UNITED NATIONS – A United Nations treaty banning nuclear weapons enteredinto force on Friday, with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres hailing itas “an important step towards a world free of nuclear weapons”.
In a video message and statement, he said that the Treaty on theProhibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) also represents a “strongdemonstration of support for multilateral approaches to nucleardisarmament” overall.
The UN chief commended the states that have ratified the treaty andwelcomed the “instrumental role of civil society in advancing the TPNW’snegotiation and entry into force”.
“The survivors of nuclear explosions and nuclear tests offered tragictestimonies and were a moral force behind the treaty.
Entry into force is a tribute to their enduring advocacy”, he said.
Guterres said he was looking forward to guiding the UN’s response accordingthe treaty, including preparations for the first official Meeting of StatesParties.
link
“Nuclear weapons pose growing dangers and the world needs urgent action toensure their elimination and prevent the catastrophic human andenvironmental consequences any use would cause”, said the UN chief.
“The elimination of nuclear weapons remains the highest disarmamentpriority of the United Nations. The Secretary-General calls on all statesto work together to realize this ambition to advance common security andcollective safety,” a statement issued by his spokesman Stephane Dujarricsaid.
The TPNW secured the 50 ratifications it needed to then enter into force,at the end of last October. The campaigners who had steered momentumtowards Friday’s milestone moment, described it then as “a new chapter fornuclear disarmament”.
The accord was approved initially by 122 nations at the UN General Assemblyin 2017, but it was civil society groups led by the International Campaignto Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) which had put in the “decades ofactivism” to secure the number of countries required to make it a reality.
link
So far however, the main nuclear powers of the United States, the UnitedKingdom, Russia, China and France, have not signed the accord. Othercountries that possess nuclear weapons, such as India, Israel, North Koreaand Pakistan, have also declined to join.
It declares that countries ratifying it must “never under any circumstancesdevelop, test, produce, manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess orstockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.”
In a statement released last October by the civil society and campaignumbrella group ICAN, which won the Nobel Peace Prize for its work in 2017,said that once the treaty comes into force, all states’ parties will needto follow through on their promises, and abide by its prohibitions.