UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The first treaty to ban nuclear weapons came into force on Friday, hailed as a historic step to rid the world of its deadliest weapons, but strongly fought by the world’s nuclear weapons nations.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is now part of international law, culminating in a decades-long campaign aimed at preventing the repeat of US atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II. But getting all nations to ratify the treaty that requires them to never have such weapons seems daunting, if not impossible, in today’s global climate.
When the treaty was approved by the UN General Assembly in July 2017, more than 120 approved it. But none of the nine known or allegedly nuclear weapons countries – the United States, Russia, Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel – supported it, nor did the alliance of 30 NATO nations.
Japan, the only country in the world to suffer nuclear attacks, also does not support the treaty, although the survivors of the 1945 bombings are pressing hard to do so. Japan on its own renounces the use and possession of nuclear weapons, but the government said that pursuing the treaty ban is unrealistic, with nuclear and non-nuclear countries so divided about it.
However, Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize winning coalition, whose work helped lead the treaty, called it “a really great day for international law, for the United Nations and the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. “
The treaty received its 50th ratification on October 24, starting a period of 90 days before its entry into force on January 22.
On Thursday, Fihn told the Associated Press that 61 countries had ratified the treaty, with another possible ratification on Friday, and “starting on Friday, nuclear weapons will be banned under international law” in all of these countries.
The treaty requires all ratifying countries “never, under any circumstances … to develop, test, produce, manufacture, acquire, own or store nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices” It also prohibits any transfer or use of nuclear weapons or explosive devices nuclear weapons – and the threat of using such weapons – and requires parties to promote the treaty to other countries.
Fihn said the treaty is “very, very significant” because it will now be a fundamental legal instrument, along with the Geneva Conventions on conduct towards civilians and soldiers during the war and the conventions that prohibit chemical and biological weapons and landmines.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the treaty shows support for multilateral approaches to nuclear disarmament.
“Nuclear weapons pose increasing dangers and the world needs urgent action to ensure their elimination and to prevent the catastrophic human and environmental consequences that any use could cause,” he said in a video message. “The elimination of nuclear weapons remains the highest disarmament priority for the United Nations.”
But not for the nuclear powers.
As the treaty approached the 50 ratifications needed to trigger its entry into force, the Trump administration wrote a letter to the countries that signed it saying they had made “a strategic mistake” and urging them to terminate its ratification.
The letter said that the treaty “slows down the verification and disarmament clock” and would jeopardize the half-century Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, considered the cornerstone of non-proliferation efforts.
At the time, Fihn countered that a ban could not harm non-proliferation, as it was “the ultimate goal of the Non-Proliferation Treaty”
Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said the treaty’s arrival was a historic step in efforts to free the world from nuclear weapons and “hopefully will force renewed action by countries with nuclear weapons to fulfill their commitment to eliminate complete 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 will not stop until we have everyone on board,” she said.
It will also campaign for divestment – putting pressure on 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.