The first treaty banning nuclear weapons has come into force and is hailed as a historic step in eliminating the world from its deadliest weapons.
UNITED NATIONS – The first treaty to ban nuclear weapons came into force on Friday, hailed as a historic step to deliver the world its deadliest weapons, but firmly opposed by 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 U.S. atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. But getting all nations to ratify the treaty that requires them never to possess these weapons seems daunting, if not impossible, in the current global climate.
When the treaty was approved by the United Nations 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, Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel) did not support him or the alliance of the NATO of 30 nations.
Japan, the only country in the world that suffered nuclear attacks, also does not support the treaty, although the old survivors of the 1945 bombings are pushing hard for it to do so. Japan itself renounces the use and possession of nuclear weapons, but the government has said that pursuing the treaty ban is unrealistic with nuclear and non-nuclear states so divided over it.
However, Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons, the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize-winning coalition, whose work helped lead the treaty, described it as “A really big day for international law, for the United Nations and for the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.”
The treaty received its fiftieth ratification on October 24, causing a period of 90 days before its entry into force on January 22.
As of Thursday, Fihn told The Associated Press that 61 countries had ratified the treaty, with another possible ratification on Friday, and that “as of Friday nuclear weapons will be banned by international law” in all of those countries.
The treaty requires all ratifying countries “never under any circumstances … to develop, test, produce, manufacture, acquire, possess or store nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices”. It also prohibits any transfer or use of nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices – and threatens to use them – and requires the parties to promote the treaty in other countries.
Fihn said the treaty is “really, really significant” because it will now be a key legal instrument, along with the Geneva conventions on conduct towards civilians and soldiers during the war and conventions banning chemical and biological weapons and mines. terrestrial.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the treaty demonstrated its support for multilateral approaches to nuclear disarmament.
“Nuclear weapons pose a growing danger and the world needs urgent action to ensure their elimination and prevent the catastrophic human and environmental consequences that any use would cause,” he said in a video message. “The elimination of nuclear weapons remains the top disarmament priority of the United Nations.”
But not for nuclear powers.
As the treaty approached the 50 ratifications needed to bring it into force, the Trump administration wrote a letter to countries that signed it saying they had made a “strategic mistake” and urged them to terminate their treaty. ratification.
The letter said the treaty “backs down verification and disarmament” and would jeopardize the half-century-old nuclear non-proliferation treaty, considered the cornerstone of non-proliferation efforts.
Fihn replied 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 in efforts to liberate the world from nuclear weapons and “we hope it will force new action by states with nuclear weapons to fulfill its commitment to the complete elimination of nuclear weapons. “
Fihn said in an interview that the campaign sees strong public support for the treaty in NATO countries and growing political pressure, citing Belgium and Spain. “We won’t stop until we incorporate everyone,” he said.
It will also fight for divestment, pressuring financial institutions to stop giving capital to between 30 and 40 companies involved in the production of nuclear weapons and missiles, including Airbus, Boeing and Lockheed Martin.