The atomic bombs that exploded over Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945 caused unspeakable suffering and devastation. For the last 75 years, humanity has lived under the dark shadow of these uniquely horrific and terrifying tools of war.

We are not prepared to deal with the humanitarian catastrophe that would occur if nuclear weapons were to be used again. A nuclear explosion would leave everyone helpless.

Yet, the risk that nuclear weapons may be used is frighteningly high—and is increasing. Knowing our inability to respond to the consequences of a nuclear explosion, any risk of use of nuclear weapons is unacceptable.

What we cannot prepare for, we must prevent. It is high time that we take urgent action to prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons.

Join us for one of our five webinars to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, to honour the memory of the hundreds of thousands of victims of these atomic bombings, and to call on all States to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

On 3 August 2020, Dr Eve Massingham will share her insights on the legality of nuclear weapons and the approach that States have taken with respect to nuclear weapons pursuant to their obligation to 'ensure respect for international humanitarian law' under the Geneva Conventions of 1949.

Dr Eve Massingham is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Queensland. She has been an ARC volunteer, staff and/or member since 1999 and worked, in particular, on the ARC nuclear weapons campaign from 2010-2014. She has recently returned to Australia from working for the ICRC in East and Southern Africa from 2016-2019. Eve is the coeditor of a forthcoming book (Routledge, 2020) on the obligation to ensure respect for international humanitarian law and in the book, and previously in her PhD, she has looked at the legality of nuclear weapons and the approach that States have taken to them through an ‘ensure respect’ lens.

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You can also join us for our other online events. Please register separately for each event, and use the individual Zoom link for that event.

Sunday, 2 August | Join Professor Tilman Ruff AO, founding member of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and Co-President of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) to learn about the journey to developing the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and why it is so important that all States sign and ratify the treaty.

Tuesday, 4 August | Join Professor Dale Stephens to hear his discussion on nuclear weapons in light of international humanitarian law and about the more commonly breached obligations during times of armed conflict.

Wednesday, 5 August | Join Karina Lester, a Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman from the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands) in the far North West of South Australia to share her late father's story and her grandmother's story of the British Nuclear Tests in the 1950s and 1960s.

Thursday, 6 August | Join Isao Moriomoto to learn the personal story of his mother's surviving the Hiroshima atomic bomb attack and her proceeding work in education and advocacy, which he has now continued.

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This webinar series is co-hosted by Australian Red Cross and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), Australia.