Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Mr Charles Flanagan T.D

Op Ed for the first designated International Disaster Remembrance Day

Published in The Sunday Independent, 23 April 2017

Rarely does a single word become so powerful that it can tell the story of a million lives, but Chernobyl is one such word.

Next Wednesday, April 26, marks the first UN International Remembrance Day. It is important that this disaster and its victims be remembered. Indeed, those affected by the 1986 explosion continue to need support in their journey towards recovery and sustainable development.

The number of individual lives affected by the disaster is staggering. More than 300,000 people were displaced and thousands suffered severe health effects. Were it not for the work of some 600,000 people to prevent further fallout and clean up contaminated areas, the effects would have been far worse. We are heavily indebted to them.

More than 30 years later, a large exclusion zone still exists around the former nuclear power plant, a wilderness that is a stark reminder of the long-term damage caused by the disaster.

Ireland has contributed over €8 million to the international to help secure the site. A crucial objective has been the installation of a structure, roughly twice the size of Croke Park, to isolate what remains of the reactor and the unstable sarcophagus surrounding it.

A symbol of the lasting consequences of the explosion, this structure is expected to become operational later this year. The ultimate challenge, however, will be the safe disposal of the radioactive material within.

As an Irish person, it is almost impossible to think of Chernobyl without taking enormous pride in the work done by and Chernobyl Children International (CCI). It is largely thanks to her passion and commitment that the United Nations has made the anniversary of the explosion an international day of remembrance.

Over the years, CCI has delivered over €100 million worth of aid to Chernobyl-affected regions. More than 25,000 children from affected areas have come to for rest and recuperation. I commend the compassion and care of those who open their homes and their hearts to these children. In the Homes of Hope Programme provides alternatives to orphanages and CCI has pioneered an Independent Living Programme for older teenagers living in institutional care. The Chernobyl disaster and its continued aftermath also clearly bring into focus nuclear risk and the danger to humanity posed by nuclear weapons.

It is now recognised that the humanitarian impact of a nuclear weapon explosion is far higher, the consequences far greater and more terrible than had previously been thought. There is, in fact, no response capacity which can deal with the humanitarian catastrophe that today’s nuclear weapons can cause.

I am proud that Ireland, in keeping with our strong record and commitment to , has played a leading role in the renewed international movement to negotiate a Treaty which will prohibit all nuclear weapons, leading to their total elimination. The negotiations began in March in New York with over 130 States participating, together with civil society and international partners, in a remarkable expression of joint purpose. In the interests of humanity, we must finally eliminate this most terrible weapon of mass destruction.

While strongly supporting and engaging with the new Treaty negotiations, Ireland also continues its close association and strong support for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons whose Review process begins next week in Vienna. Implementation of the Treaty’s Disarmament provision remains a key priority for Ireland, while the spread of nuclear weapons to new actors poses an additional and immense risk to us all.

In February, I visited Hiroshima during an official visit to . The horrific story told at the Peace Memorial Museum will remain with me forever. Among the displays, a photo showed a dark mark on the step of a building – the person sitting there waiting for the bank to open had simply been evaporated by the bomb. After visiting the Museum, I sat down with one of the survivors of the atomic bombing and heard her describe the bombing and its aftermath. This was a profound and moving experience. In Hiroshima the past asks a question of the present and it makes a clarion cry: “Never Again.”

Next month marks another anniversary; the centenary of the birth of John F. Kennedy. In the midst of the Cold War, he reminded us that “our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we are all mortal.” We must remember this in our ongoing commitment to those most affected by Chernobyl and in ensuring their suffering is never repeated.