Nuclear weapons are illegal at last – but where was the media fanfare?
Posted: 31st January 2021
29th January
LETTERS
Pope Francis said: ‘Weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, create nothing but a false sense of security’
ON January 22 there took place a truly momentous event; after decades of campaigning we finally “Banned the Bomb”, and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) entered into force. It is now illegal under international law to develop, test, produce, manufacture, acquire, possess, stockpile, transfer, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons.
This treaty is “jus cogens” or compelling law; that is, a peremptory norm from which there is no derogation (like piracy, genocide, or enslavement), as opposed to customary law, where parties have make a mutual agreement. States that ignore this are stigmatised, and stand revealed as criminal. And nuclear weapons are delegitimised. Yet this historic event was ignored by our media. Why?
READ MORE: David Pratt: How significant is the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons?
The first country to sign this treaty was the Vatican State. The Pope has said: “If we also take into account the risk of an accidental detonation as a result of error of any kind, the threat of their use, as well as their very possession, is to be firmly condemned”. He, along with other faith leaders, is unequivocal in his rejection of all strategies involving the use of nuclear weapons.
Now, President Biden is a Catholic and must make a choice: either to follow the unambiguous teaching of the Pope and cease policies of nuclear terrorism, or to ignore the Pope and just carry on regardless. But the Pope said: “Weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, create nothing but a false sense of security. They cannot constitute the basis for peaceful coexistence between members of the human family.” This verdict remains undeniably true.
IN PICTURES: Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons celebrated in Edinburgh
The Vatican has called on all other states to ratify the TPNW “as soon as possible”, commending it as “an important step towards a nuclear-weapons-free world”. By adhering to the treaty, states formally reject “the fallacy that ‘might makes right’ and its pernicious modern corollary that some nations have the right to nuclear weapons while others do not”, and they affirm that “international peace and security consist in what supports the common good of all humanity”.
The pro-Bomb lobby has always said they believed in multilateralism. Here is a chance to prove it. Let all unite in supporting the TPNW.