Victims of atomic bombings and nuclear tests gathered in Hiroshima to discuss eliminating nuclear damage, 80 years after the atomic bombings of the city of Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.
The global forum, hosted by two antinuclear organizations over two days through Monday, adopted a declaration stating that nuclear weapons and human beings cannot coexist and demanding that no further nuclear damage be caused on Earth. The event was held for the first time in 10 years.
On Sunday, hibakusha atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and South Korea shared their experiences, and participants debated on the issue of uranium mining. A social activist from Jaduguda in eastern India, where the country's first uranium mine is located, explained regional divisions and health problems among residents, arguing that the chain of nuclear violence starts from uranium mining and that it is always the socially vulnerable who pay the price.
On Monday, participants discussed the U.S. hydrogen bomb tests at Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands and the nuclear accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
The forum also adopted a declaration calling for giving compensation and rights to nuclear victims, including access to accurate information and participation in policy decision-making processes.
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