Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
It is an honor to address you on the occasion of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on behalf of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
This day is a stark reminder of our collective responsibility to rid the world of the most inhumane weapons ever created, and by doing so, to foster sustainable peace and lasting security.
Nuclear weapons pose an existential threat to humanity. Their use, especially in or near populated areas, would cause massive casualties and devastation, leading to incalculable human suffering. A nuclear war would have a dramatic impact on human health, the environment, climate, food production and socio-economic development, with irreversible consequences for future generations.
The devastation witnessed by the Japanese Red Cross Society and the ICRC in Hiroshima and Nagasaki some eighty years ago is proof that no humanitarian response can adequately