Nobel laureates call for pact to abolish nuclear arms

Monday, Nov. 15, 2010

the japan times online

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HIROSHIMA (Kyodo) Nobel Peace Prize laureates on Sunday called on countries around the world to discuss the creation of a "universal treaty" aimed at realizing a world without nuclear weapons.

The past peace prize winners made the call in a declaration they announced at the end of their three-day summit in Hiroshima, which was devastated by the U.S. atomic bombing in 1945, as part of efforts to abolish nuclear weapons.

Although there was speculation that the laureates may assert their view on human rights issues as this year's Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo remains imprisoned in China, the matter was not included in their declaration.

"We call on nations to start work on a universal treaty to abolish nuclear weapons, in partnership with civil society," the declaration said, while praising atomic bombing survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki who have "dedicated their lives to teaching the rest of the world about the horrors of nuclear war."

The laureates emphasized that justifying the acquisition and possession of nuclear weapons using such reasons as nuclear deterrence as an argument is "totally outdated and must be rejected."

They also urged countries, including the United States, China and Iran, to ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty so that the international pact, which has been ratified by 153 nations so far, can enter into force.

On the reason for not mentioning human rights issues in the declaration, former South African President Frederik Willem de Klerk, a co-winner of the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize, told a joint press conference with fellow participants that the laureates wanted to focus on the main theme of nuclear arms abolition.

At the same news conference held after the summit, exiled Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama, recipient of the peace prize in 1989, said the awarding of the peace prize to Chinese dissident Liu encourages intellectuals in China who seek openness and freedom.

On the release Saturday of Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest, the laureates said her activities for building peace will never be forgotten. Suu Kyi won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991.

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