Remarks by the President of the
蘑菇视频 General Assembly,
Mr. Philemon Yang
Press Stakeout
Peace Memorial Park
Hiroshima, Japan
?Monday, 3 Feburary, 2025
?
[As Prepared]
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I thank you, the citizens of Hiroshima, for the warm welcome to your beautiful city and for the gracious hospitality extended to myself and my delegation.
I am grateful to have this opportunity to visit Japan, especially the historic city of Hiroshima, and especially this year, as we mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War and the establishment of the United Nations.
Today, I had the honour of visiting the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum.
I come away with a deeper understanding of the untold human tragedy caused by the use of nuclear weapons.
One cannot help but be moved by the devastation that was wrought upon humanity.
Nor can we, as the international community today, stand idly by as nuclear budgets and stockpiles continue to grow, and threats to use nuclear weapons become increasingly normalized.
As citizens of the world, we have a collective responsibility to work for peace.
To safeguard our fellow human beings and to protect our planet.
The Pact for the Future, adopted last September, recommits us to the goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons.
Until these weapons are totally eliminated on the face of the Earth, I call on nuclear-weapon States to resume dialogue with each other and to fully commit to implementing effective measures to prevent any use of a nuclear weapons.
I also appeal to these States to commit to credible no first use of nuclear weapons.
With the ever-increasing sophistication in the nuclear weaponry, today, there is no scenario in which the use of nuclear weapons does not end in catastrophe for us all.
We must channel our financial, scientific, and political resources away from weapons of death and redirect them towards peace, development and prosperity.
As the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings, Japan has led the global discussion on disarmament and non-proliferation, including in the General Assembly.
I look forward to enhancing the strong cooperation between Japan and the United Nations in this area.
I also honor the immeasurable contributions of atomic bomb survivors and that of the organization Nihon Hidankyo, the recipient of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize. The voices of the hibakusha are the heart and soul of the global nuclear disarmament movement, and it is our duty to ensure their legacy lives on, relentlessly pursuing a world free from the threat of nuclear weapons.
After my visit to the Museum today, I see that Japan has achieved rapid development since the end of the war. And that Hiroshima has become a vibrant regional hub.
I commend Japan and the Japanese people for the success they have achieved and for their inspiring efforts to build a world that is safer, more equal, and prosperous for all.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
In my first days as President of the General Assembly, I participated in the annual Peace Bell Ceremony at United Nations Headquarters – an annual tradition to commemorate the International Day of Peace.
As you may know, the Bell was presented as a gift from Japan to the United Nations in 1954.
It is inscribed with the words, and I quote: “Long live absolute world peace.”? A reminder of what we can do when we work together in common cause.
I look forward to working with Japan’s Government and civil society to tackle the challenges ahead, and to realise our shared “deepest wish” to achieve the total elimination of nuclear weapons, once and for all.
Arigatō Gozaimasu.
?
[I thank you.]
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Media Contacts
Sharon Birch,?Spokesperson for?the President of the General?Assembly,?Tel: +1 212 963 0564, M: +1 646 342 5873, Email: birchs@un.org
Dr. Mariam Shaikh, Adviser/ Social and Digital Media/Media Relations, M: +1 917 3614990, Email: mariam.shaikh@un.org