Upcoming Events
Press Release: UN to Convene First-Ever International Meeting on Victim Assistance and Environmental Remediation
United Nations to Convene First-Ever International Meeting on Victim Assistance and Environmental Remediation
The 2025 resolution establishing the meeting’s modalities received 170 votes in favor from UN Member States, in an unprecedented show of support for nuclear justice.
NEW YORK, NY, August 27, 2026 – The United Nations (UN) will convene the first International Meeting on Victim Assistance and Environmental Remediation on September 1, 2026, at the UN Headquarters in New York.
The meeting aims to address the legacy of nuclear weapons by exploring the needs and mechanisms for victim assistance and environmental remediation of UN member states affected by nuclear weapons. It will be open to Member States, observer States, observers of the UN General Assembly, UN agencies, and civil society representatives, including scientists, academia, and representatives of communities affected by the use, production, and testing of nuclear weapons.
In addition to the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, over 2,000 nuclear explosions have been detonated worldwide. Their environmental and humanitarian consequences have transcended national borders and continue to cause intergenerational harm. This meeting will provide a forum for UN Member States and affected communities to share their experiences and examine how victim assistance and environmental remediation should be addressed.
High-level opening statements will include remarks from Masako Wada, a Nagasaki hibakusha and Assistant Secretary General of Nihon Hidankyo, which received the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize; and Karipbek Kuyukov, a Kazakh artist and anti-nuclear activist born without arms as a result of radiation exposure from Soviet nuclear testing.
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) is serving as a civil society coordinator for this meeting.
Ivana Nikolić Hughes, President of NAPF, shares, “We are looking forward to this historic meeting as an opportunity for the international community to come together to advance victim assistance and environmental remediation for so many communities that have suffered the devastation brought by the use, testing, and development of nuclear weapons. The hibakusha and other affected community members can teach us not only how to right historical wrongs, but how to make a better, more peaceful world.”
The meeting was requested by UN General Assembly Resolution 79/60, introduced by the Republics of Kazakhstan and Kiribati and co-sponsored by a broad cross-regional group of states. Kazakhstan was subjected to extensive Soviet nuclear testing, while the United States and United Kingdom conducted nuclear tests in Kiribati. Resolution 80/56, adopted in December 2025, established the meeting’s format and participation procedures.
Recommendations raised during the meeting will help inform the outcome document distributed afterward by the UN Secretary-General.
The meeting will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time in the Economic and Social Council Chamber at UN Headquarters.
Event information and documents are available through the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs and the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.
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About the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Founded in 1982, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that educates and advocates for a just and peaceful world free of nuclear weapons. Based in Santa Barbara and New York, NAPF holds consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and is recognized by the United Nations as a Peace Messenger Organization.
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Press Release: NAPF to Honor Katrina vanden Heuvel and Annie Jacobsen at 2026 Women Waging Peace Luncheon
NAPF to Honor Katrina vanden Heuvel and Annie Jacobsen at 2026 Women Waging Peace Luncheon
Women Waging Peace Award recognizes two extraordinary women who have brought questions of war, peace, and nuclear danger before a broad public.
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., August 18, 2026 – The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) will honor Katrina vanden Heuvel and Annie Jacobsen with its 2026 Women Waging Peace Award at a luncheon on Wednesday, September 30, at the Kimpton Canary Hotel Rooftop in Santa Barbara.
The award recognizes women whose work has advanced peace, justice, and a world free of nuclear weapons. This year’s honorees have each used writing and public discussion to bring difficult questions about war, political power, and nuclear danger to audiences far beyond the policy community, both nationally and worldwide.
Katrina vanden Heuvel is editor and publisher of The Nation. Her journalism and commentary have examined U.S. and international politics, peace and security, and relations between the United States and Russia. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Boston Globe, and The Washington Post, where she wrote a weekly column from 2013 to 2022. She is also president of the American Committee for US-Russia Accord.
Annie Jacobsen is a Pulitzer Prize finalist and New York Times bestselling author whose reporting has explored war, weapons, government secrecy, and national security. Her 2024 book, Nuclear War: A Scenario, traces how a nuclear conflict could unfold and confronts readers with the speed, scale, and human consequences of such a catastrophe. Her latest book Biological War: A Scenario was published on July 28 and has been widely praised.
“Educating the general public on what is at stake in the immensely dangerous and challenging times that we are living in, is one of the foremost tasks for us all. Both of our 2026 honorees have been at the forefront of analysis, discussion, and reporting that is honest, insightful, and much needed,” said Dr. Ivana Nikolić Hughes, President of NAPF. “We are inspired by their work and honored in turn to be able to welcome them to Santa Barbara and to celebrate their contributions and achievements. We hope that our local community will join us at the luncheon to lend support to advancing peace.”
The luncheon will take place from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Kimpton Canary Hotel Rooftop, 31 West Carrillo Street, Santa Barbara, California. Individual tickets are $150, and sponsorship opportunities are available. Tickets and sponsorships may be purchased at wagingpeace.org/women-waging-peace-luncheon-2026.
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About the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization founded in 1982. Its mission is to educate and advocate for a just and peaceful world, one that is free of nuclear weapons. NAPF holds consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council and is recognized by the United Nations as a Peace Messenger Organization.
Media inquiries: Please contact Kenneth Chiu and Christian Ciobanu at the email addresses or telephone number above.
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2026 NPT Review Conference: NAPF Events, Advocacy & Updates
NAPF Delegation at the 2025 TPNW States Parties Meeting at the United Nations in New York
The 2026 NPT Review Conference will take place from 27 April to 22 May 2026 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, bringing together states parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to assess progress on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) will attend as a civil society organization advocating for stronger action on nuclear disarmament, an obligation enshrined in Article 6 of the NPT. Our delegation includes NAPF President Dr. Ivana Nikolić Hughes, Director of Policy and Advocacy Christian Ciobanu, Communications Coordinator Kenneth Chiu, Outreach Coordinator Anduin Devos, and youth activists from our initiative Reverse the Trend: Save Our People, Save Our Planet. NAPF also attended the 2025 NPT Preparatory Committee meeting in New York. Stay tuned for updates!
Our Statements at the 2026 NPT Review Conference
The Nuclear Age Peace Foundation will give two civil society interventions to the 2026 NPT review conference. One on behalf of the organization, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and another as part of a youth consortium with Reverse the Trend and other civil society coalitions.
Our Events at the 2026 NPT Review Conference
Week One
2026 International Youth Nuclear Disarmament Summit
Saturday, April 25 | 12 E 49th St, 18th Floor, New York | 3:30pm to 7:00pm (with food)
Sponsored by the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, its youth initiative, Reverse the Trend, Office of Senator Marilou McPhedran of Manitoba, Hiroshima and Nagasaki Peace Messengers, Peace Boat US, Qazaq Nuclear Frontline Coalition, and Association Katawara.
Join global youth advocates in crafting a peace declaration on the eve of the 2026 NPT Review Conference. As our society faces growing challenges related to security and international cooperation, we believe that it is essential that people of all ages, genders, and backgrounds have the opportunity to learn and reflect on the causes of global insecurity and crises facing humanity and be empowered to take meaningful action.
Revitalizing Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Education
Wednesday, April 29 | UN Church Center, 777 UN Plaza, 2nd Floor | 1:15p.m. – 2:45p.m.
Co-Sponsored by the Mission of Austria to the UN, Mission of Mexico to the UN, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Reverse the Trend, James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies
Since the United Nations system first placed disarmament and non-proliferation education on the international agenda in 1978, education has been recognized as an important contributor to disarmament and non-proliferation efforts. Nearly five decades later, however, it remains underutilized in practice, despite its continued relevance to advancing the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.
Join us at this lunchtime side event to discuss revitalizing efforts to educate on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
Evening Art Reception: Envisioning a World Free From Nuclear Weapons
Wednesday, April 29 | Conference Building, South Wall, UN Headquarters, New York | 6pm
Co-hosted with Kiribati, Thailand, UNRCPD, in partnership with NAPF and Reverse the Trend
The exhibition is co-organized by the Permanent Mission of Thailand, the Permanent Mission of Kiribati, and UNRCPD to mark the 30th anniversary of the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (Treaty of Bangkok) and its relevance to the broader disarmament frameworks.
Featuring selected winning and shortlisted artworks across multiple media, including photography, video, digital art, and traditional art, it will present a total of 22 artworks, with winning artworks from the competition, artworks from Kiribati, and selected pieces from Japanese artist Kei-Ito. This special exhibit helps connect Southeast Asia’s experience under the Bangkok Treaty with wider regional perspectives on nuclear-weapon-free zones and nuclear disarmament.
The co-organizers gratefully acknowledge the assistance and partnership of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation.
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 directly builds 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.
This event aims to reinvigorate the NPT community, especially on Article VI commitments. Join us on April 30 to inject a sense of hope amongst the diplomatic community and non-governmental officials and addressing nuclear disarmament through the lens of the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons.
Screening of “The Postman of Nagasaki” and Panel Discussion
Friday, May 1 | Columbia University, Schermerhorn 501| 5:00 to 7:00pm
Co-sponsored by Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, Reverse the Trend and Frontiers of Science.
Join us for a screening of the film ” The Postman of Nagasaki” based on the writing of the 1984 book by Peter Townsend by the same name which told the story of Taniguchi Sumiteru. The Postman of Nagasaki tells the story of the impact of the bomb, and the legacy of peace left by Peter Townsend, as explored by his daughter, Isabelle Townsend.
Following the screening, a panel discussion with Film-maker Isabelle Townsend, Veronique Christory (ICRC), Ivana Nikolić Hughes (NAPF), and other experts.
Please register by April 28, 5pm in order to attend the event on Columbia University campus
Week Two
Brushstrokes for Peace: Art, Memory, and the Movement to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
Monday, May 4 | Conference Room E, UNHQ | 1:15 to 2:45 pm
Co-hosted with Thailand, Kiribati, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, and Reverse the Trend,
Celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Treaty of Bangkok at a special side event showcasing youth and contemporary art that reflects the human legacy of nuclear weapons and affirms the urgent vision of a world free from them. The art exhibit will feature work by Kei Ito, the grandson of a Hiroshima atomic bomb survivor, will run the duration of the NPT Review Conference. Join us for this lunchtime side event.
Addressing Verification and Dismantlement of Nuclear Weapons and Victim Assistance: Bridging Policy and Practice
Friday, May 8 | Permanent Mission of Malaysia | 1:15 to 2:45 pm
313 E 43rd St, New York, NY 10017
This event seeks to rebuild a “shared reality” by focusing on the tangible, technical, and humanitarian requirements of a world without nuclear weapons. Specifically, it will highlight the operationalization of Article 4 (Verification and Dismantlement) and Articles 6 and 7 (Victim Assistance and Environmental Remediation) of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons as practical contributions to the broader NPT disarmament pillar.
Week Three
Genocide, Omnicide, Those Who Profit
Tuesday, May 12 | Conference Room A, UNHQ | 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm
Cosponsored by Pax Christi International and Veterans For Peace
Featuring a panel of expert speakers Ivana Nikolić Hughes, Bill Hartung, and Mohsen Mahdawi, moderated by Anastasia Shakhidzhanova
Other Events
Week One
Nuclear Disarmament Obligation – Humanitarian, Development, and Peace
Monday, April 27 | Conference Room C, UNHQ | 1:15 p.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Co-hosted by United Nations Institute for Training and Research, the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan, the Hiroshima Prefecture, and the Prefecture of Nagasaki
Prospects for a Nuclear and Fossil Free Future
Monday, April 27 | Bahai’ International Centre | 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Presented by Warheads to Windmills, featuring speakers from PeaceBoat, WILPF, the Fossil Fuel Treaty Initiative, ICAN, and NAPF. This event will link the NPT Review Conference with the first ever People’s Summit for a Fossil Free Future, happening concurrently in Santa Marta, Colombia.
In person registration is required by April 22nd, 3pm ET
Reducing the risks of nuclear war: a multi-faceted approach
Monday, April 27 | Conference Room A, UNQ | 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Co-hosted by Abolition 2000 and Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
This event will explore a range of ways of reducing the risks of nuclear war, including technical, military and political measures to de-escalate conflicts, reduce the role of nuclear weapons in conflicts and prevent the use of nuclear weapons by miscalculation, misunderstanding or mishap. Speakers will include Jeremy Corbyn, M.P. of the United Kingdom; Tadatoshi Akiba, former mayor of Hiroshima; John Hallam, Abolition 2000; Rebecca Shoot, PNND; and Dr. Ivana Nikolić Hughes, NAPF. The panel will be moderated by Alyn Ware and Martyna Szoja.
Preventing the NPT Regime From the Erosion
Wednesday, April 29 | Conference Room A, UNHQ | 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m.
Sponsored by the Nagasaki Youth Delegation
This side event aims to create an opportunity to examine nuclear issues from these perspectives and to explore new ways to prevent the NPT Regime from weakening and strengthen its resilience and relevance.
Thank you to everyone who helps make our work possible!
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation and our youth initiative, Reverse the Trend
Dr. Ivana Nikolić Hughes – NAPF President; Senior Lecturer in Chemistry at Columbia University and Member of the Scientific Advisory Group to the TPNW
Christian Ciobanu – NAPF Director of Policy and Advocacy, TPNW Advisor to the Republic of Kiribati and RTT Coordinator
Kenneth Chiu – NAPF Communications and Media Coordinator
Anduin Devos – NAPF Outreach Coordinator
HUGE GRATITUDE TO ALL OF OUR SPONSORS. WE COULD NOT DO THIS WORK WITHOUT YOU.
THANK YOU!
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Choose Hope Symposium – March 2025
On March 12-13, the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation (NAPF) and Soka Gakkai International (SGI) will host the Choose Hope Symposium. The event will honor the legacies of the NAPF Founder and President Emeritus, David Krieger, and the SGI Founder and President, Daisaku Ikeda, both of whom died in late 2023, just weeks apart.
The symposium will be held at the Music Academy in Santa Barbara. On March 12 at 6 p.m., Annie Jacobsen, the author of Nuclear War: A Scenario, will deliver the 20th Frank K. Kelly Lecture on Humanity’s Future, followed by a panel of experts who will respond to Jacobsen’s book and remarks. On March 13, there will be a series of panels, exploring themes of nuclear deterrence and nuclear abolition; the role of art in nuclear disarmament; nuclear justice; and youth and climate change.
More information about the Choose Hope Symposium will be forthcoming. We hope to see you there!
Nuclear Dangers: Ukraine War, the Third Year
Register HERE!
Grigory Yavlinsky is a Russian economist and politician. He held senior positions in the governments of the USSR and Russia, and was a member of the Russian parliament for ten years. Yavlinsky is the initiator and author of “The 500 Days” program of market economic reforms, he is a leader of the opposition democratic party “Yabloko”. He ran for president of Russia: in 1996 against Boris Yeltsin, took fourth place and in 2000 against Vladimir Putin took third place. Yavlinsky is a principled opponent of Putin. Yavlinsky is a Doctor of Economics (Central Economic and Mathematical Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences), Professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics.
Katrina vanden Heuvel, esteemed journalist and commentator, is the editorial director and publisher of The Nation, one of the oldest progressive magazines in the United States. With her incisive analysis and bold perspectives, she has been a leading voice in American journalism for decades, challenging the status quo and advocating for progressive causes. Vanden Heuvel’s commitment to social justice and political activism has shaped The Nation into a platform for dissenting voices and marginalized perspectives. Her influence extends beyond the pages of the magazine; she is a frequent commentator on television and radio, offering insightful commentary on current events and political developments.
Richard Falk is a Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University, and the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor’s Chairman of the Board of Trustees. In 2008, the United Nations Human Rights Council appointed him to a six-year term as a UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967. His book, This Endangered Planet: Prospects and Proposals for Human Survival (1971), was selected as one of only three Books for the Century (Political and Legal) in the centennial issue of the magazine, Foreign Affairs. His book is also part of a set considered “essential for understanding the century ahead.” Falk’s memoir, Public Intellectual: The Life of a Citizen Pilgrim, was published in 2021.
Cynthia Lazaroff is the founder of Women Transforming Our Nuclear Legacy and NuclearWakeUpCall.Earth. She is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and author of Dawn of a New Armageddon, a personal account of the Hawaii missile scare amidst escalating nuclear dangers, published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists on Hiroshima Day. Cynthia has been engaged in Track II citizen diplomacy efforts with Russia and has founded groundbreaking U.S.-Russian exchange initiatives since the early 1980s. She is dedicated to catalyzing efforts in U.S.-Russia relations to reduce the nuclear risk and to working with people in Russia and all countries to move towards a world without nuclear weapons. In 2022, Cynthia received the Women Waging Peace Award from the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation where she currently serves on the board.
The Vow From Hiroshima Film Screening
Please join us for a special screening of The Vow From Hiroshima, the moving story of Setsuko Thurlow, a 13-year-old girl living in Hiroshima when the first atomic bomb was dropped on a civilian population in 1945. Ever since that day, Thurlow has dedicated her life to abolishing nuclear weapons.
The film screening will be held at Columbia University on Thursday, November 30, 2023, 5:15 – 7:00 pm. Q & A will follow the screening.
- Venue: Columbia University: Roone Arledge Cinema, Lerner Hall, 2920 Broadway (enter campus on 115th and Broadway and enter Lerner Hall from its northeast corner)
The event is free of charge, but you must register at the link below by Sunday, November 26, in order to be able to enter the building (only Columbia University ID holders can enter otherwise).
Registration: Registration Link
“The Vow From Hiroshima is an intimate portrait of Setsuko Thurlow, a passionate survivor of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima. She was 13 years old when the atomic bomb was dropped in 1945. Her moving story is told through the lens of her growing friendship with a second-generation survivor, Mitchie Takeuchi.
Setsuko was miraculously pulled out of a fiery building after the bomb was dropped. That experience shaped her life and she endeavored to keep a pledge she made to her friends – that no one should ever again experience the same horrible fate.
The film follows Setsuko through her decades of activism up to the current moment when she finally achieves her dream of a Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty.”