Today, Austria has become the ninth state to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TNPW). Austria is well known as one of the key drivers and champions for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Austria just deposited its ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons #TPNW – we are committed to rid the world of the most horrible weapons of mass destruction. #nuclearban #raceto50 pic.twitter.com/kk4W6hL5Xl
— Austria UN (@AustriaUN) May 8, 2018
In 2014 Austria hosted the Third Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, which culminated in a Humanitarian Pledge, ultimately signed by 127 states. Through UN General Assembly meetings and UN Working Groups, Austria has consistently and stridently carried the flag for a ban on nuclear weapons. Austria’s early ratification of the TPNW demonstrates that it intends to continue to take a leadership role in the implementation of the treaty and promote its universalization.
Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director ICAN, celebrates this commitment: “Leadership on diplomacy and disarmament is about making agreements and treaties, not about ripping them up. On the day where the US might withdraw from the Iran Nuclear Deal, I’m grateful for Austrian leadership on humanitarian and nuclear disarmament.”
Nadja Schmidt, Executive Director of ICAN Austria, is “very pleased to see Austria ratify the TPNW, being among the first ten countries to do so. This is a huge success for our national campaign. Austria continues to demonstrate it’s will to play a leading role in eliminating nuclear weapons (for a nuclear weapon free world). We call on our government and parliament to uphold this strong engagement in the future.”
Austria joins the State Parties to the TPNW only days after the island nation of Palau became the first Pacific country to ratify the treaty.