Addis Ababa, October 11, 2024 (FBC) – The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots Japanese organization of atomic bomb survivors for its efforts “to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.”
Nobel Committee Chair Berit Reiss-Andersen praised the “extraordinary efforts” of the group whose campaign has “contributed greatly to the establishment of the nuclear taboo”, as quoted by BBC.
The committee awarding the prize said: “This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is receiving the 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.”
The organization, also known as Hibakusha, was formed by survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
“One day, the atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki will no longer be among us as witnesses to history,” the committee said, announcing its decision in Oslo on Friday.
“But with a strong culture of remembrance and continued commitment, new generations in Japan are carrying forward the experience and the message of the witnesses,” it said.
It lauded Nihon Hidankyo for helping to maintain the nuclear taboo, which it said was “a precondition of a peaceful future for humanity.”
The committee said its decision highlighted an encouraging fact that no nuclear weapon has been used in war in nearly 80 years.
However, it conceded that this year’s prize has been awarded when “this taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under pressure.”
Announcing the prize, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the committee, said: “the stories and testimonies of the Hibakusha is an important reminder of how unacceptable is the use of nuclear weapons.”