| Summary/Abstract |
The atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, led by the US in August 1945, remains the most brutal insignia of the Second World War. Seventy-one years after this incident, the recent visit of the US President, Barack Obama to the Hiroshima War Memorial has resurrected several issues related to the apocalyptic bombings, foremost among which is the question of a pending apology by the perpetrators of this ‘crime against humanity’. The devastating consequences of the use of nuclear weapons in war cannot be justified on moral grounds, in keeping with which, the International People’s Tribunal (2007) has declared the twin bombings as both a ‘war crime’ and a ‘crime against humanity’. Although President Obama espouses a world free of nuclear weapons, their complete elimination seems too far-fetched and utopian, at least in the short-term. Fortunately, the existence of mechanisms to prevent non-proliferation could contribute towards checking the increase in nuclear stockpiles and facilitate steps towards greater international peace and security.
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