This week marks 79 years since the US nuclear attacks against the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed more than 210,000 people, including 38,000 children. (The Hiroshima attack occurred on 6 August 1945 and the Nagasaki attack three days later, on 9 August.)
Coinciding with the anniversaries, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) today launched a major new report titled The Impact of Nuclear Weapons on Children, which describes the harm inflicted on children in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as those living near nuclear test sites globally.
The key conclusion of the report is that children are significantly more vulnerable to the effects of nuclear weapons – heat, blast and radiation – and have suffered disproportionately from their use and testing.
“Our report is a dire warning to the governments of all nuclear-armed states and to the global public that urgent action is needed to rid the world of nuclear weapons,” said ICAN’s executive director, Melissa Parke.
Countries are already bound by international agreements, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, to protect children from harm in armed conflict, so ICAN is appealing to all countries to live up to this commitment and join the landmark Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which entered into force in 2021 and provides a pathway to a nuclear-weapon-free world. To date, 97 countries have signed, ratified or acceded to it.
“While children played no part in developing these doomsday devices, it is children who would suffer the most in the event of their future use – one of the myriad reasons why such weapons must be urgently eliminated,” said Tim Wright, the author of the report.
