The 2024 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Japanese nuclear abolitionist group Nihon Hidankyo for its tireless efforts to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world. The World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Japan Committee of Religions for Peace (RfP) World Council jointly called for the global advancement of the movement for a nuclear-weapon-free world and the promotion of peace and security.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee noted that the Peace Prize was awarded to the organization in recognition of its work to expose the devastating effects of nuclear weapons and to “achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again.”
This year's Nobel Peace Prize strongly reflects the international community's concern about the humanitarian catastrophe of nuclear weapons, while emphasizing the need for a stronger global campaign for their absence. The WCC and the Japan Committee of RfP call for the active participation of all sectors of the world to promote the realization of a world free of nuclear weapons.
Since its establishment in 1956, Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A-and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations, has continued to shed light on the inhumane consequences of nuclear weapons through the personal testimonies of survivors. The Nobel Peace Prize recognizes their nearly 70-year campaign to abolish nuclear weapons.
Peter Prove, director of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs (CCIA) of the WCC, said that since its founding in 1948, the WCC has viewed nuclear war as a “sin against God and a degradation of man.” He reiterated the WCC's continued commitment to advocate for the global abolition of nuclear weapons and to support efforts to eliminate the nuclear threat.
Prove also called on governments around the world to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to promote nuclear justice and environmental restoration. He emphasized that as long as nuclear weapons exist, global security cannot be guaranteed, as historical records have demonstrated their potential for devastating danger.
In Japan, other religious groups have also spoken out on the basis of faith, calling for a world free of nuclear weapons. They believed that the abolition of nuclear weapons was the key to demonstrating a humanitarian peace movement and supported the initiative of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors' organizations in the hope of creating a safer and better future for future generations.
