Geneva, Switzerland -- On behalf of its more than 5000 city-members, Mayors for Peace welcomes the Red Cross declaration “never again”. Regarding the resolution adopted today by the Council of Delegates of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, Aaron Tovish, International Director of the 2020 Vision Campaign of Mayors for Peace said: “The resolution is crystal clear that it is the responsibility of all states to ensure that there are no more Hiroshimas or Nagasakis.”
Today, the Council of Delegates also appealed for negotiations on the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, calling on the Movement to engage in “continuous dialogue with governments and other relevant actors” to that end. The 2020 Vision of Mayors for Peace also calls for such negotiations, and Mr. Tovish pledged that, “In 150 countries around the world, Mayors for Peace stands ready to take part in this vital dialogue.”
He continued, “Mayors for Peace is a nonpartisan force for a safer world without nuclear weapons. We take heart when the nonpartisan character of this issue is underscored by an organization of the stature of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.”
A delegation of Mayors for Peace, led by the Mayor of Hiroshima, Mr. Kazumi Matsui, met with the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Dr. Jakob Kellenberger, earlier this month. On that occasion, the Mayor of Hiroshima offered to work with the Japanese Red Cross to create opportunities for Red Cross workers to learn first-hand about the realities of the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima.
Mayors for Peace, through its 2020 Vision Campaign, is working internationally for the global elimination of nuclear weapons by 2020. On September 21, 2011, the United Nations International Day of Peace, the organization announced that its membership had surpassed 5,000 cities in 151 countries and regions. Mayors for Peace enjoys the strong support of U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who in Hiroshima on August 6, 2010 declared the Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision to be a “perfect vision.”
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The 31st International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent
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