UN Chief Calls for Getting Rid of Nuclear Weapons

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Sunday to get rid of nuclear weapons, thus honoring the legacy of the surviving victims of nuclear bombings in Japan.

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – On Sunday, Ban visited the memorial for the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki by the United States.

"As the average age of the hibakusha [the surviving victims of nuclear bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki] passes 80, I feel a growing sense of urgency to honor their legacy by finally ridding the world of nuclear weapons. The United Nations will mobilize the world’s peoples to achieve this goal," Ban said.

In 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on August 6 and 9 respectively. The bomb Little Boy killed about 140,000 residents of the Hiroshima city, and the bomb Fat Man claimed the lives of some 70,000 people in Nagasaki.

The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are the only attacks with nuclear weapons in the history of warfare.

Ban added that Nagasaki citizens had carried a message for the world that the nuclear weapon must not be used anymore in future.

"Nagasaki must be the last. We cannot allow any future use of nuclear weapons. Their humanitarian consequences are too great," Ban said.