Bearing Witness: Reflections from the World Conference against A and H Bombs

By Philip Jennings, IPB Co-President

“I forget things easily, but I can’t forget that day. I want to, but I can’t. I need to hand down my experience. Until the age of 80, I refused to speak about August 6, but now I do. I was 15. I worked in a tobacco factory; we were 600 metres from the epicentre. There was a white light, then a blast which rocked me. I had a moment to seek shelter that saved me, but my friends did not. There were fires and bodies everywhere. Children and adults with skin covered in blisters. The skin was hanging from their bodies. Children were crying, and then silence as their hearts stopped. I collected the bodies, and we made funeral pyres day after day.”

These words from a Hibakusha were shared at the 2025 Gensuikyo A & H conference in Hiroshima. The audience listened in respectful silence, with many tears being shed.

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Sudan: Extend the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission for two more years

14 August 2025 | Sudan | Defend Defenders

Ahead of the UN Human Rights Council’s 60th session (HRC60, 8 Sep­tem­ber-8 October 2025), dozens of NGOs urge states to support a mandate extension for the Inde­pen­dent International Fact-Fin­ding Mission (FFM) for Sudan.

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Boston-Hiroshima 80th Anniversary

6 August 2025, Boston – To mark the 80th anniversary of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, the Boston-Hiroshima 80th Anniversary Commemoration Coalition produced a 70-minute video, shown repeatedly during today’s event. The film is divided into three parts, exploring:

  • The significance of August 6, 1945
  • The legacy of the Hibakusha — survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
  • A call for nuclear disarmament

The coalition also organized a gathering at Dewey Square, across from South Station in downtown Boston. On this occasion, IPB Executive Director Sean Conner delivered a message to the people of Boston and fellow citizens across the United States. You can read his full speech below.

IPB Executive Director’s Speech at Boston-Hiroshima 80th Anniversary

Many US Americans my age and younger may not be aware of the true dangers of nuclear war in the modern era. There is a common misperception that the risk of nuclear war drastically decreased after the end of the Cold War when in fact the current situation is as dangerous, if not more.

Nearly all nuclear-armed states are undergoing intensive nuclear modernization programs and the total number of nuclear warheads is on the rise. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research institute, the total number of warheads in 2024 was estimated to be 12,241, with 2,100 in a state of high operational alert on ballistic missiles. Nuclear arms control is all but abandoned – the last remaining nuclear limitations agreement by the US and Russia, the New START Treaty, is set to expire in February 2026. Nuclear threats and talk of proliferation – including the deployment of Russian nuclear missiles in Belarus and the return of US nuclear missiles to the UK – are on the rise. New so-called ‘tactical’ nuclear weapons increase the risk of their usage. 

Make no mistake – nuclear deterrence theory is based fundamentally on a lie. There have been several close calls over the decades – from the Cuban Missile Crisis to the 2018 false missile alert in Hawaii. On each of these occasions, it is only by pure luck that we have not seen catastrophe. Whether purposeful or accidental, any use of nuclear weapons will likely cause a chain of events in which more weapons will be used. Even if a mere fraction of nuclear weapons are used – including in a regional conflict – the consequences will be global. 

Nuclear weapons are by nature indiscriminate – there is no distinction between military and civilian, or environment for that matter. And the consequences are long-term and widespread.

80 years after the Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we would be wise to learn the lessons that the Hibakusha, the survivors, share. We must abolish nuclear weapons and strengthen peaceful conflict resolution mechanisms. The good news is that there is already a framework – the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Join us in demanding that the US and all countries sign and ratify now!

Exploring the Future of Peace and Security: IPB Executive Director’s Speech at the Helsinki +50 People’s Conference

The IPB Executive Director’s speech at the Helsinki +50 People’s Conference on 1 August 2025 — a conference exploring the future of peace and security in Europe and beyond, through both top-down and bottom-up approaches.

This month we mark fifty years since the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe. It could not come at a more vital moment, as the Russian invasion of Ukraine and genocide in Gaza – as well as the more general increase in conflicts and military tensions from Sudan and DRC to the South China/West Philippines Sea and the Korean peninsula – force us to question the role of Europe in peace, solidarity, and diplomacy in the continent and indeed internationally. 

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IPB’s Voice for Peace at the 2025 World Conference Against A- and H-Bombs: Sean Conner’s Speech

IPB Executive Director Sean Conner Speech in the World Conference Against A- and H-Bombs 2025

Dear friends and colleagues, 

We are truly living in unprecedented times, in what seems like a parallel universe where people have forgotten the horrors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki from 80 years ago; where we have forgotten the promises of the post-second world war era, when global powers moved to prevent any future war; and where nuclear-armed states in 1968 signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty included article 6 – with a commitment to good faith efforts towards complete nuclear and conventional disarmament. 

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IPB Executive Director Sean Conner’s Common Security Speech

IPB Executive Director Sean Conner’s Common Security Speech in the International Trade Union’s July 28 webinar For Democracy that Delivers Peace and Prosperity for All.

The basic idea behind Common Security is that the security of one is inextricably linked to the security of all; that the security of a state, nation, or peoples cannot be achieved at the expense of the security of another; that security is not a zero-sum game. 

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Peace in Europe or war: Thoughts 50 years after the CSCE (Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe) in Helsinki in 1975

The opinions and views expressed in the article below are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of IPB.

The West is much closer to war with the nuclear power Russia than to the resumption of cooperative relations with this largest country on earth. The structural economic crisis in Europe, with the apparent way out being a military Keynesianism, will not necessarily lead to war. But its probability cannot be underestimated.

An arms race reminiscent of the worst times of the Cold War in many European countries, including Germany, will lead to profound economic and social upheavals.

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A GLOBAL CALL TO ACTION: FOR DEMOCRACY THAT DELIVERS PEACE AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL

FOR DEMOCRACY THAT DELIVERS PEACE AND PROSPERITY FOR ALL

As we approach the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, we, the undersigned organisations, call on governments and international institutions to reaffirm their commitment to a world free from nuclear weapons, honouring the demand of the Hibakusha and 2024 Nobel Peace laureate Nihon Hidankyo, and to prioritize sustainable development over militarism, people of collective power, accelerating military build-up and climate change, and diverting resources away from human development and peacebuilding.

As organisations from the peace, labour, economic justice, and climate movements, we share the belief that collective security can only be ensured through solidarity, by meeting the basic needs of all people.

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IPB Press Release: For Democracy that Delivers Peace and Prosperity for All

27 July 2025, Berlin, Germany

 The International Peace Bureau (IPB), in cooperation with the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Greenpeace, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, Oxfam, and 350.org, has released a global call to action for nuclear and conventional disarmament, common security, and a prioritization of sustainable development over militarism.

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IPB Statement on Thailand-Cambodia Border Clashes

25 July 2025

The International Peace Bureau (IPB) expresses deep concern over the rising military clashes and political tensions between Thailand and Cambodia, which have resulted in the death of at least 15 civilians and the mass displacement of civilians from border areas. The escalation of long-standing tensions over the border risks further exacerbating civilian suffering and displacement.

The IPB calls for an immediate ceasefire and a return to diplomatic negotiations and conflict resolution as the only tools that can solve the crisis. Nationalist and militaristic rhetoric must be replaced by dialogue and common security. Moreover, IPB calls on ASEAN, particularly neighbour states, in the region and those with military ties to either party to encourage de-escalation and peaceful resolution.

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