Philippines and Comoros ratify the Ban Treaty

There have been two more states officially joining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, with Philippines and Comoros confirming the move on Friday 19 February. This takes the number of states becoming party to the Treaty to 56, with more having already signed and currently in the process of completing domestic processes ahead of formal ratification.

The Treaty entered into force amid global celebration on Friday 22 January 2021 meaning nuclear weapons are now banned under international law in the same way as chemical and biological weapons have been previously banned. During the most recent discussion of the Treaty at the United Nations in December 2020 130 states supported a motion calling for support for the Treaty.

The Philippine is the sixth member of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to join the Treaty, joining Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam. The Philippines is also the third state identified by the United States as a “major non-NATO ally” to have joined the Treaty, alongside New Zealand and Thailand. The United States has been calling on allies to not sign or ratify the Treaty.

Comoros is the eighth African state to ratify the Treaty, joining Benin, Botswana, The Gambia, Nigeria, Lesotho, South Africa and Namibia.

More ratifications and signatures are expected in the coming weeks. Christian CND welcomes the ratifications of Philippines and Comoros and thanks God for all those who have worked so hard to make this happen. We continue to pray that more states would join the Treaty and that the nuclear-armed states would also engage with the Treaty to bring about a nuclear weapons-free world.

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