The mayor of Hiroshima and the President of the Mayors for Peace, Dr Tadatoshi Akiba, giving speech at the Times Square, New York 2nd May 2010.
Picture and text: Mayers for Peace
Hiroshima, November 1st 2010 – Mayors for Peace announced today that 94 new member cities have joined during the month of October. With Guatemala City, Reykjavik and Yerevan, Mayors for Peace welcomes three capital cities in its global network campaigning for the immediate commencement of negotiations for the establishment of a nuclear weapon free world by 2020. Mayors for Peace now counts 4,301 members in 149 countries and regions.
With the capitals of Guatemala, Iceland and Armenia, the network now counts 98 of the world capital cities (list attached), having secured the support of 51% of the capital cities in the 192 United Nations member states. The support includes the cities of Paris, Beijing, Delhi, London and Moscow in the Nuclear Weapons States; and Amsterdam, Ankara, Berlin, Brussels and Rome in the five countries where the US deploys nuclear weapons outside its territory.
Last month 94 new members (list attached) were welcomed: Argentina (22), Armenia (1), Austria (9), Chile (1), Colombia (5), Dominican Republic (3), El Salvador (5), France (8), Ghana (2), Greece (1), Guatemala (4), Honduras (1), Iceland (1), Italy (1), Japan (12), Mexico (2), Netherlands (1), Puerto Rico (11), UK (2) and USA (2).
With its first members in Armenia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Iceland and Puerto Rico, the network now increases its membership from 144 to 149 countries and regions. With its swift growth, Mayors for Peace is without doubt the fastest growing international network of local governments.
Most of the 94 new members were personally welcomed by Dr. Tadatoshi Akiba, the Mayor of Hiroshima, during his visit to Buenos Aires, Argentina, last month. The Mayor of Hiroshima, the first city to be destroyed by a US nuclear bomb in 1945, is the President of Mayors for Peace.
Mayor Tadatoshi Akiba also signed an agreement with the Federation of Latin American Cities, Municipalities and Associations of local governments (FLACMA) in support of the campaign to eliminate all nuclear weapons by 2020. FLACMA is the Latin American branch of the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG), the world wide organisation of local governments. FLACMA and Mayors for Peace intend to establish a close, long-lasting relationship which will be further developed during a meeting of FLACMA just prior to the 3rd
World Congress of the UCLG in Mexico City November 16 – 21, 2010.
Mayor Akiba also signed an agreement with the Federation of Argentinian Municipalities (FAM). This is the first agreement ever between Mayors for Peace and a national association of local governments. In this initial agreement, FAM calls upon all Mayors from Argentina to formally join Mayors for Peace and, as a concrete manifestation of said support, FAM will encourage local governments from Argentina to make symbolic financial contributions to the global campaign in solidarity with Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two cities that continue to carry the main financial responsibility for the international campaign.
On November 1st nearly half of the members are from Europe (2,104 – 48.91%). Asia has the second largest number of members (1,229 – 28,57%); followed by Latin America and the Caribbean (371 – 8,62%); North-America (254 – 5,90%); Africa (229 – 5,32%); and Oceania (114 – 2,65%).
Member cities: http://www.mayorsforpeace.org/english/membercity/map.html
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Pol Heanna
International Development Director &
Executive Advisor Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation
Mayors for Peace 2020 Vision Campaign
Sao Paulo, BRAZIL
Website: www.2020visioncampaign.org