The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, or ICAN, says a Group of Seven joint statement on nuclear disarmament fails to provide any concrete proposals to abolish nuclear weapons. It calls on countries to join the nuclear weapons ban treaty.
ICAN on Friday issued a statement in reaction to the G7 leaders' "Hiroshima Vision" statement released during their summit in western Japan.
ICAN says it welcomes the fact that the G7 meeting is being held in the atomic-bombed city of Hiroshima, but that the group's statement fails to present credible steps toward actual disarmament.
The international NGO notes the G7 leaders say nuclear weapons "should only serve defensive purposes." But it says such weapons cannot be used defensively because they are "indiscriminate and disproportionate" as well as designed to "kill and injure on a massive scale."
ICAN adds that "not all G7 countries are transparent about the number of weapons they have," while some of them are increasing their stockpiles.
It says what is required from the G7 is "a concrete, actionable plan to engage all nuclear-armed states in disarmament talks."
The group calls on all nuclear states to take part in talks under the international framework established by the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons that took effect in 2021.