Former US President Barack Obama has congratulated Nihon Hidankyo for winning this year’s Nobel Peace Prize. Obama, who advocated for a nuclear-free world, won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 while he was in office.
On Monday he posted a congratulatory message on social media to the Japanese organization, which represents survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
He said, “At a time when the threat of nuclear weapons is growing — and the taboo against threatening their use is weakening — Nihon Hidankyo’s work reminds us that these weapons have a terrible human cost, and that the pursuit of a world without nuclear weapons is an essential part of making sure we leave our children a safer, more secure world.”
He praised Nihon Hidankyo, saying it “built a powerful movement out of personal tragedy and insists upon our common humanity.”
In 2016, Obama traveled to Hiroshima as the first sitting US President to visit the atomic-bombed city.