way to concern for others and an emphasis on sustainable development;

4) What do you think junior high and senior high school students, like us, can do to promote a peaceful world?

I think junior high and senior high school students are the best hope for promoting a peaceful world, and the first step to take is to create a culture of growth and development that respects the ecosystems of this planet;

5) What would you like to focus on at the summit in Hiroshima?

What I would like to see the Summit in Hiroshima focus on is Mahatma Gandhi's belief that the world has enough for everybody's needs but not for anybody's greed. He also advised people "Be the change you want to see in the world". I believe those who participate in the Summit must make definite commitments on bringing about change in a substantial and measurable way.

	Desmond Tutu, former South African Anglican Archbishop (recipient in 1984)
	Honored for their efforts to compile and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change

Invest more money in education and health care

1) What do you feel is the significance of holding the summit in the city of Hiroshima?

The world knows what happened to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.It would such a wonderful tribute to those who died there for something positive to come out of that dastardly event and that it should happen in one of the cities that were devastated.

2) How would you describe the conditions of peace?

I'm not sure what you mean by your question. Peace will happen only when the rights of all human beings are recognized and respected;when we realize that we are meant to be one family and stop the obscenity of spending so many billions on instruments of death and destruction knowing full well that a small fraction of those budgets of death would ensure that children everywhere would have clean water to drink,enough food to eat,a decent home to live in,a safe environment to grow in,a decent education and health care system.

3) What do you think must be done to create a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons and war?

A great deal has been done already with the freeze on the development of nuclear warheads.All those with nuclear warheads should destroy them.They are useless for they are no real deterrent and once used will turn our world into an uninhabitable wasteland.

4) What do you think junior high and senior high school students, like us, can do to promote a peaceful world?

You are wonderful people because you are idealistic. You dream that it is possible to have a world where war is no more,where poverty is history,where no one goes to bed hungry,where children do not die needlessly for lack of clean water,etc. Go on dreaming those dreams and pester your parents,the adults to work together with you for such a world.God's best collaborators are young people.

5) What would you like to focus on at the summit in Hiroshima?

Let us move to zero nuclear warheads.