Following the announcement that this year’s Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to the Nihon Hidankyo – the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations – the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has offered its warm congratulations and called on all countries, including the nuclear-armed states and their allies which support the use of nuclear weapons, to heed its call to abolish nuclear weapons.

The Executive Director of ICAN, Melissa Parke said: “This is fantastic news and so well deserved. We congratulate Nihon Hidankyo. It is extremely important that the hibakusha – the survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – have been recognised for their lifelong work to bring the world’s attention to what nuclear weapons actually do to people when they are used. It is particularly significant that this award comes at this time when the risk that nuclear weapons will be used again is as high, if not higher, as it has ever been.”

Ms Parke added: “ICAN is honoured to have been able to work alongside Nihon Hidankyo and the hibakusha to push for the total elimination of nuclear weapons. Their testimonies and tireless campaigning have been crucial to progress on nuclear disarmament in general and the adoption and entry into force of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in particular. We call on the nuclear-armed states and their allies which support the use of nuclear weapons, including of course Japan, to heed their call to abolish these inhumane weapons to make sure what they have been through never happens again.”

Next year will mark the 80th anniversary of the creation of the atomic bomb and the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed over 215,000 people and harmed countless more. Almost all the hibakusha alive today were children at the time of the bombings and their average age is almost 86, so this is the time for the countries yet to join the TPNW to show the hibakusha their efforts have been successful by rejecting nuclear weapons and joining the treaty.

ICAN was awarded the Peace Prize itself in 2017 for its work in advocating for the adoption of the TPNW and continues its work through its more than 650 partners organisations in 110 countries.

This post was originally published on Common Dreams.