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The G7 Parliamentarian Forum for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons will take place in Tokyo and Hiroshima from April 28 to April 30, 2023. Parliamentarians from G7 countries will convene to recognize the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, condemn threats to use them, and discuss ways to eliminate them altogether through the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). As representatives of the G7 states, the participating parliamentarians acknowledge their special responsibility for promoting the abolition of nuclear weapons and fostering political circumstances for nuclear disarmament policies.
On April 28, the forum will take place at the Japanese House of Councillors. The session will include an opening and official welcome by Florian Eblenkamp from ICAN, followed by a report from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Ms. Kuniko Inoguchi, a member of the House of Councillors from the Liberal Democratic Party and former Disarmament Ambassador of Japan, will deliver the keynote speech. After statements by parliamentarians from all G7 countries, representatives from the Hiroshima G7 Youth Summit will also deliver their joint statement.
The Hiroshima session on April 29 will start with a visit to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum and an official remembrance event at the Hiroshima Cenotaph. The forum will continue to provide opportunities to learn from survivors of the atomic bombing, the hibakusha, during a workshop at Hiroshima University. Toshiko Tanaka, a Hibakusha, will deliver testimony about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons. ICAN’s policy and research coordinator Alicia Sanders-Zakre will then present key developments around the intersessional work of the TPNW state parties, including on how the G7 can support Victim Assistance and Environmental Remediation, as per Articles 6 and 7 of the TPNW. All parliamentarians will then adopt a final statement that will be presented at a press conference for Japanese and International media.
Closing off the three day forum, the parliamentarians will interact with hibakusha and local civil society groups and receive a guided tour of the Peace Memorial Park and nearby areas on April 30th.
The G7 Summit's focus on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation is crucial in today's world, where the risk of nuclear war has increased more than ever before. It is essential to remind leaders of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and encourage them to work towards their total elimination. Building on the success of the Parliamentarian conference at the first Meeting of state parties and the recent conference for European parliamentarians in Oslo, the G7 Parliamentarian Forum for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons is significant in fostering political support for nuclear disarmament. The parliamentarians' work will raise the pressure on the G7 leaders to agree on concrete actions by the G7 leaders towards achieving a nuclear weapon-free world.