11.10.2024, 16:58
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo
Source: OREANDA-NEWS
OREANDA-NEWS The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the winner of the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Friday. The prize was awarded to the Japanese Nihon Hidankyo Association (Nihon Hidankyo), which unites various hibakusha organizations – Japanese citizens who survived the atomic bombings. The prize is awarded with the wording "for efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating eyewitness testimony that nuclear weapons should never be used again."
The Norwegian Nobel Committee notes in a press release that "the fates of those who survived the hell of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been hidden and ignored for a long time." In 1956, local Hibakusha organizations, together with victims of nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific Ocean, formed the "Japanese Confederation of Organizations of Victims of Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs." This name was shortened in Japanese to Nihon Hidanke. In the future, it will become the largest and most influential hibakusha organization in Japan. Nihon Hidanke has provided thousands of testimonies, published resolutions and public appeals, and annually sent delegations to the United Nations and various peace conferences to remind the world of the need for nuclear disarmament.
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain the only cases of combat use of nuclear weapons in the history of mankind. The attack was carried out by the US Armed Forces at the final stage of World War II. American Air Force planes dropped atomic bombs "Kid" and "Fat Man" on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in western Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945. As a result of the bombing of Hiroshima and the subsequent radiation sickness, about 130 thousand people died. According to the Nagasaki administration, a total of 74 thousand people have died from the effects of the explosion in Nagasaki since the bombing to the present.
The press release says that by awarding the Nihon Hidanke Peace Prize, the committee wishes to honor the memory of all survivors who, despite their physical suffering and bitter memories, decided to use their dearly gained experience to strengthen hope and the desire for peace.
"One day there will be no more hibakus among us as witnesses to history. But thanks to the power of memory and constant commitment, new generations in Japan continue to pass on the experience and message of the witnesses. They inspire and educate people all over the world. In this way, they help to comply with the nuclear taboo – a necessary condition for the peaceful future of mankind," the committee said in a press release.
The Nobel Committee recalls that next year it will be 80 years since nuclear energy was first used for military purposes: "Today's nuclear weapons have much greater destructive power. They can kill millions of people and have a catastrophic impact on the climate. A nuclear war could destroy our civilization."
The Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize Committee consists of five members appointed by Parliament. 285 candidates were nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize – 196 individuals and 89 organizations. The full list of candidates has traditionally been kept secret for 50 years, but those who nominate candidates can tell about their choice.
In 2024, the monetary part of the award is 11 million Swedish kronor (slightly less than $1.1 million).
In 2023, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Iranian human rights activist and vice-president of the Human Rights Defenders Human Rights Center Nargiz Mohammadi. She has been in custody in Iran since November 2021, she has been arrested several times since 2011 and sentenced to imprisonment for actions against state security and anti-government propaganda. Since Mohammadi could not personally receive the award, the award was given to her children.
In 2022, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Russian Memorial (entered by the Ministry of Justice in the register of foreign agents and liquidated), the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties and the Belarusian human rights defender, chairman of the human rights center "Viasna" Ales Bialiatski.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee notes in a press release that "the fates of those who survived the hell of Hiroshima and Nagasaki have been hidden and ignored for a long time." In 1956, local Hibakusha organizations, together with victims of nuclear weapons tests in the Pacific Ocean, formed the "Japanese Confederation of Organizations of Victims of Atomic and Hydrogen Bombs." This name was shortened in Japanese to Nihon Hidanke. In the future, it will become the largest and most influential hibakusha organization in Japan. Nihon Hidanke has provided thousands of testimonies, published resolutions and public appeals, and annually sent delegations to the United Nations and various peace conferences to remind the world of the need for nuclear disarmament.
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki remain the only cases of combat use of nuclear weapons in the history of mankind. The attack was carried out by the US Armed Forces at the final stage of World War II. American Air Force planes dropped atomic bombs "Kid" and "Fat Man" on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in western Japan on August 6 and 9, 1945. As a result of the bombing of Hiroshima and the subsequent radiation sickness, about 130 thousand people died. According to the Nagasaki administration, a total of 74 thousand people have died from the effects of the explosion in Nagasaki since the bombing to the present.
The press release says that by awarding the Nihon Hidanke Peace Prize, the committee wishes to honor the memory of all survivors who, despite their physical suffering and bitter memories, decided to use their dearly gained experience to strengthen hope and the desire for peace.
"One day there will be no more hibakus among us as witnesses to history. But thanks to the power of memory and constant commitment, new generations in Japan continue to pass on the experience and message of the witnesses. They inspire and educate people all over the world. In this way, they help to comply with the nuclear taboo – a necessary condition for the peaceful future of mankind," the committee said in a press release.
The Nobel Committee recalls that next year it will be 80 years since nuclear energy was first used for military purposes: "Today's nuclear weapons have much greater destructive power. They can kill millions of people and have a catastrophic impact on the climate. A nuclear war could destroy our civilization."
The Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize Committee consists of five members appointed by Parliament. 285 candidates were nominated for the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize – 196 individuals and 89 organizations. The full list of candidates has traditionally been kept secret for 50 years, but those who nominate candidates can tell about their choice.
In 2024, the monetary part of the award is 11 million Swedish kronor (slightly less than $1.1 million).
In 2023, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Iranian human rights activist and vice-president of the Human Rights Defenders Human Rights Center Nargiz Mohammadi. She has been in custody in Iran since November 2021, she has been arrested several times since 2011 and sentenced to imprisonment for actions against state security and anti-government propaganda. Since Mohammadi could not personally receive the award, the award was given to her children.
In 2022, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Russian Memorial (entered by the Ministry of Justice in the register of foreign agents and liquidated), the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties and the Belarusian human rights defender, chairman of the human rights center "Viasna" Ales Bialiatski.
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