{"id":2114,"date":"2014-10-29T11:05:46","date_gmt":"2014-10-29T02:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/?p=2114"},"modified":"2023-10-25T09:44:26","modified_gmt":"2023-10-25T00:44:26","slug":"fukushima-revision-request","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/news\/2014\/10\/29\/fukushima-revision-request\/","title":{"rendered":"Japanese civil society and that from 7 other countries request the reports of the United Nations Scientific Committee on Fukushima to be revised"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joint Statement<\/strong>
\nCivil Society groups request revision of the recent United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) Report: \u201cLevels and effects of radiation exposure due to the nuclear accident after the 2011 Great East-Japan Earthquake and tsunami.\u201d<\/p>\n

Human Rights Now, along with 40 civil society organizations from Japan, USA, Tunisia, Azerbaijan, \u00a0Netherlands, Germany, France, and Ireland has issued a statement requesting UNSCEAR, and the General Assembly Fourth Committee to revise the report and its finding from a human rights perspective. Please find the actual statement from below.<\/p>\n

PDF version is available here:\u00a0Letter to UNSCEAR2014<\/a><\/p>\n

Date: 24 October 2014<\/p>\n

To: Members of the Fourth Committee of the UN General Assembly 69th Session,<\/span><\/strong>
\n Members of UNSCEAR, and<\/span><\/strong>
\n Members of the UN General Assembly:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Re: Civil Society groups request revision of the recent United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) Report: \u201cLevels and effects of radiation exposure due to the nuclear accident after the 2011 Great East-Japan Earthquake and tsunami.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The 2011 Fukushima disaster made UN oversight of the adverse effects of ionizing radiation an issue of utmost global importance. The goals and criteria of oversight should be the protection and promotion of the human right to health and well-being, which encompasses an environment as free from exposure to man-made ionizing radiation as possible. We, the undersigned, urge the 4th Committee to examine critically both the scientific conclusions in the UNSCEAR report and the scientific evidence omitted from the report.<\/p>\n

Physicians from 19 national affiliates of the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), including Physicians for Social Responsibility (USA) and IPPNW Germany, have authored\/issued\/published a Critique of the UNSCEAR report which calls into question the presumptions and data used by UNSCEAR, and the consequent interpretations and conclusions. This Critique demonstrates how UNSCEAR systematically underestimates and downplays the health effects of the Fukushima disaster.<\/p>\n

We appreciate the significant efforts made by UNSCEAR committee members to evaluate the extensive and complex data concerning the Fukushima nuclear catastrophe. However, their conclusion that there is \u201cno discernable effect\u201d, now or in the future, defies common sense and undermines the credibility of UNSCEAR. The Critique notes that based on the UNSCEAR report itself, it can be expected that about 1,000 excess cases of thyroid cancer and between 4,300 and 16,800 other excess cancer cases would occur in Japan due to Fukushima radioactive fallout. We believe that these are very discernable effects for the individuals, families and communities experiencing these cancers, as well as those individuals who will experience other form(s) of radiation induced illness.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, the conclusion by UNSCEAR of \u2018no discernible health effect\u2019 is misleading the Japanese government to not implement countermeasures for individuals to avoid additional exposure and to have thorough monitoring of health effects, thereby causing serious human rights violations.<\/p>\n

This catastrophe was not a singular event that has come to an end, but rather it is an unfolding event with an unknown endpoint. Radioactive elements continue to leak into the biosphere and individuals continue to be exposed to ionizing radiation because they live in contaminated areas, consume contaminated food and water and inhale contaminated air. Additionally, most of the health effects from Fukushima will take decades or generations to be expressed. Thus the UNSCEAR report at hand should be considered a preliminary or initial assessment of the health effects of Fukushima. Ongoing and improved monitoring and updating of the assessment is required for a long time to come. The 2014 UNSCEAR report is a beginning, not an end.<\/p>\n

We ask that the Fourth Committee take two actions regarding the UNSCEAR report:
\n1) Return the report to UNSCEAR for revision based on the Critique, taking into consideration the points of concern raised in the Critique, and that UNSCEAR broaden the composition of the committee to include as full-fledged members scientists who are critical of nuclear activities.<\/p>\n

2) We also ask that the Fourth Committee urge the General Assembly to pass a new resolution reframing the 1955 UNSCEAR founding mandate to ensure that the UNSCEAR\u2019s primary scientific mission is topromote and protectpublic health and the right to health of the most vulnerable individuals. The Precautionary Principleshould be employed to address the short-term and long-term effects of ionizing radiation upon present and future generations as well as the environment. Likewise, the Precautionary Principle should be employed when determining exposure,cleanup and decontamination regulations and activities after a nuclear disaster, educational measures to minimize and mitigate the risk of individual exposure, and the long-term monitoring of contaminated sites. A new UN mandate is critical for UNCSEAR Committee members to be able to fully utilize their expertise for the purpose of protecting the lives and health of the global community.<\/p>\n

This request is supported by the following organizations:<\/p>\n

Physicians for Social Responsibility, USA<\/p>\n

International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War \u2013 Germany, Germany<\/p>\n

Human Rights Now, Tokyo, Japan<\/p>\n

Peace Boat \u2013 US, USA<\/p>\n

Niji to midori no kai, Japan<\/p>\n

Greens Fukushima, Japan<\/p>\n

Workers\u2019 Executive Committee For Anti-nuclear Power Movements, Japan<\/p>\n

Kai Fukushima Downwind, Japan<\/p>\n

The Nature Conservation of Fukushima, Japan<\/p>\n

Friends of the Earth Japan, Japan<\/p>\n

Showa Shell Labour Union, Japan<\/p>\n

Chernobyl Health Survey and Health-care Support for the Victims – Japan Women’s Network, Japan<\/p>\n

Nuclear Disaster Information Center, Japan<\/p>\n

Japan International Volunteer Center, Japan<\/p>\n

Campaign forNuclear-free Japan, Japan<\/p>\n

Fukushima Network for Denuclearization, Japan<\/p>\n

Hairo Action Fukushima, Japan<\/p>\n

Fukushima Women Against Nukes, Japan<\/p>\n

People in Fukushima-NPP 30km area, Japan<\/p>\n

Refugee Living with Fukushima in Niigata Prefecture, Japan<\/p>\n

Shinshu 3.11 Network, Japan<\/p>\n

National Network of Parents to Protect Children from Radiation, Japan<\/p>\n

The Civil Forum on Nuclear Radiation Damages (CFNRD), Japan<\/p>\n

Takagi School, Japan<\/p>\n

AEEFG – Association de l’Education Environnementale pour les Futures Generations, Tunisia<\/p>\n

NGO of \u201cEcolife\u201d, Azerbaijan<\/p>\n

Women in Europe for a Common Future International, Netherlands<\/p>\n

Women in Europe for a Common Future, Germany<\/p>\n

Women in Europe for a Common Future, France<\/p>\n

Irish Doctors’ Environmental Association (IDEA), Ireland<\/p>\n

Nuclear Information and Resource Service, USA<\/p>\n

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, USA<\/p>\n

Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, New York, USA<\/p>\n

Nukewatch\/The Progressive Foundation, USA<\/p>\n

Nuclear Watch New Mexico, USA<\/p>\n

Georgia WAND – Women’s Actions for New Directions, USA<\/p>\n

Physicians for Social Responsibility \u2013 Kansas City, USA<\/p>\n

Gray Panthers, USA<\/p>\n

Center for Safe Energy, USA<\/p>\n

Nuclear Energy Information Service, USA<\/p>\n

[Responses to this request may be directed to:
\nPhysicians for Social Responsibility USA
\nAlfred Meyer, Board Member
\nalfred.c.meyer@gmail.com
\n+1-202-215-8208]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joint Statement Civil Society groups request revision of the recent United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) Report: \u201cLevels and effects of radiation exposure due to the nuclear accident after the 2011 Great East-Japan Earthquake and tsunami.\u201d Human Rights Now, along with 40 civil society organizations from Japan, USA, Tunisia, Azerbaijan, \u00a0Netherlands, Germany, France, and Ireland has issued a statement requesting UNSCEAR, and the General Assembly Fourth Committee to revise the report and its finding from a human rights perspective. Please find the actual statement from below. PDF version is available here:\u00a0Letter to UNSCEAR2014 Date: 24 October 2014 To: Members of the Fourth Committee of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[12,142,5],"countries":[248],"class_list":["post-2114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-statement","tag-economic-social-and-cultural-rights","tag-fukushima","tag-united-nations","countries-japan"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2114"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2117,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2114\/revisions\/2117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2114"},{"taxonomy":"countries","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hrn.or.jp\/eng\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/countries?post=2114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}