Choose Hope Side Event at NPT Review Conference

Choose Hope: Addressing Extended Deterrence Through the Lens of the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons

Thursday, April 30 | UN Church Center, 777 UN Plaza, 2nd Floor | 1:15 to 2:45pm

Co-sponsored by Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Soka Gakkai International, Philippines, and Kiribati.

In 2025, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and Soka Gakkai International organized a series of symposia titled “Choose Hope” to explore pathways toward a world free of nuclear weapons. This event in the sidelines of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference built upon our organizations’ shared commitments for a world free of nuclear weapons as underscored in our Choose Hope Declaration, produced as a result of the March 2025 Symposium.

We particularly take inspiration from the following excerpt of the Choose Hope Declaration:

“The situation on the ground is terrifying. Nuclear weapons could end human civilization in a little over an hour. This fact alone should bring people together in a shared mission to preserve humanity and the planet for all future generations and for all other life forms on Earth. But instead of simply despairing, we choose hope…. [W]e reject nuclear deterrence as a tool of safety and declare it to be the danger and threat in and of itself, robbing the general public and the political establishment of the opportunity to commit and work towards nuclear disarmament.”

The event aimed to reinvigorate the NPT community with a sense of hope, especially on Article VI commitments. Speakers addressed nuclear disarmament through the lens of the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and underscoring the disarmament obligations within the NPT. The discussion panel further challenged nuclear deterrence and extended deterrence theory with regards to broader global risks, including climate change, and ultimately emphasized deterrence as a source of insecurity rather than security.

Co-Moderator
Mohamed Ambrosini, Representative to the UN for Disarmament, Soka Gakkai International

Opening Remarks
H.E. Enrique A. Manalo, Permanent Representative of the Republic of the Philippines to the United Nations – Opening remarks on nuclear deterrence, non-proliferation commitments, and Article VI obligations within the NPT framework.

H.E. Josephine Moote, Chargé d’affaires, Permanent Mission of Kiribati to the United Nations; Co-Chair, TPNW Informal Working Group on Articles 6 and 7 – Opening remarks on nuclear justice, climate vulnerability of Pacific island states, and victim assistance and environmental remediation obligations under the TPNW.

Tomohiko Aishima, Executive Director, Soka Gakkai International Peace Center – Remarks situating the “Choose Hope” initiative within SGI’s peacebuilding tradition and drawing on the legacy of Daisaku Ikeda and David Krieger.

Keynote
Hideto Matsuura, Director, Nihon Hidankyo – Testimony from a hibakusha representative on the human consequences of nuclear weapons and the imperative of abolition. *Translation by Hayato Sadavrati of Soka Gakkai International

Panel Discussion
H.E. Elayne Whyte Gómez, President of the TPNW Negotiations; Professor, Johns Hopkins SAIS – Complementarity between the NPT and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, including legal and policy pathways toward disarmament.

Anduin Devos, Outreach Coordinator, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation – Links between climate disruption and nuclear weapons, focusing on environmental consequences and broader planetary risk.

Josefin Lind, Secretary General, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War Sweden – Medical impacts of nuclear weapons use and testing, including immediate and long-term health consequences.

Closing Remarks
Dr. Ivana Nikolić Hughes, President, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation – Closing remarks synthesizing humanitarian, environmental, and policy dimensions and reinforcing urgency around disarmament commitments within the NPT framework.