Nuclear Disarmament and
Our Sustainable Future

Online Virtual Event

HOPe/Hiroshima Prefecture will participate in the “Special Event of the UN 2021 High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development”, which is co-organized by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Division for Sustainable Development Goals (DESA/DSDG) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) New York Office.

HOPe/Hiroshima Prefecture will hold the session No.10, which is one of the ten sessions in the “Special Event of the UN 2021 High-Level Political Forum.”

In the panel discussion of this session, the panelists will discuss the interconnectedness of these two issues from an environmental, societal and economic perspective, based on the commonalities found in “the COVID-19 pandemic”and“issues of nuclear weapons”. The panel will argue how our engagement to nuclear disarmament could lead to achieve the SDGs and a sustainable future.

Session Overview

Date

　 July 12 (Monday), 2:00pm – 3:30pm（EDT） New York
　 July 13 (Tuesday), 3:00am – 4:30am (JST) Japan *Midnight

Theme

　Nuclear Disarmament and Our Sustainable Future

Participation Cost

　Free

Registration

　Please register here

Event Page

https://sdgs.un.org/events/nuclear-disarmament-and-our-sustainable-future-33320

Contents

Opening Remarks

Panel Discussion

Concept

• In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and other natural disasters such as forest fires and floods swept the globe. The need to establish international cooperation at various levels for global health and environment has never been so obvious.
• In order to achieve a sustainable and peaceful future for humankind and our planet, we must face and tackle with many challenges.
• In the Post COVID-19 era, we must “build back better” to create a resilient global society. The emphasis on the connection between the COVID-19 pandemic and nuclear weapons issues are to be discussed.
• The global spread of coronavirus revealed that such menace, previously seen as a mere hypothetical scenario, can so quickly materialize and dominate our reality.
• Learning from the COVID-19 pandemic, the international community must not only combat current crises, but also take preventative measures against potential threats, risks and vulnerabilities forthcoming.
• Nuclear weapons are a salient example of such. Single use of a nuclear weapon ensures great destruction and devastating effects on all efforts made towards the SDGs.
• Moreover, $72.6 billion was spent on nuclear weapons worldwide in 2020. If we could repurpose that money to go forward with the SDGs, it would significantly help to “build back better “ the international community.