On Thursday 26 September a further five states completed the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons during a Signing Ceremony in New York as part of the United Nations General Assembly. Another five states signed the Treaty during the event.
The Treaty was agreed by the United Nations in 2017 with the support of 122 states. It will become law officially when 50 states ratify, so far the figure is 32, with another 47 having signed and currently completing their own domestic processes ahead of ratification.
The Treaty will ban nuclear weapons in the same way as chemical, biological and cluster munitions have been banned. ICAN, of which Christian CND is a proud partner, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 for their efforts bringing the Treaty together.
The five states who ratified on Thursday in New York are: Bangladesh; Kiribati; Laos; Maldives; Trinidad and Tobago. Botswana, Grenada, Dominica, Lesotho, St Kitts & Nevis, Tanzania and Zambia were those to sign.
After the event Maldives Foreign Minister Abdullah Shahid said that the step “exemplifies Maldives’ moral principles regarding peace and security”. Meanwhile in the UN General Assembly debate the Bangladeshi spokesperson said the Treaty “is vital for stigmatising these weapons, leading to their total elimination. It is a critical building block for total elimination.”
So far the nuclear-armed states, including the UK, have failed to engage with the Treaty, despite the overwhelming support from the rest of the world. We continue to pray not only that it will enter into force quickly, but that the nuclear-armed states will engage and seek to move to a nuclear weapons-free world.
