The Pacific island state of Fiji has become the 39th nation to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The Fijian ambassador to the United Nations, Satyendra Prasad, announced the ratification at an event on 7 July to mark the third anniversary of the adoption of the landmark agreement by a large majority of the world's nations. He said the treaty has particular resonance in the Pacific as a region that has suffered from decades of nuclear testing by colonial powers.

The 75th Anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima (Aug 6) and Nagasaki (Aug 9) is a moment of remembrance, reflection and -- importantly -- action. Here are the materials that have been produced by ICAN and other partners which you may use for campaigning around the 75th Anniversary commemorations. Feel free to use these resources for your efforts in the run-up to August 6th and 9th, but please take note if you need to credit the author, photographer, etc., as indicated.

On 6 June 2020, Lesotho ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, becoming the third member of the Southern African Development Community to do so, after South Africa and Namibia. The landmark treaty, which comprehensively outlaws the worst weapons of mass destruction and establishes a framework to eliminate them, will enter into legal force once 12 more nations have ratified it.

19 May 2020

Caribbean support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) continues to grow, with Belize ratifying the landmark agreement on 19 May. Belize is the seventh member of the Caribbean Community, or CARICOM, to become a party, following Guyana, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica, and Antigua and Barbuda. Caribbean nations have been vocal supporters of the TPNW, reflecting their longstanding support for diplomatic efforts to achieve a more peaceful world free from the threat of nuclear weapons.

$72.9 billion. That’s how much nine countries spent on nuclear weapons in 2019. In a just-released report, ICAN produced the first estimate in nearly a decade of global nuclear weapon spending, taking into account costs to maintain and build new nuclear weapons.

Nuclear weapons production leaves a nasty legacy both for people and the environment. Around the world, nuclear weapons facilities have contaminated land and water with radioactive waste lasting at least 100,000 years. Efforts to clean up the sites have cost billions of dollars over decades - and are still largely unfinished. The five case studies below provide just a preliminary look into the devastating global environmental consequences of building the bomb. 

How can you get your city, town or local authority to join the ICAN Cities Appeal? Even if you’ve never engaged with local politics before, it’s easier than you might think.

As governments work to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus, progress continues to be made towards eliminating another great threat to humanity: nuclear weapons. On 20 March, Namibia became the 36th nation to ratify or accede to the landmark 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which establishes a categorical ban on the worst weapons of mass destruction and provides a pathway to their total elimination. Several other nations have also recently indicated that, despite these very difficult times, they are continuing to take steps towards ratifying the TPNW.