Pol DHuyvetter

Santiago de Chile, January 28th 2013 – Mayors for Peace welcomes the renewed commitment of the 33 Heads of State of Latin America and the Caribbean to work towards a world free of nuclear weapons. The leaders reaffirmed the priority…

The three-term mayor of Hiroshima who spearheaded a global campaign for nuclear disarmament and a photographer who documented river pollution in his native China are among the 2010 winners of the Ramon Magsaysay Awards. The awards are considered Asia’s equivalent of the Nobel Prize. They are named after a popular Philippine president who died in a plane crash in 1957.

Mayors for Peace announced that 4.037 member cities in 144 countries and regions have joined the campaign to eliminate nuclear weapons by 2020. Dr. Akiba, Mayor of Hiroshima and President of Mayors for Peace spearheads an international campaign for nuclear weapon states to stop considering cities as targets for weapons of mass destruction.

The Frente Nacional de Prefeitos (FNP) joined Mayors for Peace during their General Meeting held in Florianopolis, south of Brazil, on April 26 and 27th. In the motion adopted by the FNP the Brazilian Association of Local Governments encourages its members to join individually. During the conference 29 Brazilian Mayors were welcomed as new members.

As of October 1st 2009 Mayors for Peace counts 3,147 member cities and municipalities in 134 countries and regions. During September 43 new members joined the movement of local authorities demanding the elimination of all nuclear weapons by 2020. Mayor Marcelo Ebrard from Mexico City is one of the new members welcomed during a special ceremony last September 10th.