Nuclear ban treaty to enter-into-force. What does this mean?

Posted: 12th November 2020

Nuclear ban treaty to enter-into-force. What does this mean?

UNFOLD ZERO representatives welcome delegates to the 2016 UN Open Ended Working Group with origami cranes. The OEWG decided to initiate the UN negotiations for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which then took place in 2017.
On October 24, 2020, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) which was adopted in 2017, reached the required 50 states parties to enable its entry-into-force. The treaty will now enter-into-force on January 22, 2021, to be followed within a year by the first Conference of States Parties to the Treaty.

What does this mean? Does the TPNW undermine the Non-Proliferation Treaty, as some claim? Does the Treaty establish a legally-binding and comprehensive ban on nuclear weapons? Are there other legally binding bans on nuclear weapons? Does the TPNW assist those impacted by nuclear weapons testing and production? Does the TPNW support or undermine an incremental (step-by-step) process for nuclear disarmament? Does the Treaty provide a process for elimination? Are the nuclear-armed and allied States likely to join the Treaty?

UNFOLD ZERO has posted a discussion on these and other aspects of the Treaty at Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

On the legal implications of the TPNW, we also recommend the Statement of Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy and Western States Legal Foundation on the Imminent Entry into Force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, October 24, 2020.