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An international treaty banning nuclear weapons has been ratified by a 50th country, the UN said, allowing the “historic” text to take effect after 90 days.
While the nuclear powers have not acceded to the treaty, activists who have pushed for its enactment hope that it will nonetheless be more than symbolic and have a gradual deterrent effect.
Honduras became the 50th country to ratify.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called it “the culmination of a worldwide movement to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons,” according to a statement from his spokesman.
“It represents a significant commitment towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons, which remains the top disarmament priority of the United Nations.”
NGOs also welcomed the news, including the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition that won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its key role in bringing the treaty to fruition.
“Honduras just ratified the Treaty as the 50th state, which brought it into force and makes history,” ICAN said in a tweet.
Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said in a statement: “Today is a victory for humanity and a promise of a more secure future.”
The 75th anniversary of the nuclear attacks on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, celebrated in August, saw a wave of countries ratify the treaty.
Among them are Nigeria, Malaysia, Ireland, Malta and Tuvalu.
Thailand, Mexico, South Africa, Bangladesh, New Zealand, Vietnam and the Vatican are among the countries that have already ratified it.
It will now enter into force on January 22, 2021, the UN said.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which prohibits the use, development, production, testing, stocking, storage and threat of use of such weapons, was adopted by the UN General Assembly in July 2017 with the approval of 122 countries.
Since then, eighty-four states have signed it, although not all have ratified it.
The handful of nuclear-weapon states, including the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia, have not signed the treaty.
However, activists hope that their entry into force will have the same impact as previous international treaties on landmines and cluster munitions, bringing a stigma to their storage and use and, therefore, a change in behavior even in countries. they did not subscribe.
Can we have your attention? 📢 WE GOT IT! 🙌 The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has just reached 50 ratifications. On January 22, 2021, the ban on nuclear weapons will come into force. the #nuclearban it’s here. pic.twitter.com/8aM1JAlpjb
– ICAN (@nuclearban) October 24, 2020
ICAN said in a statement that it expects “companies to stop producing nuclear weapons and financial institutions to stop investing in companies producing nuclear weapons.”
The coalition’s executive director, Beatrice Fihn, called it “a new chapter for nuclear disarmament.”
“Decades of activism have achieved what many said was impossible: nuclear weapons are prohibited.”
Saying that his country had played a “decisive role” together with others, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz wrote on Twitter that it was “an important step towards our goal of a world without nuclear weapons.”
Nuclear-weapon states argue that their arsenals serve as a deterrent and say they remain committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which seeks to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.
Separately, Russia and the United States have been trying to break out of a stalemate in long-running talks aimed at extending a nuclear weapons deal between them.
The two sides have struggled to find common ground on the fate of the new START treaty, which limits both parties to 1,550 deployed warheads but expires next February.
While the United States wants to rework the agreement to include China and cover new types of weapons, Russia is willing to extend the agreement for five years without new conditions, and each side has repeatedly rejected the other’s proposals.
The agreement was signed in 2010 on top of hopes for a “restart” in relations between the two countries.
Along with the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty from the Cold War era, it was considered a centerpiece of international arms control.
However, the United States withdrew from the INF last year after accusing Moscow of violations.
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