Top > Foreign Policy > Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation > Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation > Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation > NPT > 2nd Preparatory Committee of the 2010 NPT Review Conference > Disarmament and Non-proliferation Education Seminar

Disarmament and Non-proliferation Education Seminar

April 30, 2008

The government of Japan co-hosted a Disarmament and Non-proliferation Education Seminar with United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) on the occasion of the Second Session of the Preparatory Committee of the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the NPT on 30 April in Geneva. The central theme of this seminar was to discuss how to pass on the experience of atomic bombings to future generations. About 50 people participated in this seminar. The outline of the seminar was as follows:

  1. This seminar, chaired by Dr. William Potter, Director of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies (CNS), was held on 30 April at the United Nations Office at Geneva. Atomic bomb-survivors, belonging to Non-Governmental Organizations members, and an educator gave presentations as panelists on the theme "How can the next generation carry on the atomic bomb experience, and effective ways to shape the disarmament and non-proliferation education".
  2. In the opening remarks, Ambassador Sumio Tarui, Permanent Representative of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament, stressed the importance of passing knowledge and experience of the immense destructive power of nuclear weapons to future generations, and expressed the view that disarmament and non-proliferation education is the core elements of humankaind's long-term efforts towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons. As a representative of Japanese association of atomic-bomb survivors, Mr. Terumi TANAKA, secretary-general of Nihon Hidankyo (The Japan Confederation of Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs Sufferers Organizations) emphasized the importance of our further efforts to pass on the atomic-bomb experience, especially the damage caused by the use of nuclear weapons, and the effect of radiation on human body. Other participants also gave practical suggestions and exchanged ideas, for example, on the use of UN web-site, "UNCyberSchoolbus" (http://www.cyberschoolbus.un.org/ other site), and the relics of the astomic bombed areas for disarmament and non-proliferation education.
  3. Participants
    Chairperson:
    Dr. William Potter, Director, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies
    Keynote Speaker:
    Ambassador Sumio Tarui, Permanent Representative of Japan to the Conference on Disarmament
    Panelists:
    (1) Terumi Tanaka, Secretary General, Japan Confederation of Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs Sufferers Organizations
    (2) Kathleen Sullivan, Education Consultant to the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, New York
    (3) Shigeko Sasamori, Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Projects
    (4) Nelly Porseva, High School Teacher and former Visiting Fellow at CNS at Monterey Institute of International Studies
    (5) Elena Hushbeck, Monterey Institute of International Studies
  4. Japanese government distributed a manga titled "Town of Evening Calm, Country of Cherry Blossoms", the White Paper "Japan's Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Policy (Third Edition)" and a pamphlet "Disarmament and Non-proliferation Japan's Efforts" to participants to introduce Japan's efforts for Disarmament and Non-proliferation education.

The CNS and The UNIDIR report on this seminar at the following websites,

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