Hibakusha International Signature Campaign In April 2016, the hibakusha of Hiroshima and Nagasaki launched an international campaign appealing for the elimination of nuclear weapons. On May 1, 2019, 9,415,024 signatures were submitted to Ambassador Syed Mohamad Hasrin, the chair of the third Preparatory Committee of the 2020 NPT Review Conference. Signature drive at Shibuya Station, Tokyo, April 27, 2016. Photograph courtesy of Nihon Hidankyo. Mitsuhiro Hayashida, in his twenties, contributes as the signature campaign leader. Photograph courtesy of Nihon Hidankyo. Presentation of the 9,415,024 signatures, May 1, 2019 at the third PrepCom of the 2020 NPT Review Conference. From left to right: Izumi Nakamitsu, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Ambassador Syed, Sueich Kido (survivor from Nagasaki) and Jiro Hamasumi (survivor from Hiroshima). Photograph by Erico Platt. Street campaign for signatures. Photograph courtesy of Nihon Hidankyo. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons At the United Nations in May 2015, the NPT Review Conference failed to produce a final outcome document. However, a humanitarian disarmament movement led to several conferences sponsored by the States. This process was further supported by a General Assembly resolution and a working group devoted to this topic. These extensive discussions culminated in 2017 with the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted with the approval of 122 nations. The treaty entered into force on January 22, 2021. Hibakusha representatives present the collected signatures to the President of the United Nations Conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading toward their total elimination. June 2017. Photographs courtesy of Nihon Hidankyo. Ms. Setsuko Thurlow (atomic-bombed at the age of 13) and Mr. Toshiki Fujimori (atomic- bombed at the age of 1) delighted at the adoption of the Treaty. Photographs courtesy of Nihon Hidankyo.
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