The Youth Disarmament Movement at the UN

A conversation with disarmament youth activist Anna Ikeda

DT E-News had the opportunity to talk with Anna Ikeda about her experience
with the growing youth disarmament movement at the United Nations. Anna
works as a program associate at the Soka Gakkai International (SGI) United
Nations Liaison Office.
How long have you been working in disarmament at the UN?
I joined in October 2015, right before the First Committee started. Best
orientation ever! Disarmament is what Ive been working on since then. Within
SGI, we have membership components, because SGI is an organization of lay
Buddhists. So before I joined this office, I was coordinating youth activity on
nuclear disarmament for about three years. So I knew a little bit about this issue
before I came to this position.
What kind of work do you do to further the youth disarmament movement?
Im also part of the NGO called Ban All Nukes generation (BANg). Ive been
involved with them for about a year now and with them I am also coordinating a
youth delegation, for example, for the 2015 NPT Review Conference that starts
this week. So we have about a dozen young people, mainly from U.S. and
Europe, but also a few from Africa, that will join us at the NPT to really observe

what happens at the UN.

During the process, well be having individual briefings with some of the
delegations of the state governments, and also join the civil society presentation
on Friday, May 1st, we are delivering a speech on behalf of the youth of the world
on nuclear abolition.
In my capacity with both BANg and SGI, Im participating in the Peace & Planet
effort. There are a good percentage of young people involved in that effort. The
march and rally that are happening on Sunday, April 26th, for example, are very
youth-led. So there are people on the committee who really contributed to
thinking about what kind of speakers to invite, what kind of music to bring so
thats its appealing to the younger generation. And also for the conference too,
we were conscious about having
at least a handful of sessions that
are more geared toward youth. So
from what I hear, the Peace &
Planet organization has done a
great job this year compared to
five years agothey have
become more deliberate and
thoughtful about drawing young
people to the movement.
Two$youth$deliver$a$statement$at$the$2nd$Conference$on$the$
Humanitarian$Impact$of$Nuclear$Weapons.$

How many people are expected

at the Peace & Planet march?

I heard their goal for Sundays march is around 10,000, but Im not sure if they
have any confirmation of that number. And I think the conference at Cooper
Union is expected to have about 800 attendees.
In terms of disarmament, are you focusing mainly on nuclear weapons?
Yes, its our focus at SGI. Our second president Josei Toda, made a declaration
at the height of the Cold War in 1957 stating that nuclear weapons epitomize the
ultimate disrespect for life. His message aligned with the tenets of Buddhism.
How do you see the role of youth in affecting global nuclear policy at the UN?
One thing that Ive been noticing at many of the disarmament communities that I
attend is they are really excited to see the presence of young people. And that
really gives assurance to the movement that we will carry on. Especially now that
we have lost some of the early leaders of the nuclear disarmament movement, I
see that our role is to be a link to the future. But also, I think because we were
not a part of the beginnings of the movement, we are unburdened by the
experiences of the past we dont feel the past failures or frustrations that some

of our senior activists feel. So I think that frees us up to come up with new paths
to disarmament and to question the way things are done and try to think of new
ways to approach the problem creativelyto really challenge the status quo.
I really feel like, especially regarding the humanitarian consequences of nuclear
weapons, that the discussion has caught the public interest over the past three
years. Looking at ICAN and the young people who are participating, it shows
when youth are really excited and focused they can make something very
tangible happen. It creates a great current, not only in civil society but for the
member states too. I think its a great example of how the enthusiasm and
creativity of youth can expand the impact of our efforts at the United Nations and
beyond.$