The African Diplomatic Corps (ADC) held an extraordinary meeting on January 12, 2010 at the residence of the Ambassador of Tunisia, H.E Dr. Nourredine HACHED in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo. The Special guest at that meeting was the Honorable Mayor of Hiroshima, Dr. Tadatoshi AKIBA, who is also the President of “Mayors for Peace” Organization.

The Honorable Dr. Akiba was invited by the ADC to make a presentation on the Organization that he is leading and its activities. Indeed, “Mayors for Peace” is a movement composed of Mayors/Cities all over the World, which was founded on June 24, 1982 at the 2nd UN Special Session on Disarmament by then, Mayor of Hiroshima, Takeshi Araki. The purpose of the newly formed Organization was to promote the solidarity of Cities toward the Total Abolition of Nuclear Weapons as well as the realization of genuine and lasting peace worldwide. As of January 1, 2010, membership stood at 3488 cities in 134 countries and regions of which, 30 countries and 164 Cities are from Africa.

In his presentation, Dr AKIBA not only made an appeal for more Mayors and cities, including in particular those from Africa, to join the organization, but also, he emphasized the need for supporting the “2020 Vision and the adoption of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki Protocol and a resolution at the NPT Review Conference 2010”.

For more information on the “Mayors for Peace” Organization, please click here.