Press Conference by mayors for peace on nuclear disarmament

Despite their limited powers, mayors could still do their part to promote nuclear disarmament, Tadatoshi Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima and President of Mayors for Peace, said at a Headquarters press conference this afternoon.

Joined by Mayor Iccho Itoh of Nagasaki, the group’s vice-president, Mayor Bob Harvey of Waitakere, New Zealand, and Deputy Mayor Jenny Jones of London, he reminded correspondents that Hiroshima had suffered a nuclear attack in 1945.  Since then, the city’s residents had been warning that the world should never again have to experience such a catastrophe.

The international community had to take stronger action against nuclear weapons, he said.  That was why Mayors for Peace had adopted an emergency campaign to ban such arms.  That campaign included building publicity through participation in the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2005 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference.  It also entailed mobilizing public opinion, which would, in turn, motivate governments to adopt a road map for the abolition of all nuclear weapons by 2020.  The campaign also aimed to promote the drafting of a universal nuclear weapons convention by 2010.

He said he was encouraged by rising public opinion against nuclear weapons and welcomed the support and advice he had received from the Governments of Canada, the Russian Federation and China.  It was important to involve mayors from non-NPT countries in Mayors for Peace, he said, adding that during a visit to India and Pakistan, he had gained the support of the Deputy Mayor of Tel Aviv.  Because mayors were physically close to their constituents, they were in a position to work in a more hands-on fashion than national governments.

Asked how mayors could respond to terrorist organizations, Mr. Akiba acknowledged that mayors had limited capabilities and could not solve the world’s problems.  However, they could focus on the quest to rid the world of nuclear weapons, a goal that some people felt was too lofty for city officials.  Thus far, Mayors for Peace had allowed mayors from such varied cities as Kabul, Baghdad and Dublin to share experiences and learn from each other.

Mr. Harvey added that, whereas politicians had to be guarded, mayors could actually talk to people and get things done.  They had to be fearless in that regard.

Ms. Jones said London was currently spending a lot of money to find out about nuclear threats from terrorists.

Asked how many members Mayors for Peace had, Mr. Akiba said 582 cities from 108 countries and regions were represented.  The body, established in 1982, was affiliated with the United Nations as a non-governmental organization.

Responding to a question about changing attitudes towards nuclear weapons since 1982, Mr. Akiba said that, during the 1980s, it was difficult to get Hiroshima survivors’ voices heard in the United States media because opinion in the United States at that time held that the dropping of atomic bombs on Japan had been justified because that country had been a military aggressor.  Now, however, American viewpoints had grown more sympathetic to human suffering.

Questioned about the organization’s response to biological and chemical weapons, Mr. Akiba warned against making the scope of Mayors for Peace too big.  After all, mayors were not gods and the organization’s current focus would have to remain on nuclear weapons for now.

Ms. Jones added that the question of nuclear weapons was not just a moral issue, but a practical one, as well.  For example, it entailed ensuring that city hospitals were equipped to deal with nuclear disasters.  Mayors were in a better position to address pressing everyday needs, unlike government ministers, for example, who tended to become isolated from local phenomena.

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