A Nobel reminder of the peril of nukes

The Nobel for Nihon Hidankyo will hopefully revive a conversation about the perils of nuclear weapons

The Nobel Peace Prize for Nihon Hidankyo puts the spotlight back on nuclear weapons and the devastating impact their use can have on generations of victims. This Japanese organisation, which represents the “hibakusha”, the victims of the US nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the fag end of World War II, has been leading the campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons and is richly deserving of the Nobel.

Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations (Nihon Hidankyo) co-chair Toshiyuki Mimaki, who survived the 1945 atomic bombing of Hiroshima, gestures as he speaks during an interview with Reuters on the following day of Nihon Hidankyo winning the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize, in Hiroshima, western Japan, October 12, 2024. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (REUTERS)

The timing of the prize is significant. In the wake of the wars in Ukraine and West Asia, there is increasing unease in the global community about nuclear adventurism by nations that have access to nuclear weapons. The international architecture that governed the use and spread of nuclear weapons suddenly looks wobbly. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and other such international treaties and laws look ineffective in the wake of Russia’s move to reduce its threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. For instance, President Vladimir Putin has said Russia would respond with nukes even if a non-nuclear State attacks Moscow with the participation or support of a nuclear power. The collapse of a global consensus on nuclear weapons and the failure of international bodies to regulate its spread have revived the quest for nuclear weapons in many nations — Israel’s actions, for instance, may have defeated the international community’s attempts to convince Tehran to roll back its ambitions to have nuclear weapons. The ineffectiveness of the United Nations in arbitrating territorial disputes has also changed the narrative in favour of nuclear weapons, which many countries now see as the only reliable deterrent against aggression by big and rogue powers.

With time, the tragedy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki has retreated into the recesses of history. All the talk about banning nuclear weapons was defeated by the big powers that sparked an arms race. The Nobel for Nihon Hidankyo will hopefully revive a conversation about the perils of nuclear weapons and the need to have an effective global regime against proliferation and adventurism.