Reflections on The 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings, and the role of the red cross red crescent movement in humanitarian disarmament and the principles of the red cross.

1. Reflections on The 70th anniversary of the
atomic bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki
by Ghassan Shahrour
•6 August 1945
•Triangle Area Chapter
•Eastern North Carolina Region

8. Red Cross hospital: One of the few medical facilities standing in Hiroshima.

10. Hiroshima Red Cross
Hospital & Atomic-
bomb Survivors
Hospital

11. Dr Marcel Junod: like the palm of a hand.
‘We (…) witnessed a sight totally
unlike anything we had ever seen
before. The centre of the city was a
sort of white patch, flattened and
smooth like the palm of a hand.
Nothing remained. The slightest trace
of houses seemed to have
disappeared.
•ICRC delegate Dr Marcel Junod, first foreign
•Doctor into Hiroshima, 1945. ICRC photo.
•29 Monument in Memory of Dr. Marcel Junod

12. City wiped out eighty percent. All hospitals destroyed or seriously
damaged. Inspected two emergency hospitals. Conditions beyond
description FULL STOP. Effect of bomb mysteriously serious STOP.
Fritz Bilfinger, ICRC delegate, writing from Hiroshima,
30 August 1945
•Conditions beyond description … FULL STOP.

13. International Humanitarian Law
Brief History:
-Old Geneva Convention 1868
-Hague Convention 1899-1907
-World War I Aftermath
-The four Geneva Conventions are dated 12
August 1949. (Now 194 countries S/R -
The corner stone of contemporary IHL)
-Three Additional Protocols. The first two
were adopted in 1977, and the third more
recently in 2005 introducing a new protective
emblem, the Red Crystal.

14. International Humanitarian Law
• Weapons must not cause
damage to the natural
environment that is
widespread, long-term
and severe.
• The effects of nuclear
weapons are catastrophic
and cannot be contained.

15. International Humanitarian Law
• IHL bans weapons that
cannot distinguish
between civilian sites
and military targets.
• No nuclear bomb can
do that.
•Nagasaki, before and after

16. International Humanitarian Law & NWs
.
All rules of international
humanitarian law apply fully to
nuclear weapons; those rules
notably include the rules of :
1 distinction,
2 proportionality,
3 precaution,
4 prohibition of excessive
unnecessary suffering and the
5 prohibition to cause widespread,
severe and long-term damage to
the environment

17. The Costs of Attaining The Millennium Development Goals
.
between $40-$60 billion a year.
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development
•$50 B/ Year

18. Disarmament efforts and treaties (The 3 winners)
- Chemical Weapons Convention of 1925.
- Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963,
- Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in 1968,
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, 1996.
(>2000 nuclear tests conducted), still waiting 8 states.
- Biological Weapons Convention 1972.
- Chemical Weapons Convention 1993.
- Others….

19. And today’s more powerful weapons
• Potentially equal Hiroshima X 7
• No adequate medical / humanitarian response
would be possible
• Blast could be followed by worldwide famine
(IPPNW) study.
Photo source: www.mysticpolitics.comPhoto courtesy US Navy. Japanese soldier walks through Hiroshima one month after bomb.

20. The Efforts of Red Cross Red Crescent Movement
• ICRC General Assembly Conf. since 1948.
• At NPT and IAEA.
• Partial Test Ban Treaty in 1963,
• Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty in 1968,
• Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, 1996.
• The Global Conference on the Catastrophic Humanitarian
Consequences of any use of NWs in Oslo 2013, Mexico
2014 and Vienna 2014.

21. World Nuclear Forces November,
2013
United States 7,700
Russia 8,500
China 250
France 300
United Kingdom 225
Israel 80
India 110
Pakistan 120
DPRK (North Korea) Less than 10
Source: Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists Nuclear Notebook

22. World Opinion – Nuclear Disarmament?

23. COUNCIL OF DELEGATES
OF THE INTERNATIONAL
RED CROSS AND RED
CRESCENT MOVEMENT
Working towards the elimination of nuclear
weapons: Four-year action plan
Resolution adopted: Nov. 18, 2013
Sydney, Australia

24. Conference 1: Oslo, Norway March 2013
127 nations represented
Humanitarian Impact
of Nuclear Weapons
Conference 2: Nayarit, Mexico February, 2014
146 nations represented There were also 119 representatives
from civil society organizations, ten UN and non-UN international organizations
and agencies, 35 national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, as well as
legislators and academics.
Conference 3: Vienna, Austria Fall, 2014
•Austrian Pledge: (Humanitarian) We pledge to cooperate with all relevant
stakeholders, States, international organisations, the International Red
Cross and Red Crescent Movements, parliamentarians and civil society, in
efforts to stigmatise, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons in light of
their unacceptable humanitarian consequences and associated risks. 115
states endorsed until Aug 2015.

25. •ICRC marks the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombings of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This anniversary is a stark
reminder of the appalling human costs of nuclear weapons. It
should inspire all States to reaffirm their commitment to the
elimination of nuclear weapons. We know now more than
ever before that the risks of nuclear weapons are too high
and the dangers too real. It is time to bring the era of nuclear
weapons to an end and we urge this Review Conference to
take the bold steps needed to achieve this noble goal.

26. •Every man, woman and child lives under a nuclear
sword of Damocles, hanging by the slenderest of
threads, capable of being cut at any moment by
accident or miscalculation or by madness. The
weapons of war must be abolished
before they abolish us.
Address by President John F. Kennedy to the UN General Assembly
September 25, 1961

27. Hibakusha testimonies
“until my last breath.”
•https://youtu.be/cay0HWK5ziU?list=PL4UhoRnxMOGqKCi1xeOWFSrG8BK02LMpZ

28. #TheNew10
Ever since the U.S. Treasury
Department announced that a
woman will grace the face of the
new $10 note in 2020, fans have
been taking to Twitter to suggest
candidates who fit the bill.
* HarrietTubman
•* Barbara McClintock
•* Juliette Gordon
•* Helen Keller
•* Rosa Parks
•* Clara Barton
•* Wilma Mankiller
•Yes,Fundemental Principles Again: