Michael Douglas (second from right), UN Messenger of Peace, speaks during the inauguration ceremony of a new installation of civil society petitions calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons. Also present is Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon (second from left).

A one-million signature petition from cities around the world demanding the abolition of nuclear weapons went on exhibition at United Nations Headquarters in New York in a ceremony attended by Japanese survivors of the first and only use of the devastating bombs. Organized by Mayors for Peace, which was founded in 1982 by the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the two cities laid waste by atomic bombs in 1945, and now counts 4,540 cities in 150 countries, the exhibition underscores the goal of transcending national borders to fight for nuclear disarmament in what Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called a “landmark occasion” that helps to build international momentum.