On 77th anniversary, UNI remembers Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombing victims; renews calls for disarmament

UNI Global Union remembers the 225,000 people who died in the nuclear attacks on Japan 77 years ago this week.

The federation also honours the thousands more victims who suffered the long-term consequences of radiation following the Second World War assaults on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively.

“We must never forget the unspeakable horror the bombings unleashed, and in a world of increasing turmoil and growing nuclear threat, we must continue to push for peace and nuclear disarmament so atrocities like these never happen again,” said Alke Boessiger, Deputy General Secretary of UNI Global Union.

UNI Global Union has been active in calling for a world free from nuclear weapons—a fundamental requirement for human rights—and is a member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Since its 2010 congress, held in Nagasaki, UNI has forged strong ties with the city of Nagasaki as well as the international peace movement.

“We observe these solemn anniversaries to commemorate the lives lost, but also to state that a secure, democratic future in our region—and across the globe–requires these weapons to be relegated to the ash heap of history,” said Rajendra Acharya, Regional Secretary of UNI Asia & Pacific.