By Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 2024 for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organisation representing survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The group was honoured for its work in advocating for a nuclear-free world and for its powerful witness testimony on the horrors of nuclear warfare.
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded against a backdrop of devastating conflicts raging in the world.(AFP)
Formed in 1956, Nihon Hidankyo is the largest and most influential organisation of atomic bomb survivors in Japan. Its mission has been to raise global awareness of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. By sharing their personal stories of the devastation they experienced in August 1945, the Hibakusha – the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – have helped shape the international “nuclear taboo,” a powerful norm stigmatising the use of nuclear arms as morally unacceptable.
The Nobel Committee praised Nihon Hidankyo for their unwavering efforts to generate and sustain global opposition to nuclear weapons, noting that their testimony has provided a unique, first-hand understanding of the incomprehensible pain and suffering caused by such weapons.
“The Hibakusha help us to describe the indescribable, to think the unthinkable,” the Committee said in its announcement.
Despite nearly 80 years passing since the bombings, nuclear weapons continue to pose a global threat. The prize is also a stark reminder of the growing threats to global peace. The committee noted that nuclear arsenals are being modernised, and the norm against their use is under pressure as new threats emerge.
