September 2006
IPPNW initiates ICAN
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War - winner of the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize – adopts ICAN as a top priority at its world congress in Helsinki, Finland. Affiliate organizations commit to launching the campaign in 2007 and ICAN sets up its first office – in Melbourne, Australia – with Felicity Hill as the coordinator.
30 April 2007
ICAN is launched internationally
ICAN is launched internationally in Vienna at the Non-Proliferation Treaty Prep-Com meeting. Campaign coordinator Felicity Hill urges all countries to begin negotiations without delay on a nuclear weapons convention.
28 April 2008
The Dalai Lama declares support for ICAN
His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama sends a statement of support to ICAN: “A nuclear weapons convention is feasible, necessary and increasingly urgent. I can imagine a world without nuclear weapons, and I support ICAN.”
24 October 2008
UN Secretary General joins call for a ban
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urges nations to implement existing legal obligations by negotiating a nuclear weapons convention. He describes the model convention prepared by civil society as a “good point of departure” for negotiations.
16 October 2009
International ICAN meeting held in France
ICAN campaigners from 57 organisations in France – as well as speakers from Australia, Germany and the United States – meet in Caen, in northern France, for a three-day conference focusing on the need for a global nuclear weapons ban.
28 May 2010
Governments endorse global nuclear ban
ICAN campaigners in New York call on governments to support a nuclear weapons convention at the five-yearly Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference. The final document includes a reference to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and a nuclear weapons convention.
4 June 2010
UN Secretary-General supports ICAN
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon sent a message of encouragement to ICAN: “Greetings from one of your strongest supporters … The movement to abolish nuclear weapons is on the right side of history. We will continue to fight for this great cause.”
5 June 2010
ICAN holds its first global day of action
Thousands of people participate in 50 simultaneous events in 25 countries as part ICAN’s global day of action following the Non-Proliferation Treaty review conference. Our message: begin negotiations now on a nuclear weapons convention.
29 June 2011
Desmond Tutu calls for an end to “nuclear evil”
Nobel Peace Prize-winning anti-apartheid leader Desmond Tutu calls for an “end to nuclear evil”, urging states to commence negotiations without further delay on a nuclear weapons convention.
1 June 2011
ICAN sets up office in Geneva
Thanks to a grant from the Norwegian government, ICAN establishes an office in Geneva, Switzerland and creates an international staff team.
17 September 2011
ICAN campaign meeting held in Geneva
More than 130 people from around the world – including many from the Middle East and Africa – take part in ICAN’s first international conference, in Geneva, Switzerland. Campaigners report on their ICAN activities and develop plans for future actions.
5 March 2012
Global divestment initiative launched
Together with ICAN, PAX launches a major study, “Don’t Bank on the Bomb,” detailing global investments in nuclear weapons companies. Campaigners put pressure on their financial institutions to end their support for the nuclear arms industry.
30 April 2012
ICAN campaign meeting held in Vienna
Over 150 ICAN campaigners meet in Vienna prior to the NPT preparatory committee meeting to discuss ways to build support for a nuclear weapons ban. They agree on the need to emphasize the humanitarian harm caused by nuclear weapons.
September 2012
Paper cranes delivered to world leaders
ICAN campaigners from Hiroshima send 1,000 hand-folded paper cranes to every president and prime minister worldwide. In return, they seek a message of support for a global ban on nuclear weapons.
2-3 March 2013
ICAN hosts major civil society forum in Oslo
More than 500 campaigners from 70 countries gather in Oslo, Norway, for a major civil society forum organized by ICAN to ramp up efforts to get negotiations started on a treaty banning nuclear weapons.
July 2013
ICAN holds successful Nuclear Abolition Week
ICAN campaigners around the world hold events to raise awareness of the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, while thousands signed an online petition calling for a ban on nuclear weapons, as part of ICAN’s Nuclear Abolition Week.
23 May 2014
World trade union movement calls for ban
The third world congress of the International Trade Union Confederation in Berlin, attended by more than 1,500 trade unionists from 161 countries, adopts a resolution calling for “urgent negotiations” on a treaty banning nuclear weapons.
7 July 2014
World Council of Churches pushes for ban
Following a week-long central committee meeting, the World Council of Churches released a statement highlighting that nuclear weapons “pose a threat to humanity” as long as they exist and urging governments to pursue a ban.
6-7 December 2014
600 campaigners gather in Vienna
More than 600 campaigners from 70 countries gathered in Vienna for the largest civil society meeting in recent years on the abolition of nuclear weapons. The forum concludes with a powerful discussion on the benefits of a ban treaty.
6 & 9 August 2015
World marks 70 years since Hiroshima and Nagasaki
ICAN campaigners throughout the world organize events to commemorate the 70th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which claimed close to a quarter of a million lives.
25 September 2015
Pope Francis calls for a ban on nuclear weapons
In a historic speech to the UN General Assembly, Pope Francis calls for the “complete prohibition” of nuclear weapons, condemning the doctrine of deterrence as “an affront to the entire framework of the United Nations”.
27 February 2016
Thousands rally against nuclear weapons in the UK
The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, an ICAN partner organization in the United Kingdom, brings together an estimated 70,000 people in London for what is dubbed the country’s biggest anti-nuclear weapons rally in a generation.
30 April- 1 May 2016
ICAN activists from 38 nations gather in Geneva
Ahead of the May session of the UN working group on nuclear disarmament, 130 ICAN campaigners from 38 countries meet in Geneva to discuss effective advocacy in nuclear-free states, “nuclear umbrella” states and nuclear-armed states.
2 May 2016
More than 800 parliamentarians call for a ban
ICAN delivers an appeal signed by 838 parliamentarians in 42 nations to the chair of the UN working group, stating that the only way to guarantee that nuclear weapons will never be used again is to outlaw and eliminate them without further delay.
March 2017
Start of TPNW negotiations
On 28 March 2017, the vast majority of the world’s nations began work on a treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons, bringing an end to more than two decades of paralysis in multilateral disarmament negotiations. ICAN campaigners and members from our partner organizations had an active presence in the negotiations.
June 2017
ICAN and partner organizations host side-events at TPNW negotiations
The Treaty negotiations saw active involvement of the civil society community, with ICAN and its partner organizations hosting numerous side-events.
July 7, 2017
TPNW adopted
122 states vote in favor of the adoption of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York.
20 September 2017
The Treaty opens for signature
ICAN speaks at the opening of the Treaty's signing together with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the President of the ICRC Peter Maurer and the President of Costa Rica.
December 2017
ICAN receives 2017 Nobel Peace Prize
The 2017 Nobel Peace Prize was presented to ICAN at a ceremony in Oslo on 10 December in recognition of our work “to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons” and our “ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons”.
April 2018
Campaigner’s meeting in Geneva
ICAN campaigners from around the world meet in Geneva to discuss next steps for the TPNW’s entry into force.
September 2018
Nobel Peace Ride
In September 2018, ICAN journeyed from Melbourne to Canberra by bicycle touring our Nobel Peace Prize medal and raising awareness of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
October/November 2018
ICAN launches #ICANSave Cities Appeal globally
ICAN launches the Cities Appeal, a commitment by cities and towns to show support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and call on their governments to join.
June 2019
Pressenza’s Nuclear Ban documentary premieres
A new documentary from ICAN partner, Pressenza, telling the story of how the movement to end nuclear weapons succeeded in achieving the UN Treaty that bans them,through interviews with 14 experts in their fields, premiered in New York on 6 June.
31 July- 8 August 2019
First edition of ICAN-Hiroshima Academy
ICAN & Hiroshima Prefecture launch the 9-day “Hiroshima-ICAN Academy on Nuclear Weapons and Global Security” program in Hiroshima, which brought together 15 students and young professionals from around the world with diplomats, UN officials and NGO members from the field of global security and nuclear disarmament.
October 2019
ICAN hosts TPNW workshop at First Committee
ICAN in partnership with the United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs and the permanent missions of Kazakhstan, Austria, New Zealand and Bolivia held a workshop at the UN to promote the early entry into force of the 2017 UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, around 40 countries took part in the workshop.
November 2019
Pope Francis delivers powerful speech for nuclear ban in Japan
Pope Francis during his visit to Japan, delivers two speeches in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, urging work to support the TPNW and stating that “we will be judged” on our efforts to end nuclear weapons.
February 2022
Campaigners meet at ICAN Paris Forum
On 14-15 February, ICAN and ICAN France brought together 300 students and activists to discuss and learn about movement building, political change and what it takes to change the world.