Austria and Palau have become the latest states to ratify the Nuclear Ban Treaty at the United Nations in New York, taking the number of states having completed the ratification process to nine.
The two states are significant signatories to the Treaty. Palau is the first Pacific nation to sign the Treaty whilst Austria is the first EU Member State to take the step.
Palau has the world’s only nuclear-free constitution which was adopted in 1980 and has a long tradition of opposing nuclear weapons. This was recognised when the state was invited to be one of the first to sign the Treaty in September 2017.
Austria has played a key role in the development of the Ban Treaty. It hosted the Third Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, resulting in the Humanitarian Pledge, signed by 127 states to date.
Christian CND visited the Austrian Embassy in London as part of our annual Embassies Walk in March.
The Treaty will come into force once 50 states have completed the ratification process. Christian CND continues to pray that more states will complete the process quickly, and that others will come forward to sign in the meantime.
