APLN Chair's Statement on the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo)
APLN Chair’s Statement on the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo)
The Asia-Pacific Leadership Network (APLN) extends its most heartfelt congratulations to members of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo), on being awarded the prestigious 2024 Nobel Peace Prize “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.”
APLN salutes the extraordinary leadership of the Hibakusha in fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons. Since 1956, Nihon Hidankyo has brought stories of the Hibakusha to the world and has fought for the social and economic rights of all Hibakusha. Their testimonies have more resonance today than ever before, reminding the world of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons.
The long road to nuclear disarmament requires serious and sustained commitment. We hope that the recognition of the efforts of organisations like the Nihon Hidankyo, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, and the International Atomic Energy Agency by the Norwegian Nobel Committee will shine greater light on the necessity of this work.
The Asia-Pacific Leadership Network will continue to strive to achieve a world in which nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction are contained, diminished, and eventually eliminated.
Dr. Marty Natalegawa
Chair of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network and former Foreign Minister of Indonesia.
Image: Illustration by Niklas Elmehed © Nobel Prize Outreach