nuclear ban treaty

Lotte Reimer writes: As congregating to sing or otherwise celebrate together was impossible due to the lockdown, a great deal of thought and innovation went into how to celebrate the ‘entry into force’ of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on 22 January. ‘Travelling’ signs and peace cranes were photographed in various places across Wales (including the Welsh senedd/parliament – see below) and pictures were posted on social media. There was also an online CND Cymru concert…

A majority of people in Britain think that the UK should sign up to the UN’s nuclear ban treaty, which entered into force on 22 January. 

That was the finding of a Survation poll commissioned by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), Britain’s largest peace organisation by membership.

Survation found that 59 percent of the British public thought the UK should sign up to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), and 77 percent supported a total global nuclear…

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has entered into force! This truly marks the beginning of the end of nuclear weapons!

When I learned that we reached our 50th ratification, I was not able to stand. I remained in my chair and put my head in my hands and I cried tears of joy.

I have committed my life to the abolition of nuclear weapons. I have nothing but gratitude for all who have worked for the success of our treaty. I have a powerful feeling of solidarity with…

On 24 October, Honduras ratified the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), becoming the 50th state to signal its binding agreement with the treaty.

Passing the 50-ratifications threshold means that the TPNW will now actually ‘enter into force’ – become law – on 22 January.

With the 50th ratification, the treaty is irreversible.

Unlike other nuclear treaties, the TPNW specifically mentions the disproportionate impact on women, the damage caused to the…

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), agreed by the UN in July 2017, is edging closer to reality.

50 states need to not only sign the treaty, but to ratify it for it to become international law. (In democracies, ratification usually means parliament passing a law.)

In mid-2019, the TPNW hadn’t even reached the half-way mark. (PN 2630 – 2631)

Now, 45 countries have ratified the treaty…

On 24 October, Honduras ratified the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), becoming the 50th state to signal its binding agreement with the treaty. Passing the 50-ratifications threshold means that the TPNW will now actually ‘enter into force’, 90 days from Honduras’s ratification.

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, WILPF, as its known to its friends, has a unique perspective on the TPNW that has been a significant driver in bringing it to this…

The rate of ratifications of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) has slowed dramatically.

Signatures are nice, but 50 states need to actually ratify the treaty, which the UN adopted on 7 July 2017, for it to come into force. In democracies, ratification usually requires parliament to pass a law.

In the year to September 2018, 19 states ratified the TPNW, roughly three countries every two months.

Since then, only four countries have followed suit, not…

27 more countries need to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) for it to come into force. 50 states need to not only sign the treaty, but ratify it (in democracies, this usually requires parliament to pass a law).

The first three countries to ratify the TPNW were Guyana, Thailand and the Vatican (all on 20 September 2017).

The other ratifiers are (in chronological order): Mexico, Cuba, Palestine, Venezuela, Palau, Austria, Vietnam, Costa Rica,…

At 1.30pm on 20 June, while Britain's Westminster parliament was sitting inside, 60 activists from across the UK chained themselves to the railings outside the houses of parliament in central London. They are calling for the UK to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and disarm the Trident nuclear weapon system.

This action echoes similar actions by women’s suffrage campaigners 100 years ago.

The activists from the campaign group Trident Ploughshares…

'We need to recognise that we can change the debate in this country and this treaty gives us the means to do so' said Rebecca Johnson on 7 April, at a WILPF UK training day on realising the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Dr Johnson is a member of the British branch of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF UK) and founding…

On 20 September, over 40 high-level figures from around the world signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at the United Nations on behalf of their countries.

They were led by the presidents of Brazil, Central African Republic, Chile, Comoros, Costa Rica, Guyana, Kiribati, Palau and South Africa. The UN secretary-general, António Guterres, said: ‘We cannot allow these doomsday weapons to endanger our world and our children’s future.’

At the moment the treaty…

On 20 September, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) handed in hundreds of letters from citizens across the United Kingdom at No 10 Downing St in London. The United Nations had started to accept signatures for the nuclear arms ban treaty earlier the same day.

'British democracy has happened this afternoon. The public have made their voice heard, and we hope that the prime minister will take notice,' said Kate Hudson, CND general secretary. 'There’s a big multi-signature…

Over 120 countries negotiate a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons in Conference Room A in the UN building, New York, 3 July 2017. PHOTO: RALF SHLESENER/ICAN

15 June 2017: Day 1

Flavia Tudoreanu & team:

The concluding session of the United Nations conference to negotiate a legally-binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons has started today.

Queueing to get our badges proved to be a much more interesting experience than expected. We got to reunite with…

On 7 July, the United Nations passed a treaty forbidding the development, testing, production, possession, transfer, use and threatened use of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.

Costa Rican diplomat Elayne Whyte Gómez, president of the abolition conference, said: ‘We all feel very emotional today. We feel that we are…

On 27 March, Elayne Whyte Gómez of Costa Rica chairs the opening meeting of the United Nations nuclear ban conference in the General Assembly Hall in the UN building, New York, USA. Photo: UN photo

“The States Parties to this Treaty,

Determined to contribute to the realization of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Deeply concerned about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that would result from any use of nuclear weapons, and recognizing…