Each year, the world gathers in New York to discuss disarmament and international security during the UNGA’s First Committee. Yesterday (nov 1, 2018), the First Committee passed a resolution supporting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and calling on all states to join it as soon as possible, by majority vote.

Today (Oct. 29), at the United Nations in New York, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) launch the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor 2018, the first report of a newly established watchdog for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The report tracks the progress of the historic nuclear ban treaty, adopted at the UN in 2017, and monitors progress on compliance with the TPNW.

View the report on banmonitor.org →

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.

September 26th is the International Day for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, and this year,  people all over took action for a nuke-free world. At the UN’s New York HQ, that action translated into vocal and active support for Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, during the UNGA’s events marking the day and – most importantly – at a high-level ceremony where 7  countries signed and 4 countries ratified the the Nuclear Ban Treaty. ICAN was at both events, and took the opportunity to deliver two powerful appeals to the world leaders, urging them to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Every year on the 26th of September, people all over the world take action to call for a world free of nuclear weapons. This year, we’re showing the world that nothing about nuclear weapons is acceptable. While responsible states from across the globe are signing and/or ratifying the Treaty at a signing ceremony at the UN, citizens all across the planet are taking action to tell BNP Paribas to stop investing in nuclear weapons.

The success of today’s summit between South Korea’s Moon Jae-in North Korea’s Kim Jong-un again shows that maximum cooperation and engagement are the only path to peaceful solutions. President Moon and Chairman Kim’s commitment to a Korean Peninsula free of the threat of nuclear weapons will make their people and the world safer. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons remains the best vehicle to achieving this vision and the clear pathway to denuclearising both North and South Korea.

Big news coming from California, USA today: The state senate just approved a resolution calling for support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, make nuclear dis armament the centerpiece of our national security policy, and spearhead a global effort to prevent nuclear war. The resolution (Sacramento–Assembly Joint Resolution 33 or AJR 33) was introduced by Santa Barbara’s State Assembly member, Monique Limón, and passed by a vote of 25 to 10.

Read the full text on Arms Control Law >>

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has been the talk of the town at several events and meetings across the African continent over the past few weeks. ICAN campaigners, including Treaty Coordinator Tim Wright, participated in and helped organise many of these events. Here are some of the highlights: