IAEA director on Nobel Peace Prize: “Difficult times call for enlightened leadership”
Pointing to the consequences of ignoring the perils of nuclear weapons, Rafael Mariano Grossi at last week’s Nobel Peace Prize forum called for diplomacy and dialogue to reduce nuclear tensions.
Read Grossi’s full speech and watch his keynote address here.
The International Atomic Energy Agency’s director general spoke in Oslo the day after the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Nihon Hidankyō, the Japanese organization of hibakusha—survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The group’s mission is to eliminate all nuclear weapons, ensuring they are never used again.
The growing numbers of nuclear warheads, increased talk of nuclear weapons use, and conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are all intensifying nuclear risks, Grossi said.
“Putting the international system back on track is within our reach,” he said. “World leaders, including those at the top of the multilateral system, have a duty and an irrevocable responsibility to make this work.”
Background: On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima, killing 140,000 people; then three days later it dropped another bomb on Nagasaki , killing 70,000 people. Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945, ending World War II.
According to the Associated Press, as demands grew for government support for health problems in the years that followed, Nihon Hidankyō was formed in 1956 by survivors of the attacks and victims of nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific.
Honoring peace efforts: In his will, Alfred Nobel directed the prize to be awarded to “the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”
Last year’s prize was awarded to Narges Mohammadi, the jailed Iranian activist. The Nobel committee also recognized, with that award, “the hundreds of thousands of people” who demonstrated against the “theocratic regime’s policies of discrimination and oppression targeting women.”
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Nihon Hidankyō cochair Toshiyuki Mimaki shared his surprise when he heard the group was the recipient of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, which includes a $1 million cash award.
“I was in the Hiroshima City Hall at the time watching the announcement, and I was expecting that the prize this year would go to people working for peace in Gaza,” he said. “I was just so shocked.”
A time of conflict: Since its inception in 1901, the Nobel Prize has not been awarded, including during both world wars. Some speculated that the prize would also be withheld this year, given intensifying tension and violence on the world stage.
The Middle East has seen tens of thousands of casualties since the October 2023 raid by Hamas in Israel. Meanwhile, Israel recently send ground troops into Lebanon, and Iran has literally fired back at Israel with ballistic missiles, the Associated Press reports.
The wars in Gaza and Ukraine have also seen human tolls in the tens of thousands, with heavy casualties among civilians as well as military personnel and hardship caused by displacement and destroyed infrastructure.
No nuclear weapons: Grossi warned of the continued danger of nuclear proliferation and urged nonnuclear weapon states not to fall for the “siren call” of the world’s most destructive weapon of mass destruction, the IAEA shared. He also urged international cooperation and “an iron-clad resolve” to strengthen nuclear nonproliferation.
“Acquiring a nuclear weapon will not increase national security, it will do the opposite. Other countries will follow,” Grossi said. “And this will contribute to the unravelling of a non-proliferation regime that has had its ups and downs—and it still has its limitations—but none-the-less it has served humanity extraordinarily well.”