In the month of April 2013 the 2020 Vision Campaign received donations from 4 cities of 4 countries, amounting to a total of € 4,383.65. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our member cities for their continuing generosity in supporting our efforts to realize a nuclear-weapon-free world by 2020.

Significant donations were made by our member cities in Belgium, Germany, Canada and USA.

We hope that this positive trend continues for the rest of 2013.

» Read more about it» List of contributing cities April 2013

"I believe in the importance of making this issue as broad as possible politically, in order to gather support from all parties from left to right"

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The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has polarised opinion for nearly 70 years . . .

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At the close of its 80th annual meeting in Orlando Florida, on June 16, 2012, the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) unanimously adopted a strong, comprehensive, new Mayors for Peace resolution Calling for U.S. Leadership in Global Elimination of Nuclear Weapons and Redirection of Nuclear Weapons Spending to Meet the Urgent Needs of Cities.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the national association of cities with populations over 30,000. Resolutions adopted at its annual meetings become official USCM policy.

Click on "read more" to access the full story, including a list of the sponsoring mayors and a link to the text of the resolution.

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Rio de Janeiro, June 21st, 2012 – Mayors for Peace and ICLEI joined their voices calling for leaders at Rio+20 to redirect 10% military spending to fund social & environmental needs, supporting the international Appeal for “Disarmament for Development”. In front of the `Rio+20 Global Town Hall´ hosted by the State Government of Rio de Janeiro, and across the street from the official Rio+20 Summit, local authorities signed the Appeal in front of a life-sized Tank covered with Bread.

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Rio de Janeiro, June 19th, 2012 – A life-sized Tank covered with Bread at the favela Santa Marta, in the city of Rio, calls attention for governments meeting at the United Nations Conference for Sustainable Development – Rio+20 to redirect 10% of the global annually military expenditures to fight hunger, eradicate extreme poverty, provide better education and healthcare, and to fund urgent environmental programs.

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Belo Horizonte (Brazil), May 17, 2012 – Today the World Mayors Council and the ICLEI World Congress have approved unanimously the Rio+20 Appeal on Disarmament for Sustainable Development. Both global networks of local governments add their voice to Mayors for Peace, calling leaders at the Rio+20 World Summit to set new priorities by redirecting military expenditures towards social and environmental priorities.

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Hiroshima, June 7th 2012 – Two weeks before the start of the Rio+20 Summit Mr. Kazumi Matsui, Mayor of Hiroshima and President of Mayors for Peace has added his signature to the Rio+20 Appeal calling on governments to cut military spending in favor of sustainable development.  Mayors for Peace counts 5,276 member cities in 153 countries and regions, and is the world`s largest network of local governments protecting cities from the scourge of war and mass destruction.

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The Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign welcomes the new IPPNW/PSR study released on April 24th offering compelling scientific evidence that most of the nuclear arsenals in the world —whether large or small—threaten everyone on Earth. The study shows that even a limited nuclear war involving less than half a percent of the world's nuclear arsenals would cause climate disruption that could cause a global famine. The study was presented at the annual Nobel Peace Laureates Summit in Chicago. IPPNW (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985.

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The 2020 Vision Campaign received donations from 40 cities of 4 countries, coming to a total of € 24 470,07 during the month of May. We would like to extend our gratitude to our member cities for their continuing generosity in supporting our efforts to realize a nuclear-weapon-free world by 2020.

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Hiroshima, June 1st 2012 - Mayors for Peace announced that 39 new members officially joined the network during the month of May, bringing membership close to 5,300 members. Today the main international network of local governments protecting cities from mass destruction and war officially counts 5,276 cities in 153 countries and regions.

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The 2020 Vision Campaign received donations from 13 cities of 4 countries, coming to a total of € 4830,37 during the month of April. We would like to extend our gratitude to our member cities for their continuing generosity in supporting our efforts to realize a nuclear-weapon-free world by 2020.

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The 2020 Vision Campaign received donations from 12 cities of 5 countries, coming to a total of €5.339,63 during the month of March.

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A European delegation of Mayors for Peace received a warm reception in Kazakhstan, opened a new Mayors for Peace office in Semey, and developed plans for activities at the East Kazakhstan Region level and nationally.   The delegation of leading Mayors of the 2020 Vision Campaign and members of its Board of Directors spent four days meeting with city, province, and state officials.

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Santiago de Chile, March 22nd 2012 - Mayors for Peace entered an agreement of co-operation with the Community of South American Associations of Municipalities (COSUDAM) during a panel on "The future of Latin American Municipalism''. 

The declaration calls UNASUR, the Union of South American Nations, to give priority to the “Special Communiqué on the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons” of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). The declaration was co-signed and received the support of the representative of the Secretary General of UNASUR.

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Vitacura (Chile), March 21st 2012 - The Association of Chilean Municipalities (ACHM) and Mayors for Peace entered an agreement of cooperation during a signing ceremony near the Chilean capital Santiago.

The agreement of cooperation with the ACHM is significant as Chile coordinates the position of the 116 member states of Nuclear Weapon Free Zones during the upcoming NPT PrepCom in Vienna. Chile is also holding the Presidency of the new Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) till January 2013.

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Santiago de Chile, March 20th 2012 - The Executive Bureau of the Federation of Latin American and Caribbean Cities, Municipalities and Local government associations (FLACMA) approved with unanimity a Mayors for Peace motion calling for the Latin American and Caribbean to give ''high priority and assign resources to involve local governments and civil society with the intention to 'convene a High Level conference to discuss and identify the ways and methods to eliminate nuclear weapons as soon as possible.” 

The FLACMA Executive Bureau members also demands ''our governments to recognize at the RIO+20 Conference that disarmament is a  condition towards development; and to coordinate a global plan for disarmament with the goal of achieving the commitments of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs); and the necessary funding to satisfy the urgent needs of the local governments and its citizens''.

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Brussels (Belgium), March 1, 2012 - Mr. Michel Cibot, a member of the Board of Directors of Mayors for Peace from the city of Malakoff, represented Mayors for Peace at a conference of the Association Internationales des Maires Francophones (AIMF – InternationalAssociation of Francophone Mayors).

Mr. Cibot was accompanied by representatives from the International Secretariat in Ypres. Mayors for Peace received an invitation thanks to the Mayor of Montreal, Mr.Gérald Tremblay, who is both vice-president of AIMF and an executive member of Mayors for Peace. Mr. Cibot spoke on behalf of the organisation, setting out its work and objectives and inviting new mayors to join.

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Boca del Rio, March 1st, 2012 - Mayors for Peace was presented in a video message to over 2000 Mayors and City Officials at the Annual Conference of FENAMM (National Federation of Municipalities of Mexico) at Boca del Rio, Mexico. The Conference, jointly organized by FENAMM and the Government of the State of Veracruz from March 1-3, 2012, is considered as the main gathering of local authorities in Mexico.

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On the occasion of SHAPE’2012 in Brussels, organized by the SCK (Study Center for Nuclear Energy in Mol, Belgium) the president of Mayors for Peace Belgium, Ingrid Pira, and the Managing Director of the International Secretariat in Ieper, Matthias Breyne went to the Opening Ceremony of the Conference.

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During the month of February, the 2020 Vision Campaign received a total of €1.392,74, donated by five cities in four different countries.

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Mexico City, February 15th 2012 - Mayors for Peace was invited to the Seminar marking the 45th anniversary of the Treaty of Tlatalolco. Participants from more than 30 countries assembled to learn about the history of the Treaty of Tlatelolco and debated about the future role of the Nuclear Weapon Free Zones (NWFZ) to achieve complete nuclear disarmament. The Seminar was organized by OPANAL, the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, based in Mexico City.

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Washington, DC (USA), January 18-20, 2012 - Mayors for Peace North American Coordinator Jackie Cabasso represented Mayors for Peace at the January 18 – 20 annual winter meeting of the United States Conference of Mayors (USCM) in Washington, DC, where she made a presentation to the International Affairs Committee, had informal conversations with Mayors for Peace members, and invited new mayors to join.  The USCM is the non-partisan national association of cities with populations over 30,000.  At the top of its agenda is the urgent financial crisis facing U.S. cities as a result of deep cuts in federal funding. Nearly one-third of the 248 mayors who pre-registered for the USCM winter meeting – 78 mayors from 31 states and Puerto Rico – are members of Mayors for Peace!

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The 2020 Vision Campaign received donations from 16 cities of 9 countries, coming to a total of € 10997,96 during the month of January. We would like to extend our gratitude to our member cities for their continuing generosity in supporting our efforts to realize a nuclear-weapon-free world by 2020.

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Three-quarters of all nations support UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s proposal for a treaty to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons, according to a study released today by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Of the 146 nations to have declared their willingness to negotiate a new global disarmament pact, four maintain nuclear stockpiles: China, India, Pakistan and North Korea.

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It has been an objective of Mayors for Peace from the days of its founding to see nuclear weapon testing prohibited. On December 8th, the world took a step closer to that goal when the Indonesian Parliament ratified the Comprehensive (nuclear) Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

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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.”

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Granollers (Spain), November 10th 2011 - Sixteen delegations of Mayors for Peace leading cities and associations of local governments met for three days in the Spanish city of Granollers. The summit meetings included the annual General Meeting of the 2020 Vision Campaign, the Board of Directors and the bi-annual Executive Conference of Mayors for Peace.

The final Resolution of the summit reaffirmed the goal of Mayors for Peace to protect cities from the threat of nuclear mass destruction and approved an action plan to eliminate all nuclear weapons by 2020. Great concern was expressed that, in a time of global economic crisis, Nuclear Weapons States plan to spend 1 trillion US$ on nuclear weapons in the next decade, while local governments are forced to make deep cuts in vital services with the Millennium Development Goals falling farther and farther behind.

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Foz de Iguacu, October 18th 2011 - The Brazilian National Front of Mayors (FNP) officially joined the leadership of Mayors for Peace during their General Meeting in Foz de Iguacu (Parana). João Coser, the Mayor of Vitoria (ES) and President of FNP co-signed on Op-ed in Folha de Sao Paulo asking President Dilma to take leadership to organize the Special Disarmament Conference as proposed by Mayors for Peace.

The Op-ed, the main article on page 3,  announced publicly that ''believing in the importance of their involvement in global issues, the FNP will officially become part of the leadership of Mayors for Peace during the meeting that begins today [October 17th] in Foz de Iguacu. Let us all endorse the words of President Rousseff to "redouble our efforts towards general and complete nuclear disarmament under strict and effective international control", and reminding the international community that cities can no longer be considered targets.''.

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Bern (Switzerland), October 16th 2011 - Mayor Guy Morin of Basel, Switzerland, a Leading Mayor of the 2020 Vision Campaign gave a keynote speech at a conference organized by Parliamentarians for Nuclear nonproliferation and Disarmament (PNND).  Campaign Director, Aaron Tovish, attend the PNND Annual Assembly to discussion future cooperation in the context of the 2020 Vision Campaign.  The meetings took place in Bern, Switzerland, in conjunction with the International Parliamentary Union’s annual conference.  Like Mayors for Peace and United Cities and Local Governments, thanks to PNND the IPU has endorsed the UN Secretary-General’s Five Point Plan, including negotiations of a nuclear weapons convention.

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Mayors for Peace has welcomed Mayor Kang as a new member of Mayors for Peace.  Mayor Kang is still in jail for his non-violent civil disobedience against the construction of a new huge naval base. Mayors can now express their support here by sending this statement.  Thank you for taking action!

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Astana (Kazakhstan), 10^th-14^th October 2011 - A delegation from Mayors for Peace leadership - Nagasaki and Ypres- joined the International Forum for a Nuclear Weapons-Free World in Astana. A warm welcome and four days of very interesting meetings, discussions and visits were on the agenda.

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On October 9, past Mayors for Peace President and former Hiroshima Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba received the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation’s Distinguished Peace Leadership Award in Santa Barbara, California. Shigeko Sasamori, a survivor of the U.S. atomic bombing of Hiroshima received the World Citizenship Award on behalf of all Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb survivors (hibakusha). The awards were presented during the Foundation’s 28^th Annual Evening for Peace, “From Hiroshima to Hope.”

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Buenos Aires, September 21st 2011 - Mayors for Peace signed an agreement of cooperation with IC-Argentina at the end of the Latin American Security Conference in the Argentinian capital. IC-Argentina, the operational organizer of many conferences for local governments in the region, is a private consulting firm working with local governments throughout Latin America.

In the agreement signed today Mayors for Peace recognizes the valuable contribution of IC-Argentina during the Week of Latin American Municipalities in Buenos Aires and Mar del Plata in October 2010. Mayors for Peace is very thankful for the support offered by IC-Argentina towards the 66th Hiroshima commemoration on August 6th 2011.

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Participating in events marking the UN’s International Day of Peace, Mayors, 2020 Vision Campaigners, and staff spread the good news that the Mayors for Peace network has surpassed the 5000-members mark. 

Word was first released in Hiroshima by the President of Mayors for Peace, Mayor Kazumi Matsui, “"We hope that international moves to seek to eliminate nuclear weapons will gain further momentum.  We will make efforts to draw more cities to speedily achieve a treaty to ban nuclear weapons." 

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Buenos Aires, September 21st 2011 - Julio Pereyra, Mayor of Florencio Varela & President of FAM (Federation of Argentinian Municipalities) has joined the leadership of Mayors for Peace. FAM is instrumental to increase our presence and activities in Argentina.

Mayors for Peace participated the past couple of days in a Latin American conference organized by FAM and FLACMA on citizens security issues in Buenos Aires. During the conference 8 Mayors joined Mayors for Peace.

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Montes de Oro, Costa Rica, September 17 2011 - An excellent meeting to develop Mayors for Peace in Costa Rica was held today with Mr. Alvaro Jimenez Cruz, Mayor of Montes de Oro & President of the Association of Mayors of Costa Rica .

The meeting was convened in Montes de Oro by Dr.Edine von Herold, ex-Senator of Costa Rica and pediatrician. We were joined by Carlos Manuel Vicente Castro, Ex-Member of Parliament and ex-Minister of Costa Rica, Naara Keyla Reyes Nunez, volunteer MfP Costa Rica and Enrique Tovar, journalist and writer.

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Managua, Nicaragua, September 16th 2011 - Today an extraordinary general assembly of AMUNIC, the Nicaragua Association of Local Governments, adopted a declaration in support of the 2020 Vision Campaign of Mayors for Peace. Nicaragua is the only country in the world where 100% of all 153 Nicaraguan  Mayors have joined Mayors for Peace.

The General meeting of the Nicaraguan Mayors has decided to promote actively Mayors for Peace through the partner Associations of Local Governments in  Central America and through FLACMA, the Federation of local governments for Latin America and the Caribbean.. AMUNIC also decided to establish Mayors for Peace through a national and possible also regional office of MfP in Managua.

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Mexico City, September 13^th 2011 – The past couple of days new developments were discussed to establish Mayor for Peace in Mexico. Meetings involving the international relations department of the City of Mexico, AALMAC (Association of Local Authorities of Mexico), OPANAL, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Mexican ICLEI branch office.

During the meetings it was recognized that Mexico City the first Executive City of Mayors for Peace in Latin America, is challenged to promote the 2020 Vision Campaign as the nuclear threat is perceived very distant in the Global South. This while Mexico and the Global South in general, encounters many other security challenges such as poverty, the proliferation of small arms and narco traffic.

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Ypres, September 7th 2011 - We are very happy to announce that the Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign Association has appointed Mr. Benedict Winnubst as and Mr. Bert Sweerts as 2020 Vision Campaigners in the Netherlands, Ms Micaela Mezzadra as a 2020 Vision Campaigner in Argentina and Ms Bibiana Ángel González as a 2020 Vision Campaigner in Colombia and Argentina.

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Hiroshima, September 1st 2011 - Mayors for Peace announced today that 108 new members officially joined the network during August raising the total membership to 5,000 member cities. However municipal mergers deduced 16 members, resulting in a net count of 4,984. 

Amongst the new members we welcome Bangkok. With the capital of Thailand Mayors for Peace now has 106 of the world capitals amongst its members. The network also welcomes Mr. Kang Dong-Kyun, the Mayor of Gangjeong, South-Korea in its network. Mayor Kang signed the Mayors for Peace membership registration-form while in prison. He has been imprisoned for leading non-violent resistance to the construction of a naval base near his town on Jeju Island.

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BREAKING NEWS - being updated

Jeju Island (South Korea), August 28th 2011 - Today Mr. Kang Dong-Kyun, Mayor of Gangjeong, signed the Mayors for Peace membership registration-form while in police custody. Mayor Kang joined Mayors for Peace during a visit of the village committee chairman Mr. Go Gwon-Il.

Mayor Kang has been on the forefront of non-violent protests against plans to establish a new naval base in his village. Mayor Kang was arrested on August 24th. On Monday Mayor Kang is to be transferred to Jeju prison. Jeju Island means Peace Island. The new member of Mayors for Peace appeals to international solidarity: ''I want to embody the spirit of Jeju as the Peace Island during the struggle''. If not a mayor, Mr Kang is a farmer who groves tangerines. You can send messages of support to Jeju Prison.

Mayor Kang Dong-Kyun (No. 621)
Jeju Prison, 161 Ora-2dong, Jeju City, Jeju Special Island, 690-162, South Kor

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Hiroshima & Nagasaki, August 9th 2011 - This year both the Hiroshima and the Nagasaki Peace Declarations mark a shift in the position of the two A-bombed cities towards nuclear energy. The policy shift comes in the middle of the Fukushima nuclear crisis that continues to haunt Japan and the world.

Both Mayor Matsui and Mayor Taue renewed their call to work towards establishing a world free of nuclear weapons by 2020. Government representatives from 68 countries attended the Hiroshima peace ceremony. This year a U.S. representative attended the Nagasaki peace ceremony for the first time. The U.S. bomb ''Little Boy'' killed 140,000 people in 1945 alone in Hiroshima. Three days later ''Fat Man'' killed 80,000 people in Nagasaki.

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Lima, Peru, August 6th 2011 - Over one hundred people marched through streets of La Victoria to commemorate the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. La Victoria joined Mayors for Peace last month. 

The City Hall of La Victoria hosted the event called “A Thousand Cranes for Peace” organized by the Women Network of Local Authorities of the Lima and Callao region (MUALIC) together with Mayors for Peace.

The movement was led by the Mayor of La Victoria, Mr. Alberto Sánchez Aizcorbe, who launched white balloons to the sky as an expression of peace from Peru to the world.

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Tokyo, August 4 2011 - Nagasaki Mayor Taue, Vice-President of Mayors for Peace, met with Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto today where he promoted  a nuclear weapon-free zone covering Japan and the two Koreas.

Nagasaki Mayor calls on the Japanese government to work toward the creation of a nuclear weapon-free zone in the Northeast Asian region. Mayor Taue submitted signatures of 103 Japanese municipality heads in support of this proposal to the Foreign Ministry in Tokyo. The request was also signed by the Mayor Kazumi Matsui of Hiroshima.

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Hiroshima, August 1st 2011 - As Mayors for Peace announced that 89 new members officially joined the network during July, many new registration-forms continued to reach the Hiroshima headquarters bringing the organization close to its 5,000 goal.

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Washington DC, 29th of July 2011 - The U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) has for the first time sent a recruitment letter on behalf of Mayors for Peace to its full membership of nearly 1,200 mayors of cities with populations over 30,000. 

The letter,  mailed by Tom Cochran, USCM CEO and Executive Director, was signed by Mayor Donald Plusquellic of Akron Ohio, a Mayors for Peace Vice-President and USCM Past President, Mayor Jean Quan of Oakland California, new Chair of the USCM International Affairs Committee, and 13 additional Mayors for Peace members from across the country.  

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On August 6^th Belgian Mayors for Peace member cities join efforts with Abolition 2000 to commemorate the Hiroshima-Nagasaki bombings in nine Belgian cities. A moment of reflection, a day when everybody should take the time to stand still and remember what happened 66 years ago. It is a sign of solidarity, and a big ‘never again’!

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Paranaguá (Brazil), July 4th 2011 - Mayors for Peace and the Brazilian Association of Hibakusha were invited for the commemorations of the 363 anniversary of the city of Paranaguá (PR), in Brazil. Paranaguá is the third largest port city in Brazil. Today Mr. José Baka Filho, Mayor of Paranaguá, hosted a special event to celebrate their membership to Mayors for Peace with the opening of a public exhibition of the A-Bomb. The Mayor of Paranaguá successfully invited other Mayors from coastal cities of the state of Parana to join Mayors for Peace. The events were all well attended and received very positive media coverage.

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Hiroshima, July 1st 2011 - Mayors for Peace announced today that 71 new member cities have joined during the month of May 2011. The network of local governments now counts 4,803 member cities in 151 countries. With the new members Japan now tops 1,000 members. Also Mayor Alson Kelen from the Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands is amongst the new members. The Bikini Atoll is still suffering of the terrible consequences of the March 1st 1954 'Bravo' US atomic explosion.

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Buenos Aires, June 30th 2011 - The FAM (Federation of Argentinian Municipalities) has invited all its members to join Mayors for Peace before the upcoming Hiroshima commemoration of August 6th. FAM was instrumental to receive the support of Mr. Hector Timerman, the Minister of Foreign Affairs from Argentina, who noted in a letter on March 9th to the Mayor of Hiroshima that Argentina will participate in a Special Disarmament Conference as proposed by Mayors for Peace.

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Baltimore, June 20th 2011 - The US Conference of Mayors today unanimously adopted a resolution calling on President Obama to work with the leaders of the other nuclear weapon states to implement the United Nations Secretary-General's 5-point plan to negotiate the elimination of nuclear weapons, by the year 2020, as urged by Mayors for Peace.

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 Question: Is it possible to push Mayors for Peace membership over the 5000 threshold by August 6^th?  The answer from the 2020 Vision Campaign Board of Directors June 9^th meeting: YES!  A major motivation is the desire to provide media coverage of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki commemoration with an additional news hook.  The message to the world will be “Cities are not targets!  Abolish nuclear weapons!”

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Brasilia, June 16th 2011 - Mayors for Peace published the first newsletter for Brazil aiming to bring its activities and information closer to Brazilian Mayors. The publication was produced with the FNP (Frente Nacional de Prefeitos) and ABM (Associação Brasileira de Municípios), two major associations of local governments in Brazil. The first publication reports the developments achieved so far in Brazil, as well as other relevant events about the international network. The FNP gathers the almost 200 largest cities of Brazil, while ABM brings together almost 3,500 smaller Brazilian municipalities.

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The Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign Association has appointed Mr. Jorge Núñez Alba as a 2020 Vision Campaigner in Mexico and Mr. Samil Yaciner as a 2020 Vision Campaigner in Turkey.

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Bogota, May 20^th, 2011 - Today Mayors for Peace signed an agreement of co-operation with the Federacion Colombiana de Municipios (FCM). FCM commits to support the 2020 Vision Campaign, while Mayors for Peace commits to promote the work of the Colombian network of Municipalities for Peace, a network part of the FCM. 

The agreement was celebrated at the headquarters of the FCM in Bogota during a moving signing ceremony with the staff of the association. The ceremony was reported on the national television of Colombia.

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Lima (Peru), May 19th 2011 - Mayors for Peace signed an agreement of co-operation with the Federación de Municipios Libres de Perú (FEMULP) during their VI National Meeting of Municipalities on May 18th in Lima, Peru.

On the following day FEMULP organized several events at City halls near the capital, while there was also a meeting with representatives at the City Hall of Lima where progress was made for Peru's capital to join Mayors for Peace.

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UNITED NATIONS, Geneva, May 17th 2011 - Mayors for Peace warns diplomats about the catastrophic climatological and humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, according to latest scientific evidence, during a one-day seminar in Geneva.

On 17 May, Mayors for Peace hosted a seminar entitled “Ecological and Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Warfare” in Geneva, Switzerland, for government delegates to the UN’s Conference on Disarmament. 

Presentations by leading scientists highlighted the alarming evidence for catastrophic consequences of even limited nuclear warfare on the climate, food production, human nutrition, and global security. Discussion emphasised the need for research to further elaborate the extent of such catastrophes and for increased awareness among governmental officials and the general public.

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The mayors of the world’s two atom-bombed cities, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, met Tuesday in Nagasaki and agreed to continue their efforts to realize a world free from nuclear weapons.

Mr. Kazumi Matsui (picture) was elected mayor of Hiroshima for the first time in the April 10 mayoral election, and has assumed the Presidency of the international network of Mayors for Peace.

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According to a Kyodo News report some 700 peace activists left Tokyo on Friday for their annual walk to Hiroshima. The marchers plan to reach the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park on Aug 4, two days ahead of the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombing of the city.

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Brasilia, April 7th 2011 - The Frente Nacional de Prefeitos (FNP) invited Mayors for Peace to the Brazilian capital for their 59th General Meeting. Nearly 100 Brazilian Mayors elected the new FNP board. The new FNP Board was welcomed by President Dilma Rousseff.

Mayors for Peace had also the opportunity to discuss future co-operation with the Associação Brasileira de Municípios (ABM) and the Confederação Nacional de Municípios (CNM).  The proposal to increase Mayors for Peace membership up to one thousand Brazilian Mayors before the end of 2011 has been welcomed by both the FNP and ABM.

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The Nuclear Free Local Authorities (NFLA) organized a packed All-Ireland Forum addressing the nuclear disasters in Fukushima and Chernobyl, as well as the total elimination of nuclear weapons. The NFLA is a local government association based in the City Hall of Manchester (UK), a long-time Mayors for Peace Vice-President City. The NFLA campaigns against both military and civilian nuclear hazards. A presentation by representatives from the 2020 Vision Campaign International Secretariat was welcomed by the audience.  Ireland, which is not member of NATO, has played a historic role to advance the establishment of a nuclear weapon free world.

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Mayors for Peace announced today that 140 new member cities have joined during the month of March 2011. This is the largest monthly growth ever recorded since the association was founded in 1982.

Today Mayors for Peace counts 4,680 local governments in its growing network present in 150 countries and regions. The network, Presided by Hiroshima Mayor Dr. Tadatoshi Akiba, campaigns for the total elimination of nuclear weapons by 2020. The enormous growth of the network is explained by hundreds of population centres being targets and threatened with nuclear annihilation.

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In front of a packed audience of government officials, NGO representatives and media, Mayors for Peace presented the petition, which calls on the leaders of all nation states to “free innocent children and global citizens from the threat of nuclear weapons” by starting immediate negotiations for a nuclear-weapon-free world.

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Mayors for Peace’s Representative to the UN Office in Geneva urged diplomats to negotiate legally binding negative security assurances (NSAs) with a view to achieving total nuclear disarmament.

During the historic meeting with NGO representatives, which was chaired by Canadian Ambassador Marius Grinius, Mayors for Peace representative Esteban Ramirez-Gonzalez, reaffirmed the view of over 4,500 mayors from around the world, that “Cities are not targets” and reminded diplomats that “nuclear-armed states have the responsibility of providing legal protection against the effects, both direct and indirect, of potential nuclear confrontation.”

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On February 10, Orlando, Florida joined Mayors for Peace with a moving public ceremony at City Hall.  The signing ceremony was a high point of the 7th Annual Orlando Latin American Film & Heritage Festival (OLA Fest). Opening the ceremony, OLA Festival organizer Nelson Betancourt, described it as a “sacred occasion.”

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Dakar (Senegal) -  Mayors for Peace received the unanimous support of the FAL Network (Forum of Local Authorities for Social Inclusion and Participatory Democracy) in the final declaration of the IX Assembly meeting in Dakar, Senegal on February 8th, 2011. The meeting of the FAL Network coincides with the World Social Forum.

The fundamental aim of FAL is to turn cities into important actors in the process of globalization. Mayors for Peace is also gaining increasing support from Mayors across Senegal.

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In January, the 2020 Vision Campaign Secretariat in Ypres was lucky enough to receive a visit from Wolfgang and Brigitte Schlupp-Wick, a German couple who recently undertook a six month international cycle tour to campaign against nuclear weapons.

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Hiroshima, February 1st 2011 -  Mayors for Peace announced today that 49 new member cities have joined during the month of January 2011. Mayors for Peace now counts 4,515 members in 150 countries and regions. The largest growth was recorded the past month in Russia, Japan and Israel. Last month Mayors for Peace was awarded both the 1st Gautam Buddha International Peace Award by the Government of Nepal and the Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award by the Institute for Global Leadership at Tufts University.

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Hiroshima, January 1st 2011 - Mayors for Peace announced today that 65 new member cities have joined during the month of December.  Mayors for Peace now counts 4,467 members in 150 countries and regions. With the 40 new Japanese members and the total of 894 members Mayors for Peace now exceeds half of all 1,750 municipalities in Japan. As a result of promotion at the Mercociudades meeting in early December, 19 Latin American cities joined Mayors for Peace. 

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Hiroshima, December 16th 2010 - As the 2020 Vision Campaign gains further momentum, the Mayor of Hiroshima and President of Mayors for Peace launched an urgent appeal to the well-over 4,400 member cities to actively demonstrate their solidarity with Hiroshima and Nagasaki by making voluntary financial contributions towards the campaign aiming to eliminate all nuclear weapons by 2020. Mayor Akiba appeals to member cities around the world to adopt a City Council resolution which takes into account the political necessity of the campaign and gives Mayors a fair system to calculate their financial contribution taking into account the size of their city and the Gross National Income/capita of their country.

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Belo Horizonte, December 3rd 2010 - The Annual Assembly of Mercociudades gave its unanimous support to the Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign. Mercociudades, founded in 1995, represents 228 cities from the Mercosur region in South America. Mercociudades met in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, for five days. The summit coincided with the 58th General Meeting of the ''Frente Nacional de Prefeitos'' (Brazilian National Front of Mayors) which already adopted earlier this year a motion of support and co-operation. With the new agreement Mercociudades and Mayors for Peace ''hereby affirm their determination to work together to free cities from the scourge of war and mass destruction. The threat of nuclear catastrophe, recognized unanimously by the State Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, must be lifted from our cities and all of humanity without delay.''

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Hiroshima, December 1st 2010 - Mayors for Peace announced today that 104 new member cities have joined during the month of November.  Mayors for Peace now counts 4,402 members in 150 countries and regions. The organization’s 2020 Vision Campaign to protect cities from the scourge of war and weapons of mass destruction also received the unanimous support for its aim to establish a nuclear-weapon-free world by 2020 in the final declaration of the Third World Congress of UCLG,* a gathering over 3,000 city representatives in Mexico City in November.

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Mexico City, 20 November 2010 – The final declaration of the 3rd World Congress of Local Governments unanimously ''expresses its support for the call for the Mayors for Peace Campaign for a world free of nuclear weapons by 2020 through a new international Convention.''  The global threat of nuclear weapons received increased attention from the participants.

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Campinas, November 11th 2010 - Mayors for Peace signed an agreement with the ABM (Associação Brasileira de Municípios) during a ceremony in Campinas (Sao Paulo), Brazil.
With the agreement ABM ''openly declares its support for the Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign to eliminate all nuclear weapons by the year 2020; and calls upon all Mayors from Brazil to formally join Mayors for Peace and as concrete manifestation of said support, ABM will encourage local governments from Brazil to make symbolic financial contributions to the global campaign in solidarity with the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.''

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The United Nations has one at its headquarters in New York.
Now Waitakere is the new owner of a 105kg Japanese Peace Bell.  The bronze bell, which measures 95 by 49cms, is a gift from Waitakere’s sister city of 17 years, Kakogawa. It is a symbol of the peace principles needed to build a great city, says Mayor Harvey. 

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Over half of world capital cities join campaign to eliminate nuclear arms by 2020

Hiroshima, November 1st 2010 - Mayors for Peace announced today that 94 new member cities have joined during the month of October. With Guatemala City, Reykjavik and Yerevan, Mayors for Peace welcomes three capital cities in its global network campaigning for the immediate commencement of negotiations for the establishment of a nuclear weapon free world by 2020. Mayors for Peace now counts 4,301 members in 149 countries and regions.

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Buenos Aires, October 17th 2010 - The Mayor of Hiroshima received unanimous support from Latin American Mayors during his visit to the Latin American 'Semana del Municipalismo' in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

On Wednesday October 13th FLACMA (Federación Latinamericana de Ciudades, Municipios y Asociaciones de gobiernos locales) signed an agreement with Mayors for Peace in support of the campaign to eliminate all nuclear weapons by 2020. FLACMA is the Latin American branch of the UCLG, the worldwide organisation of local governements.

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The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs and the Middle Powers Initiative hosted a conference entitled: “From Aspiration to reality: Nuclear Disarmament after the NPT Review.

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Mayors for Peace event in Fragneto Monforte (Italy): “Cities are not targets!”

From 6th to 10th October 2010, over sixty thousand people attended the 24th international gathering of balloons in Fragneto Monforte, Italy. This year, the whole event was co-organized with Mayors for Peace, represented by Mirko Montuori from the Ypres secretariat, and included a “Cities are not targets!” exhibition and conference. The event received the patronage of the Municipality of Fragneto Monforte and the Embassy of Japan in Italy and contributed to the involvement of ten mayors and the President of the Province of Benevento in the Mayors for Peace network.

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Hiroshima, October 1st 2010 - Mayors for Peace announced today that 4,207 member cities in 144 countries and regions have joined the campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons by 2020. Mayors for Peace is a network of local governments head-quartered in the City of Hiroshima. Dr. Tadatoshi Akiba, the Mayor of Hiroshima and President of Mayors for Peace, spearheads an unprecedented campaign calling on governments for the immediate commencement of negotiations for the establishment of a nuclear weapon free world by 2020. 

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From August 25^th to 30^th a delegation of our mayors joined hundreds of physicians, government officials and NGO representatives, who convened in Basel for the 19^th World Congress of IPPNW, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War.

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Hiroshima, September 1st 2010 - Mayors for Peace welcomes 75 members that joined the global network of local governments to ban nuclear weapons by 2020. Mayors for Peace counts today 4,144 members in 144 countries and regions.

New members were welcomed from Argentina (1), Australia (2), Austria (1), Cameroon (1), France (1), Germany (21), Ghana (1), Italy (30), Japan (11), Mexico (1), Netherlands (1), Peru (2), Spain (1) and the USA (1) (click here for detailed list).

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Hiroshima, August 6th 2010 – On the 65th anniversary of the first use of the atomic bomb, Hiroshima Mayor Dr. Tadatoshi Akiba calls for the immediate commencement of negotiations for the establishment of a nuclear weapon free world by 2020. Dr. Akiba is President of “Mayors for Peace”, a global network of over 4,000 local governments calling for complete nuclear disarmament (1).

Mayors for Peace welcomes the support for a world free of nuclear weapons by 2020 recently expressed by Ban Ki-moon.  He will be the first UN Secretary-General to participate in the Hiroshima commemoration.   Since issuing his Five Point Plan for Nuclear Disarmament in 2008, the Secretary-General provides outstanding leadership on this issue.

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U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon yesterday said he would seek the elimination of all nuclear weapons before the end of his life, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, July 19).

Addressing whether he wants a nuclear weapon-free world to be achieved within his lifetime, he said, "That's my goal."

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MANILA, Philippines — The three-term mayor of Hiroshima who spearheaded a global campaign for nuclear disarmament and a photographer who documented river pollution in his native China are among the 2010 winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards.

The awards announced Monday are considered Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize. They are named after a popular Philippine president who died in a plane crash in 1957. The awards will be formally presented Aug. 31 in Manila.

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Hiroshima, August 1st 2010 – Mayors for Peace announces that last month 32 local governments have joined their fast-growing global network to ban nuclear weapons by 2020. With today 4,069 members in 144 countries and regions (1), Mayors for Peace repeats its urgent call upon all governments to immediately start negotiations for an international treaty to eliminate all nuclear weapons by 2020.

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Hiroshima, July 1st 2010 - Mayors for Peace proudly announced today that 4,037 member cities in 144 countries and regions have joined the campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons by 2020. Mayors for Peace is a network of local governments headquartered in the City of Hiroshima. Dr. Tadatoshi Akiba, the Mayor of Hiroshima and President of Mayors for Peace spearheads an international campaign for nuclear weapon states to stop considering cities as targets for weapons of mass destruction.

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Mayors for Peace congratulates the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM) for unanimously adopting a groundbreaking resolution, Supporting U.S. Participation in Global Elimination of Nuclear Weapons and Redirection of Nuclear Weapons Spending to Meet the Needs of Cities, at the conclusion of its 78th annual meeting in Oklahoma City on June 14, 2010.

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For ten months now, membership of Mayors for Peace has sustained a growth rate of around three new members a day. With 86 new registrations during May 2010 we reached a global membership of 3,965 members in 143 countries and regions. The fast growth of Mayors for Peace stands in contrast to the mixed results of the NPT Review Conference in New York which ended without agreement to start negotiations to conclude a Nuclear Weapons Convention.

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As talks come to a close on nuclear disarmament at the United Nations in New York this week, actions by local governments from around Australia open. At least 17 councils around Australia have passed resolutions calling on Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to support a Nuclear Weapons Convention and reaffirm the Governments’ commitment towards a world free of nuclear weapons.

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Over eighty mayors, city officials, staff and donors took part in the Mayors for Peace Reception on May 4th in New York, hosted by John and Margo Catsimatidis at their Fifth Avenue apartment near Central Parc in New York. Special guests of the reception were Michael Douglas and Yoko Ono, who endorsed Mayors for Peace and its 2020 Vision Campaign.

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On May 1st 2010, membership of Mayors for Peace reached 3,880 members with 87 new registrations during April 2010. This puts us well within range of 4000 before the end of May.  Our growing membership will send a very powerful message to the NPT Review Conference.  Not only does this make Mayors for Peace by far the largest international, direct-membership association of local governments, but also the fastest growing.

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The Frente Nacional de Prefeitos (FNP) joined Mayors for Peace during their 57th General Meeting held in Florianopolis, south of Brazil, on April 26 and 27th. The National Front of Mayors is composed by almost 200 Mayors of Brazil's largest cities, representing 40% of the Brazilian population. In the motion adopted by the FNP the Brazilian Association of Local Governments encourages its members to join individually. During the conference 29 Brazilian Mayors were welcomed as new members (list below).

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On April 1st 2010, membership of Mayors for Peace reached 3,793 members with 119 new registrations during March 2010. Membership in Africa is growing with the first members in 8 new countries. Nicaragua now has 100% of all Mayors on board. The Federation of Latin American Cities, Municipalities and Associations of Local Governements also formally endorsed its support for Mayors for Peace during their Executive Bureau Meeting in Puerto Rico.

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Meeting on March 13th 2010 in San Juan (Puerto Rico), the Executive Bureau of the Federation of Latin American Cities, Municipalities and Associations  of Local Governments (FLACMA) adopted a motion in support of Mayors for Peace and the 2020 Vision Campaign.

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From the 4th to the 7th March 2010, Mayor Daniel Tsakem of Fongo-Tongo city was invited to attend a panafrican meeting of UCLG (United Cities and Local Governments) in Abuja, (Nigeria). Mayors for Peace Associate Member Mayor Tsakem was accompanied by his Vice-Mayor, Jean Paul Nanfack, contact person for Mayors for Peace and 2020 Vision Campaign in Cameroon.

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On March 1st 2010, membership of Mayors for Peace reached 3,680 with 118 new registrations since February 1st 2010. Membership in Latin-America is growing rapidly. Nicaragua now has 98% of all Mayors on board. In February we also welcomed the first two Latin-American cities in our leadership. Both Mexico City and Montevideo joined the political leadership of Mayors for Peace through Associate Membership. They join Bastogne (Belgium), Fongo-Tongo (Cameroon) and Montreal (Canada) who also accepted very recently to join as Associate Members.

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Today we have the pleasure to announce that the Mayors of Bastogne (Belgium), Montreal (Canada) and Fongo-Tongo (Cameroon) have accepted to join the international political leadership of Mayors for Peace through Associate Membership of the 2020 Vision Campaign Association, This as a first step towards eventual Vice-Presidency of the organisation which is growing very rapidly.

Associate Members are expected to take leadership in their country or region concerning capacity building, including membership recruitment, policial lobby-work, involving national association of local authorities, fundraising and joining the annual strategic meetings. The next meeting is planned during the NPT Review Conference at the UN next May.

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On February 1st 2010 membership of Mayors for Peace reached 3,562 members with 168 new registrations since December 1st 2009. On average 2,7 local governments have joined the movement for the elimination of all nuclear weapons by 2020 every single day during the past two months.

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In the month of July the 2020 Vision Campaign received donations from 30 cities of 3 countries, amounting to a total of € 5439. We would like to extend our gratitude to our member cities for their continuing generosity in supporting our efforts to realize a nuclear-weapon-free world by 2020.

Significant donations were made by our member cities in Belgium, Germany and Luxembourg.

We hope that this positive trend continues for the rest of 2012.

List of contributing cities July 2012

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In the month of August the 2020 Vision Campaign received donations from 16 cities of 5 countries, amounting to a total of € 4100. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our member cities for their continuing generosity in supporting our efforts to realize a nuclear-weapon-free world by 2020.

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Demonstrating leadership once again, the Heads of Government of Latin America and the Caribbean recently issued a communiqué declaring their strong commitment to work to convene a high-level international meeting on the elimination of nuclear weapons.  Mayors for Peace has adopted this as the new 'gold standard' to which all leaders should aspire. This ACTION ALERT aims to have the NWFZ governments in Africa, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and the South Pacific each adopt on a regional basis this same 'strong commitment.'  To that end the Chairman of the 2020 Vision Campaign has written to all Mayors for Peace member mayors in those regions asking them to take this up with their Head of Government.

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In the month of October the 2020 Vision Campaign received donations from 9 cities of 5 countries, amounting to a total of € 3902,74. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our member cities for their continuing generosity in supporting our efforts to realize a nuclear-weapon-free world by 2020.

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In the month of September the 2020 Vision Campaign received donations from 8 cities of 4 countries, amounting to a total of € 2190. We would like to extend our sincere gratitude to our member cities for their continuing generosity in supporting our efforts to realize a nuclear-weapon-free world by 2020.

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