Fri Oct 11 12:48:11 UTC 2024: ## Japanese Atomic Bomb Survivors’ Organisation Wins Nobel Peace Prize for Nuclear Disarmament Efforts

**Oslo, Norway** – The Nobel Committee has awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize to **Nihon Hidankyo**, a Japanese organization representing survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The award recognizes their tireless efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and their powerful witness testimonies urging against the use of such devastating arms.

The committee lauded the organization, also known as the **Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organisations**, for its commitment to raising global awareness about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. Founded in 1956 by individuals impacted by the US atomic bombs, Nihon Hidankyo has played a crucial role in shaping the international “nuclear taboo” – a moral consensus against the use of nuclear weapons.

Through personal accounts, public appeals, and annual delegations to the United Nations, the “hibakusha” (survivors) have shared their harrowing experiences of the 1945 bombings, which killed an estimated 120,000 people instantly and thousands more in the years following. These narratives have been instrumental in advancing nuclear disarmament efforts.

This award marks the latest recognition for anti-nuclear weapon campaigners by the Nobel Committee. The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) won the Peace Prize in 2017, and in 1995, Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs were awarded for their work in reducing the role of nuclear arms in international politics.

The award comes at a time of heightened global tensions, with ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Ukraine, and Sudan. The Norwegian Nobel Institute received 286 nominations for the prize, including 197 individuals and 89 organizations.

Read More