Twenty-four Japanese high school students serving as "peace messengers" advocating for the abolition of nuclear weapons presented about 110,000 signatures for world peace to the United Nations during their visit to the U.N. European headquarters in Geneva on Tuesday.
They met with Carolyne Melanie Regimbal, chief of service for the U.N. Office for Disarmament Affairs' Geneva branch. During their 90-minute talk, the students and Regimbal discussed how to realize security without relying on nuclear deterrence.
Ami Nagato, 16, a first grader at Fukuyama Akenohoshi Girls' Senior High School in Hiroshima Prefecture, handed the signatures to U.N. officials on behalf of the students.
This year marks the 80th anniversary of the U.S. atomic bombings of the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the closing days of World War II.
"Nuclear weapons have not been used in the past 80 years thanks to the efforts by many people and calls from hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors)," Nagato told reporters. She also spoke of the importance of individual action, regardless of how big or small, in order to realize a world without nuclear weapons.
"I want people to know the devastation from the nuclear attacks and tell them about the importance of peace," she said.
Since the student peace messenger program started in 1998, more than 2.83 million signatures have been collected.
This year's student peace messengers were chosen from 18 prefectures.
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