Banning nuclear weapons

Nuclear disarmament is the longest sought objective of the UN, dating back to the very first resolution adopted by the General Assembly in January 1946 shortly after nuclear bombs had been used by the US for the first time.

122 countries voted in favour of the “Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” in July 2017. The talks at the UN and subsequent vote on the treaty were boycotted by all the nuclear states, as well as by a number of other countries. One country (the Netherlands) voted against, and one (Singapore) abstained from the vote. The treaty will open for signature by states at the United Nations in New York on September 20, 2017. It will then come into force once 50 states have signed. Even though major states have boycotted previous disarmament treaties, this has not prevented the treaties having effect.

This is an important step towards delegitimising nuclear weapons, and puts strong moral pressure on the nuclear states like the US, the UK and Russia to reduce and eventually to eliminate such weapons from their arsenals. The treaty also obliges states to support victims of the use and testing of nuclear weapons, and to address environmental damage caused by nuclear weapons.