The Time Has Come (for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons)

Hiroshima Peace Ambassador Setsuko Thurlow visited Europe in December 2014 to continue her inspiring activism regarding nuclear weapons. In this short clip, she helps open the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, gives her testimony to students and reacts to the Austrian Pledge to cooperate with all stakeholders to “fill the legal gap for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons.”

To watch this powerful video, click here. 

Please share this video far and wide! An action page regarding the Austrian Pledge can be found here: http://goodbyenuk.es/take-action

This August will mark the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Today, we therefore want you to meet Setsuko Thurlow, a survivor of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima. 

Through her courageous testimony at the Vienna conference, she recounted the horrors in the aftermath of nuclear detonation, and demonstrated the need for a nuclear weapons ban. Watch this short film about Setsuko to learn more about her experience of the horrific consequences of a nuclear weapons attack. 

The Austrian Pledge represents a decisive step towards that goal for Setsuko, and many other nuclear detonation survivors, who have worked tirelessly to prevent future victims of nuclear weapons. It has given us hope that we can ban nuclear weapons, and that we can do this in the lifetime of Setsuko and many other survivors of the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. 

Our campaign is gaining more and more momentum every day that passes. Civil society, international organisations, and governments are starting to realise that a ban on nuclear weapons isn't a distant dream. It can happen now. 

The next stop for our campaign is the 2015 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Over four weeks, 190 states will gather in New York to discuss nuclear weapons, and ICAN will be there to campaign and demand a ban on nuclear weapons. 

The NPT Review Conference is an important opportunity for states to commit to "fill the legal gap for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons"  and start working for a ban on nuclear weapons. After years of stalled progress, we believe that many governments in New York will rise to the challenge and demand the start of negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons. You can follow our work through Facebook or Twitter.

But we also need to let governments know that all over the world, people are watching and listening, and expecting them to ensure that there are no more victims of nuclear weapons. You can help by emailing your foreign minister and demand a ban on nuclear weapons in Setsukos lifetime.