From April 29 to May 10, 2019, ICAN campaigners from all over the world engaged with the world’s UN diplomats in New York  as these gathered to discuss nuclear disarmament  in preparation of next year’s Review of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Their mission? Ensure that these delegations have all the facts on the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, including how it complements the NPT, and thereby feel empowered to speak out in favour of the Treaty.

A new YouGov poll commissioned by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has found a stark rejection of nuclear weapons in the four EU states which host US nuclear weapons on their soil: Belgium, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The Europeans who would be on the frontline for a potential nuclear attack strongly reject nuclear weapons and support their governments joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

On Thursday 11 April, US Congresspersons Jim McGovern and Earl Blumenauer introduced a historic resolution, H. Res 302: Embracing the Goals and Provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the first US House of Representatives resolution that calls on the US government to support the nuclear weapons ban treaty (“TPNW”) and make nuclear disarmament a central focus of US national security policy. The text of the resolution is in stark contrast to the United States’ policy on nuclear weapons for many years, which has seen the US engage in a new nuclear arms race, threaten to use nuclear weapons to “totally destroy” civilian populations, boycott successive conferences examining the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and attempt to undermine the negotiation of the TPNW.

On April 4th, 2019, the AU Peace and Security Council held a sensitization session on disarmament, including landmines and the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. ICAN was invited to brief the Council on the risk of nuclear weapons use, and the crucial role African States can play in ending them, through signing and ratifying the TPNW.

The second summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un in Hanoi has drawn to a close without a new deal on the table, providing further evidence that the complete, irreversible and verifiable denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula will require an international process based in international law.  Anything less will not stand the test of time, particularly if it is solely dependent on these two unstable men. The process must be internationalized.

Today, the only country that went from developing its own nuclear arsenal to dismantling it and being an outspoken advocate against these weapons of mass destruction, took another critical step towards a nuclear-weapons-free-world: in the halls of the UN HQ of New York, South Africa just ratified the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). 

After months of delay a report for the Swedish Parliament on possible Swedish “accession” to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, compiled by former government diplomat Lars-Erik Lundin, was published today. The investigation concludes that Sweden should not join the TPNW “in its present form”. The next step is a 3-month consultation round in which many different stakeholders will be able to assess the merits of the report. After that it is expected that the Swedish government will make its official decision on whether to join the TPNW.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) applauds the Australian Labor Party for committing to sign and ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons when in government.

In a 24 to 15 vote (with 2 abstentions), the Council of States of the Swiss Federal Assembly has joined the National Council today in calling on the Swiss government to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and submit it to Parliament for ratification without delay. This vote follows a public backlash  against the government’s decision in August to adopt a wait-and-see approach to the TPNW. The Parliament’s resounding yes sends the signal that  - especially in the face of current international tensions – the humanitarian and security reasons for joining the Nuclear Ban Treaty prevail.