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Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

On 25th October 2020, four years after the UNGA resolution to launch negotiations, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was ratified by the 50th member state, thus initiating the 90 days countdown to its entry into force on 22nd January 2021. Read our press release here.

The journey to the entry into force began at the end of 2016, when the United Nations General Assembly approved a landmark resolution to launch negotiations in 2017 to form a global treaty banning nuclear weapons. In that venue, 113 member states voted in favour of, 13 abstained and 35 voted against this resolution.

Within the United Nations General Assembly, support for a treaty in 2016 was strongest among nations in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, regions where states don’t tend to have arsenals. The UK, however, along with other nuclear states not only voted against the resolution but also boycotted the rounds of negotiations to form a treaty which took place last March and July.

On 7th July, 122 UN member states voted for The Nuclear Ban Treaty. As the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons, it hopes to one day totally eliminate nuclear weapons.

On 20th September, the Treaty opened up to signatories in New York, with 50 member states signing and a further 3 ratifying it on the first day. To enter into international law, 50 states must sign AND ratify it.

In the UK, we now need to put pressure on our decision-makers to start the process to bring the treaty into our law. Parliamentarians can now lead the way by signing the pledge to work for the UK to sign and ratify this vital treaty. You can write to your MP to ask them to speak up about the UK singing and ratifying the Treaty.

Through WILPF‘s membership in the Nobel Peace Prize-winning International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), we will also engage in advocacy and mobilisation opportunities at local, national, and global levels alongside the development and sharing of helpful new resources.

You can sign up to CND’s campaign magazine to get more information on this here.

Updates on The Nuclear Ban Treaty

22/01/2020 THE TREATY ENTERS INTO FORCE! We call on the UK Prime Minister to engage with the Treaty.

25/10/2020 The 50th ratification of the TPNW comes from Honduras. WILPF UK Press Release

08/10/2018 9 more states sign and 4 more ratify the TPNW

07/10/2018 Join us for our Autumn Seminar ‘TPNW, the need for the UK to sign, how and why’

07/07/2018 One year today since the world made history

27/06/2018 UK could scrap Trident without massive job losses

14/06/2018 Read Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy’s Advocacy Brief for nuclear weapons here

22/09/2018 Join us for the Nae Nukes Rally at Faslane Peace Camp, Scotland

14/05/2018 WILPF UK taking steps to realise the Nuclear Ban Treaty

14/05/2018 NFLA expresses concern with Defence Minister’s announcement 

03/05/2018 Watch UK WILPF’s talk at Shape History’s event ‘How to build a feminist campaign’

02/05/2018 UK WILPF to talk at Shape History’s event How to Build a Feminist Online Campaign

26/03/2018 Read WILPF’s resource guide on the Nuclear Ban Treaty 

11/ 03/ 2018 Join us at our workshop on campaigning for the UK to ratify the TPNW

09/ 02/ 2018 Has your MP signed ICAN’s pledge? 

03/ 02/ 2018 ICAN issues Action Alert for members over U.S. Nuclear Posture Review

21/12/2017 Join us in signing CND’s Citizen Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

12/12/2017 Shelia Triggs writes letter to her MP to support the Nuclear Ban Treaty

10/12/2017 WILPF Member Rebecca Johnson speaks at Oslo weekend of the ICAN Nobel Prize Ceremony

09/12/2017 Pictures from ‘No safe hands for unsafe weapons’ demo

09/12/2017 Shelia Triggs speaks at ICAN Nobel Peace Prize Die-In Demo

09/12/2017 Join us at ‘No safe hands or unsafe weapons’ 

21/09/2017 UK WILPF member and Director, Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy Dr Rebecca Johnson writes in Open Democracy.

20/09/2017 Nuclear Ban Treaty opens for signatories

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