Peace Boat Executive Committee member Kawasaki Akira has been appointed as NGO Advisor for the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND – www.icnnd.org). The Commission was established in 2008 through the initiative of the Australian and Japanese governments, and is composed of 15 political leaders and defence experts from around the world, and is co-chaired by Gareth Evans (former Foreign Minister of Australia) and Kawaguchi Yoriko (former Foreign Minister of Japan, current member of the House of Councilors). The ICNND will produce a series of recommendations towards the abolition of nuclear weapons, to be presented to the international community within 2009.

The NGO Advisor role will be to link the Commission with international civil society, introducing the various perspectives of NGOs and citizens to the Co-chairs and the Commission. One advisor has been appointed by the Chairs from both Japan and Australia, and joining Peace Boat's Kawasaki Akira is Tilman Ruff, Chair of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN – www.icanw.org) in Australia.

Initial exchange of opinions with Co-Chair Kawaguchi Yoriko and representatives of Japanese NGOs has taken place since late 2008, and will be continued throughout the coming months also. The ICNND Japan NGO Network was officially established in January 2009 to ensure that the recommendations of civil society will be conveyed to the Commission.

Through this process, upon the strong request from NGOs a group of Hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors) were invited to join the Commission's second meeting, which was held in Washington, D.C. on February 14-15, 2009. The Hibakusha were accompanied during their trip to the United States by Peace Boat's Kawasaki Akira. During a special one-hour session, with all Commissioners present, the three Hibakusha presented testimonies of their experiences and had the opportunity to exchange views with the Commissioners. In response, Co-Chair Gareth Evans mentioned in the final press conference that “it's very very important that when you sit down and address these issues, you don't just focus on the intellectual and abstract problems. We have to constantly remember that the reason we are so concerned about nuclear weapons is because they are the most horribly destructive weapons of all in terms of the sheer human misery and waste and disfoliation that they cause. That was a message that came through very clearly from the survivors. It made a deep impression on the Commissioners and we are very grateful to Yoriko and the Japanese side for making possible our experience of that testimony."

The first time Hibakusha have ever addressed such an international commission, this opportunity was realised because of the growing international attention towards the voice of Hibakusha in regards to nuclear disarmament today, as demonstrated through the great success of the Global Voyage for a Nuclear-Free World – Peace Boat Hibakusha Project. Peace Boat will continue to use this opportunity, and the continuation of Hibakusha participation in its global voyages, to bring the voices of civil society to the ICNND and work for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Please see also the ICNND Japan NGO Network's blog - www.icnndngojapan.wordpress.com