By NY Carib News
Jamaica’s Ambassador to Japan, Shorna-Kay Richards, has issued a powerful call for global nuclear disarmament, urging the international community and the passengers aboard the Peace Boat to “never give up the fight” for peace, justice, and a world free of nuclear weapons.
Speaking passionately during a lecture aboard the ship en route to Montego Bay, Richards underscored Jamaica’s long-standing leadership in nuclear disarmament, tracing the island’s principled advocacy from its earliest post-independence years to its influential role in today’s global non-proliferation movement.
The lecture formed part of the Peace Boat’s ‘Time for Peace’ initiative, which marks the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and amplifies the testimonies of hibakusha, survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
“Even as a small island developing state, Jamaica has never been silent,” Richards declared. “Our history of slavery and colonialism has shaped our moral compass—we know what it means to fight for life, for dignity, for peace.”
In a personal reflection, Richards recalled how her path to disarmament advocacy was solidified in 2005 when she participated in a United Nations fellowship that took her to Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
“It was there that I found my voice,” she said, recounting the profound impact of meeting hibakusha and witnessing firsthand the devastation caused by nuclear weapons. “As I left Japan, I made a promise to the hibakusha that I would dedicate my life to the abolition of nuclear weapons.”
Richards has since become a prominent voice in the global disarmament arena, representing Jamaica at key diplomatic negotiations, including the working group that laid the foundation for the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). She proudly noted that she was the only English-speaking Caribbean delegate at those Geneva sessions, determined to ensure that small island states and women were meaningfully represented.
She highlighted that Jamaica has ratified all major international treaties forming the backbone of nuclear non-proliferation, including the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), and the TPNW. Jamaica also made history as the first country in the world to impose a trade embargo against apartheid South Africa and has played a leading role in maintaining the Caribbean as a nuclear-free zone.
Despite these achievements, Richards warned that the world faces renewed dangers, citing escalating nuclear rhetoric, growing arsenals, and stalled multilateral disarmament efforts.
“The doomsday clock is at 89 seconds to midnight,” she cautioned. “Now is not the time to retreat. The hibakusha have never retreated.”
Richards closed her address with a stirring call to action, invoking the words of Bob Marley: “Get up, stand up. Never give up the fight.”
