The very first treaty to ban nuclear weapons has entered into force and is hailed as a historic step to rid the world of its deadliest weapons
UNITED NATIONS – The first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons went into effect Friday, hailed as a historic step to rid the world of its deadliest weapons, but there are strong opponents of the world’s nuclear-armed nations.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is now part of international law, culminating in a decades-long campaign to prevent a repeat of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. But it seems discouraging, if not impossible, in the current global climate to get all nations to ratify the treaty that obliges them never to own such weapons.
When the treaty was approved by the UN General Assembly in July 2017, more than 120 approved it. But none of the nine countries known or believed to have nuclear weapons – the United States, Russia, Great Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel – supported it, nor did NATO. alliance with 30 countries.
Japan, the only country in the world to have suffered nuclear attacks, does not support the treaty either, although the elderly survivors of the 1945 bombings strongly urge it. Japan only refrains from using and possessing nuclear weapons, but the government has said that pursuing a treaty ban is unrealistic, given that nuclear and non-nuclear states are so divided over it.
Nonetheless, Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the coalition that won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 and whose work the treaty aided, called it “ a very big day for international law, for the United Nations and for Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors. “
The treaty was ratified for the 50th time on October 24, leading to a 90-day period before it entered into force on January 22.
On Thursday, Fihn told The Associated Press that 61 countries had ratified the treaty, with re-ratification possibly on Friday, and “starting Friday, nuclear weapons will be banned by international law” in all of those countries.
The convention requires that all ratifying states “under no circumstances … develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or store nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosives.” It also prohibits any transfer or use of nuclear weapons or explosives – and the threat of using such weapons – and requires parties to promote the treaty to other countries.
Fihn said the treaty is “really, really important,” because it will now be an important legal instrument, along with the Geneva Conventions on conduct towards civilians and soldiers during war and the conventions banning chemical and biological weapons and landmines.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the treaty showed support for a multilateral approach to nuclear disarmament.
“Nuclear weapons are increasingly dangerous and the world needs urgent action to ensure their eradication and prevent the catastrophic consequences for humans and the environment that any use would cause,” he said in a video message. “The elimination of nuclear weapons remains the highest priority for United Nations disarmament.”
But not for the nuclear powers.
As the treaty neared the 50 ratifications needed for it to enter into force, the Trump administration wrote a letter to the countries signing it saying they had made “a strategic mistake” and urged them to withdraw their ratification.
The letter stated that the treaty “is turning back the clock on verification and disarmament” and would endanger the half-century-old Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is considered the cornerstone of non-proliferation efforts.
Fihn argued at the time that a ban could not undermine non-proliferation, as it was “the ultimate goal of the non-proliferation treaty”.
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said the arrival of the treaty was a historic step forward in efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons and will “ hopefully enforce renewed action by nuclear weapon states to deliver on their pledge for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons. nuclear weapons. “
Fihn said in an interview that the campaign sees strong public support for the treaty in NATO countries and increasing political pressure, citing Belgium and Spain. “We won’t stop until we have everyone on board,” she said.
It will also campaign for divestment – pressuring financial institutions to stop providing capital to between 30 and 40 companies involved in nuclear weapons and missile production, including Airbus, Boeing and Lockheed Martin.