Dear Friend,

This week marks 79 years since the devastating US nuclear attacks against Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed more than 210,000 people – including some 38,000 babies and children.

In a major new report published by ICAN today, we describe in detail the catastrophic harm inflicted on children in the two Japanese cities, as well as on those living near nuclear test sites globally.

The main conclusion of the report – which was reviewed by paediatricians – is that children are more likely than adults to die or suffer severe injuries in a nuclear attack, given their greater vulnerability to the effects of nuclear weapons: heat, blast and radiation.

The fact that children depend on adults for their survival also places them at higher risk of death or hardship in the aftermath of a nuclear attack, with support systems destroyed.

These findings should have profound implications for policy-making in countries that currently possess nuclear weapons and those that support their retention as part of military alliances.

While children played no part in developing these doomsday devices, it is children who would suffer the most in the event of their future use – one of the myriad reasons why such weapons must be urgently eliminated.

In the words of the UN secretary-general, António Guterres: “Nuclear weapons are the most destructive power ever created. They offer no security – just carnage and chaos. Their elimination would be the greatest gift we could bestow on future generations.”

Please read the report (or listen to an audio version of it) and share it widely.

Sincerely,

Tim Wright
Author of "The Impact of Nuclear Weapons on Children"
Treaty Coordinator
ICAN
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons