Below is the text of a message from U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon read out at the memorial ceremony in Hiroshima on the 70th anniversary Thursday of the U.S. atomic bombing:
I am honored to send this message to all participants at the Peace Memorial Ceremony marking the solemn 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. I am grateful to the organizers and all those who have gathered for this remembrance. Your commemoration should reverberate from this city across the world, reminding all people of the need for urgent action to eliminate nuclear weapons once and for all.
Seven decades after their first use in conflict, this somber occasion commemorates the tens of thousands who died that day. It honors the survivors who have suffered severe adversity in the aftermath. The United Nations stands with them, resolved to realize their vision of a nuclear-weapon-free world.