The face of civilization was changed forever when a nuclear bomb almost incinerated the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, instantly killing tens of thousands of people.
This year on the anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing, Australian Red Cross begins a campaign to re-ignite the push for a ban on the use of nuclear weapons – calling on young Australians to finish what their parents started. We want Australia to lead the world in a renewed call for an unequivocal ban on the use of nuclear weapons.
The anti-nuclear weapons debate helped define a generation in the 60s and 70s, but fizzled out before concrete change was achieved. The problem hasn’t gone away and today, more than ever, nuclear weapons are a uniquely destructive threat to the future of humanity.
It is estimated there are at least 20,000 nuclear weapons in existence worldwide, about 3000 of them on a launch-ready alert. Combined, they have a destructive force equivalent to around 150,000 Hiroshima bombs.
If even one of those nuclear weapons were to be used, the humanitarian and environmental consequences would be devastating. A nuclear conflict would not only result in an enormous loss of life, but also the destruction of huge tracts of land, mass starvation and the disruption of global food distribution.
The people and governments of the world have shown that progress can be made by putting in place significant new international humanitarian law conventions targeting land mines and cluster munitions, but the challenge of nuclear weapons has so far eluded us.
The debate about nuclear weapons is ultimately about human beings, our environment and the future of humanity. It is time for the global community – Australians included – to decide if we want nuclear weapons to continue to be a threat to our future, or to become part of our history.
To learn more about nuclear weapons and the Australian Red Cross campaign, go to
www.redcross.org.au
Australian Red Cross CEO
Robert Tickner
