“Pocket Watch,” Donated by Kazuo Nikawa, Courtesy of Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum

Hiroshima Prefecture / Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe) has released “Hiroshima Watch 2024.” This statement aims to verify the compliance status of various countries with their nuclear disarmament obligations, clarify what each country must do in the future, and encourage action towards a peaceful world free of nuclear weapons.

What is “Hiroshima Watch”?

• “Hiroshima Watch” is a policy recommendation that verifies the compliance status of various countries with their nuclear disarmament obligations, clarifies what each country must do in the future, and encourages action.
• The decision to create “Hiroshima Watch” was made during the “Hiroshima Round Table” (＊1), focusing on what governments have actually promised and whether they have kept those promises in declarations at G7 and P5 (permanent members of the UN Security Council) meetings, G20, and NPT Review Conferences.
• The compliance verification targets are international agreements on nuclear disarmament, such as the G7 Summit Joint Document, G20 Leaders’ Declaration, and NPT Review Conference Final Document.
• In creating “Hiroshima Watch,” data from the “Hiroshima Report” (＊2), which is compiled annually by Hiroshima Prefecture / Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe), is referenced.

(＊1) Hiroshima Round Table

Hiroshima Prefecture / Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe) has been holding the “Hiroshima Round Table” since 2013 as a multilateral forum for nuclear disarmament discussions.

The “Hiroshima Round Table” is chaired by Professor Kiichi FUJIWARA (University of Tokyo at that time) and includes participants such as former foreign ministers and researchers from Japan, the U.S., China, South Korea, Australia, and Russia, including Professor Gareth EVANS.

Until last year, various recommendations were made to the international community in the form of chair statements.

“Hiroshima Watch” is being created and released for the first time, instead of the previous chair statements.

Details of the “Hiroshima Round Table” are available here

 

(＊2) Hiroshima Report

The “Hiroshima Report,” compiled annually by Hiroshima Prefecture / Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe) , scores and analyzes the actions of nuclear-armed and major non-nuclear-armed countries in the fields of nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and nuclear security based on certain criteria.

The latest “Hiroshima Report” is available here

 

About the name “Hiroshima Watch”

The name “Hiroshima Watch” is inspired by “Helsinki Watch” (now Human Rights Watch), which was established to monitor compliance with the Helsinki Accords (1975) by governments in the former Eastern bloc and contributed to the democratization of this region in the late 1980s. Similarly, “Hiroshima Watch” aims to monitor whether governments are adhering to their commitments.

Hiroshima Watch’s appeal to the international community

As an appeal from Hiroshima, the site of the atomic bombing, this document will be sent to all 193 UN member states, urging them to take concrete actions.

Related Materials

^{Hiroshima Round Table}

^{Hiroshima Report}