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At a high-level ceremony in New York on 26 September coordinated by ICAN and a cross-regional group of governments, a group of states marked the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons in a very special way: by signing and ratifying the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. With 9 new signatories and 4 new ratifications, the Nuclear Ban Treaty now has 69 signatories and 19 States party. It has also set a record pace for the speed with which it is moving towards becoming law, compared to other treaties on weapons of mass destruction, such as the conventions on chemical and biological weapons, and nuclear testing and proliferation. The treaty will enter into force when 50 countries have signed and ratified, or acceded to, it.
These are the states that signed and ratified the Nuclear Ban Treaty
The new signatories are: Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Brunei, Guinea-Bissau, Myanmar, Saint Lucia, Seychelles and Timor-Leste
The new States party are: Gambia, Samoa, San Marino and Vanuatu.
Find out more about the status of the Treaty here.
These quotes show why support for the Nuclear Ban Treaty is so important, and so powerful
“The very survival of humanity requires resolute agreement forbidding the use of nuclear weapons [...] We look forward to achieving the 50 ratifications needed for the treaty to enter into force and I truly commend all the countries, all the leaders, present here for their determination.”
- Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garces, President of UN General Assembly
“The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is a beacon of hope, a hope that humanity will one day be freed of the dark shadow of nuclear warfare, and the massive suffering which we all know would result.”
- Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee for the Red Cross . Read his full speech here
“In this quiet room, away from the media glare, we see what actual leadership looks like. You are responding to the reality of the nuclear threat with real action…meaningful action that will ultimately correct the course of history. This is the UN at its best. This is the power of civil society. This is the greatness of humanity in the face of great peril.”
- Beatrice Fihn, Executive Director of ICAN. Read her full statement here.