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The tragic anniversary of the bombing of Nagasaki is an opportunity to examine the current state of nuclear weapons. Despite a recent treaty adopted in 2017, it is clear that the threat of the use of these weapons remains an omnipresent danger and that much remains to be done for their elimination.

World Forum

A dark period for the history of humanity

74 years ago, August 6, 1945, the United States launched for the first time an atomic bomb nicknamed "Little Boy" on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. The explosion killed 140,000 people. Three days later, on August 9, the city of Nagasaki was destroyed by "Fat Man", another American bomb that killed 80,000 people.

In the face of the horror of various uses of nuclear technology, many bilateral agreements, treaties and conventions have been signed. Some areas have been denuclearized, voluntary waivers of nuclear weapons programs have taken place, and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was established in 1957.

UN calls for definitive cessation of nuclear weapons

Despite efforts to limit nuclear proliferation, UN Secretary-General António Guterres recalls that today "there are nearly 14,000 nuclear warheads, some of which are in a state of alert. Much more needs to be done to reduce and ultimately eliminate this risk. "

Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation are among the foundations of the United Nations and were the subject of the first resolution of the General Assembly in 1946. Indeed, the goal of the United Nations is to maintain peace and security, to settle international disputes peacefully and to develop cooperation between peoples.

Nevertheless, António Guterres notes that "today, unfortunately, we are witnessing a deterioration of the international security environment. Tensions between nuclear-weapon States are increasing. The institutions responsible for disarmament and arms control [...] are called into question". Determined to reduce this risk to humanity as a whole, he calls on world leaders to continue and intensify their efforts to build a nuclear-weapon-free world. He also emphasizes that "the only guarantee against the use of nuclear weapons is the total elimination of them".

The Normandy Region is also seizing this subject

 

Présentation du Manifeste Normandie au ministre Jean Yve Le Drian par Hervé Morin et le Prix Nobel de la Paix ElBaradei

 

The fight against nuclear proliferation is a subject at the heart of the action of the Normandy World Peace Forum. The debates proposed on 4 and 5 June 2019 have enabled people like Mohammed ElBaradei, Nobel Peace Prize 2005 and former Director General of the IAEA to offer a look at issues related to disarmament and to discuss with the public, especially on the situation in North Korea.

The Normandy Region, in partnership with Strategic Foresight Group, brought together in Normandy 4 Nobel Peace Prize and organized the signing of the Normandy Manifesto for Peace in Caen. During the World Forum, the President of the Region, Hervé Morin also signed the Manifesto and presented it to Jean Yves le Drian, Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs. This Manifesto publicly calls for an awareness of the need for sustainable peace and disarmament.

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