Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese group of atomic bomb survivors, has won the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize.
The organisation, made up of survivors of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, was recognised by the Norwegian Nobel Committee for its efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
Nobel Committee Chair Joergen Watne Frydnes said the group had “contributed greatly to the establishment of the nuclear taboo”.
Mr Frydnes warned the “nuclear taboo” was now “under pressure” – and praised the group’s use of witness testimony to ensure nuclear weapons must never be used again.
Founded in 1956, the organisation sends survivors around the world to share their testimonies of the “atrocious damage” and suffering caused by the use of nuclear weapons, according to their website.
Their work came almost a decade after the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
On 6 August 1945, a US bomber dropped the uranium bomb above the city of Hiroshima, killing around 140,000 people.
Three days later a second nuclear weapon was dropped on Nagasaki. Two weeks later Japan surrendered, ending World War Two.
Speaking to reporters in Japan, a tearful Toshiyuki Mimaki, the co-head of the group, said: “Never did I dream this could happen,” the AFP news agency quotes him as saying.
The decision to recognise Nihon Hidankyo means the Nobel committee has steered away from more controversial nominees for the peace prize.
There had been widespread speculation the United Nations agency supporting Palestinians – UNWRA – was being considered for the prize.
Although the organisation is the main provider of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza, nine of its members were fired for alleged involvement in the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 last year.
More than 12,000 people had signed a petition urging the committee not to award UNWRA the prize.
There were equal concerns about the nomination of the International Court of Justice.
The UN’s main judicial organ is currently considering allegations that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza and has already issued a statement urging the Israeli authorities to refrain from genocidal acts.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute said 286 candidates had been nominated for this year’s peace prize, a number comprising 197 individuals and 89 organisations.
Nominations can be made by people in positions of significant authority, including members of national assemblies, governments and international courts of law.
Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi won the prize in 2023, when she was honoured for her work fighting the oppression of women in Iran.
