"The eightieth anniversary of the devastating atomic bombing of Hiroshima, followed three days later by the bombing of Nagasaki, marked the start of an apocalyptic event. The atomic blasts demolished entire neighborhoods in both cities in a single instant, causing death and devastation on a scale never seen before. The bloodshed claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people, the majority of whom were civilians. Those awful events, as well as the numerous hardships faced by survivors in the years that followed, serve as a constant reminder to humanity. The annihilation of humanity is the prospect that the use of nuclear energy has presented to us all”, stated Sergio Mattarella, President of the Republic. "Today, in a scenario marked by wars, growing tensions, and conflicts, it is necessary to forcefully reiterate that the use, or even the mere concrete threat of introducing, nuclear weapons into conflicts constitutes a crime against humanity”, the nation's leader stated. "The global architecture of disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, which are among the fundamentals of the multilateral system carefully created after World War II, cannot be abandoned without risking escalating a climate of violence. Fifty years after the Non-Proliferation Treaty was ratified, the Italian Republic reaffirms its commitment to a nuclear-free world, emphasizing the importance of the international control bodies established for this purpose”. "No nuclear war can be fought or won without endangering the very existence of life on the planet”, Mattarella concluded. “The bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki are not only among the most devastating wars of the twentieth century, nor are they simply a lingering wound for the Japanese people. The two cities are eternal reminders of a universal memory that attests the extent of humankind's destructive ferocity and, at the same time, serve as an example of resilience and what is achievable through peace”.