In August 2006, SGI President Daisaku Ikeda authored and published SGI’s United Nations (UN) reform proposal. This proposal put forth the idea of a “UN decade of action by the world’s people for nuclear abolition” and stressed the importance of people becoming catalysts in the efforts toward a world free from nuclear weapons by collectively raising their voices to overcome the general lack of political momentum and direction.

The next year, on 8 September 2007, SGI launched the People’s Decade for Nuclear Abolition, an international campaign that aims to expand the grassroots network of diverse groups and individuals globally who share the goal of nuclear abolition by collaborating with various international antinuclear movements, including the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). The campaign’s launch coincided with the 50th anniversary of the 1957 antinuclear declaration made by the second president of the Soka Gakkai, Josei Toda.

While discussions surrounding nuclear disarmament may appear far removed from daily realities or assumed to be better left to experts and political leaders, the People’s Decade recognizes the role of everyday citizens in creating a groundswell of demand for nuclear abolition that will influence decision-makers. This spirit is also reflected in Ikeda’s message to the Civil Society Peace Forum, held on 8 September 2007 at The Cooper Union, New York, in which he stated: “Now is the time, in the midst of this deepening crisis, for ordinary citizens to raise our voices in a united call for nuclear abolition.”

In line with this initiative, Soka Gakkai constituent organizations around the world have continuously engaged in nuclear disarmament activities at grassroots levels to raise awareness among the public of this important issue. Such activities include exhibition showings, workshops, lectures and educational tools such as books of hibakusha testimonies. Some of these activities are documented in SGI’s report to the UN for its progress study on youth, peace and security.

The collective efforts by civil society with like-minded states and international organizations culminated in the adoption of a legally binding instrument prohibiting nuclear weapons, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The TPNW was adopted at the UN on 7 July 2017, along with the conferment of that year’s Nobel Peace Prize to ICAN.

In 2018, SGI’s peace proposal declared a “second People’s Decade for Nuclear Abolition” to follow the first People’s Decade. In the same year, SGI launched the second People’s Decade with an increased focus on peace and disarmament education in order to support efforts to universalize the TPNW and channel the voices of the world’s people in support of the treaty for the complete abolition of nuclear weapons.

With growing support in the international community, the TPNW entered into force on 21 January 2021. To continue this forward momentum, advocates for nuclear abolition need to promote widespread awareness of the TPNW and its significance in order to build a truly solid and expansive base of support for the treaty and its objectives. It is critical that concerned citizens around the world strengthen this grassroots movement with united voices demanding the abolition of nuclear weapons. Based on this belief, SGI launched educational tools on the TPNW to celebrate its entry into force, and it has partnered with other faith groups to issue joint interfaith statements supporting the TPNW on many occasions.

By its continued engagement in advocacy and grassroots awareness-raising initiatives, SGI is firmly determined to further strengthen people’s solidarity in realizing a world free from nuclear weapons. SGI will continue to further the objectives of the TPNW by continuing its activities for the Treaty’s universalization, as well as its work with other organizations to advance victim assistance and environmental remediation. SGI will also continue to work to convey the urgency of nuclear abolition to broader audiences through interfaith collaborations and efforts to include the issue with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. At SGI’s core is its commitment to peace and disarmament education, which is working to build an ever-broader constituency in favor of the Treaty.