Presentation of Ginkgo Biloba sapling by Mr. Kazumi Matsui, President of Mayors for Peace and Mayor of Hiroshima

Mr. Matsui,
Mr. Seth,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,

My heartfelt thank you for this beautiful Gingko Biloba which I am grateful to accept on behalf of the United Nations in Geneva. We will take good care of it until it will be planted in Ariana Park by the United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, later this year.

This sapling stands for life, hope and a sustainable future. It has grown from the mother tree that survived the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and, as its buds started sprouting again, gave hope to its citizens and the courage to live. Saplings from the trees that witnessed the bombings some 70 years ago have been planted around the world as part of an initiative of Mayors for Peace, calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons and the realization of world peace. International Geneva is proud to become part of the cities where a second-generation Gingko tree will grow.

As the sapling will take root in the Park behind this building it will become a daily reminder of what happened in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a reminder of the harm and devastation caused by nuclear bombs. This tree growing in our park will symbolize the hope that the next generations will grow up in peace and without fear of bombs falling. This was the very purpose of the United Nations as it was created after the Second World War, to “save succeeding generations free from the scourge of war”.

The number and intensity of conflicts in today’s world as well as the growing militarization and increasing defence budgets remind us that stronger efforts and engagement for a more peaceful planet are much needed. We must also be more serious about disarmament. The nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, for example, makes no progress. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is still not in force and the Conference on Disarmament continues to be unable to agree on a Programme of Work.

Peace also begins with disarmament and therefore I salute the efforts of the Open-ended Working Group on Disarmament that is starting its 2nd session today. The Working Group, a subsidiary body to the General Assembly, is a much-needed effort to re-inject energy into the multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations.

I am very pleased that the Open-ended Working Group meets in International Geneva with its longstanding history and tradition in the disarmament field. Key disarmament treaties, including all multilateral conventions associated with the elimination, limitation or non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, such as the chemical and the biological weapons conventions, the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, have been negotiated in the Palais des Nations.

Looking back at these successes, I am confident that the UN system is strong enough and sufficiently flexible and creative to overcome a temporary stalemate and move the multilateral nuclear disarmament agenda forward. Multilateral nuclear disarmament has no reasonable alternative.

Let this sapling and the tree it will grow into be a constant reminder of this our obligation to the victims of the nuclear bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki as well as to future generations. May they never have to face this same destiny.

Mr. Matsui, I thank you for your gift and I promise that we at the United Nations will take good care of it and that we will be fully committed to taking forward the disarmament agenda that it reminds us of.

Thank you very much.