On 24 October, UN Day, Honduras became the 50th state to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The Treaty will now come into force on 22 January 2021. This has been achieved by the grassroots work of campaigners around the world who have raised awareness, lobbied, acted to urge their governments to sign and ratify the Treaty. This includes the work of Women in Black and Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom.
As well as banning the activities and practices that make nuclear acquisition, proliferation and use possible, the TPNW provides two legal pathways by which nations holding nuclear weapons, like the UK, can eliminate their arsenals. From 2021 onwards, TPNW states that parties will now work on establishing the strong legal framework to build adaptable verification systems and oversee nuclear disarmament compliance and implementation.
But we need to keep going…
Tragically the UK Government still possesses and threatens to use nuclear weapons and has refused to participate in any of the talks and negotiations around the TPNW.
Find out more about the Treaty and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons https://www.icanw.org/
See list of countries that have signed and ratified: https://cnduk.org/list-of-countries-that-have-signed-un-global-nuclear-weapons-ban-treaty/
Sign the petition to urge the UK Government to sign and ratify the Treaty https://cnd.eaction.org.uk/TPNW