A representative of Nihon Hidankyo, last year's Nobel Peace Prize winner, has called for the abolition of nuclear weapons at a UN conference on the treaty banning nuclear weapons.



Hamasumi Jiro represented the Japanese group of atomic bomb survivors at the third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which started in New York on Monday.



He was exposed to radiation in his mother's womb when an atomic bomb exploded over Hiroshima in 1945.



Hamasumi said atomic bombs are weapons of evil that deprive people of their future and even cause distress to their families. He said such a tragedy should never be allowed to happen again.



UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Nakamitsu Izumi also addressed the gathering.



Nakamitsu said she is concerned that "unpredictable situations may exacerbate the public fear needing to increase belief in the false narrative of nuclear weapons being the ultimate provider of security."



Nakamitsu said the "global recognition of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons continues to grow." She added that Nihon Hidankyo's winning of the peace prize last year is "a case in point."



Of countries under the nuclear umbrella of the United States, Australia is the only nation attending the meeting as an observer. The Japanese government didn't send a delegate.



A political declaration is expected to be adopted on the final day of the five-day conference.



Participants are hoping that momentum will build toward nuclear disarmament, as this year marks 80 years since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.