“Critical disarmament instruments are being eroded
Signing ceremony for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at UN Headquarters in New York on 20 September 2017. (file)
What’s in the treaty?
The legally binding Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the first multilateral nuclear disarmament convention to be negotiated in more than two decades when it was adopted on 7 July 2017 and entered into force on 22 January 2021.
At the time, the UN chief called it “an important step towards the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons and a strong demonstration of support for multilateral approaches to nuclear disarmament”.
The treaty contains a comprehensive set of prohibitions on participating in any nuclear weapon-related activities. This includes undertakings not to develop, test, produce, acquire, possess, stockpile, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons.
It also prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons on national territory as well as the provision of assistance to any State in the conduct of prohibited activities and requires States parties to assist individuals under their jurisdiction affected by the use or testing of nuclear weapons as well as to take environmental remediation measures in areas under their jurisdiction or control that have been contaminated due to the testing or use of nuclear weapons.