UNITED NATIONS, Aug 7 (APP): With the risk of nuclear conflict growing, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that the organization remains committed to a world free of atomic weapons.
“Let’s work to eradicate the threat of nuclear weapons by eradicating the weapons themselves,” the UN chief said in a message, delivered by Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu, to the Peace Memorial ceremony on the eightieth anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, in Japan, on Wednesday.
“Trust is eroding. Geopolitical divisions are widening. And the very weapons that brought such devastation to Hiroshima and Nagasaki are once again being treated as tools of coercion,” he said. “Yet,” he added, “there are signs of hope.”
Last year, the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo — which represents the survivors of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings — was awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for its tireless work in raising awareness about this critical issue, it was pointed out.
“And in the Pact for the Future, adopted last year, countries recommitted to a world free of nuclear weapons,” the secretary-general added.
The world changed forever 80 years ago this Wednesday when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima during the Second World War.
While the city has been rebuilt, nuclear conflict remains a global threat, Ms. Nakamitsu said in remarks, on behalf of the UN chief, at the Peace Memorial building.
It was the only structure left standing near the hypocentre of the bomb, which marked the first use of an atomic weapon in war.
Survivors, family members and representatives from international organizations and 120 countries were among the approximately 55,000 people who attended the ceremony, according to the Japanese Prime Minister’s Office.
“On this 80th anniversary, we remember those who perished. We stand with the families who carry their memory,” Guterres said.
He paid tribute to the hibakusha – the term for those who survived Hiroshima and the atomic bombing of Nagasaki three days later – “whose voices have become a moral force for peace.”
“While their numbers grow smaller each year, their testimony — and their eternal message of peace — will never leave us,” he said.
In a single moment on 6 August 1945, Hiroshima was reduced to ruins, tens of thousands were killed, “and humanity crossed a threshold from which there could be no return.”
In the aftermath, many believed the city would never recover and that nothing would grow, the UN chief s said, but the population proved otherwise.
“You, the people of Hiroshima, didn’t just rebuild a city,” he said. “You rebuilt hope. You nurtured a vision of a world without nuclear weapons. And you shared that vision with the world.”
Guterres noted that 2025 also marks 80 years since the UN was founded. In May, saplings grown from the seeds of a persimmon tree that survived the bombing were planted at Headquarters in New York.
“They are more than symbols of survival,” he said. “They are living testaments to the strength of the human spirit — and of our shared duty to protect future generations from the horrors of nuclear annihilation.”
Furthermore, the UN anniversary is a reminder of why it was created in the first place – to prevent war, to uphold human dignity, and to ensure the tragedies of the past are never repeated.
“Yet, today the risk of nuclear conflict is growing,” the secretary-general warned. “Trust is eroding. Geopolitical divisions are widening. And the very weapons that brought such devastation to Hiroshima and Nagasaki are once again being treated as tools of coercion.”
At the ceremony, Hiroshima’s Mayor Kazumi Matsui warned against the growing acceptance of nuclear weapons, according to media reports. He cited the conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East as examples.
