CND has been campaigning for the global abolition of nuclear weapons ever since its foundation in 1958, so the news today that the United Nations has agreed a treaty which can make exactly that happen is very welcome. The challenge for everyone now is to persuade the nuclear armed states to sign up.
More than 130 states took part in the talks, and we hope many of them will be joining when the treaty opens for signature in September. Given the UK’s persistent boycotting of the process it’s unlikely that we’ll be one of the first states to sign, but the work to bring the government into the fold starts now.
The treaty contains many of the key features that has been calling for in a ban treaty. It is a strong and comprehensive text which has the potential to bring the world closer than ever to achieving a world without nuclear weapons.
Article 1 is a comprehensive ban on nuclear weapons and other related activity. The list of prohibitions includes the use, stockpiling, testing, production, manufacture, stationing and installation. Article 1 also bans assisting with the prohibited acts, such as the United States leasing the Trident missiles to the UK to carry nuclear warheads. It will also be illegal to allow nuclear weapons to travel through territorial waters or airspace.
Articles 3 and 4 set out how the meeting of obligations are measured, including the verification of the irreversible destruction of nuclear weapons and the programmes to develop them. There are provisions to strengthen the safeguards and a prohibition on them being weakened.
Articles 6, 7, and 8 require states to provide assistance to victims of nuclear weapons, either through their use or through testing. It is also a requirement that action is taken in contaminated areas. There is also a requirement to encourage other states to join the treaty, and for regular meetings to review the progress being made.
While states will be encouraged to join the treaty at the first opportunity, likely to be in September, there are provisions in Article 4 for states to join at a later state. The nuclear weapons states would have to remove their weapons from operational status and eventually destroy them. This would have to be done through plans which would need to be submitted for approval.
The treaty is a significant pointer towards changing international attitudes to nuclear weapons. Previous treaties prohibiting chemical and biological weapons helped to stigmatise them in the minds of the public. Can you imagine being part of a chemical weapons alliance, as the UK continues to be part of NATO, a nuclear alliance?
While we welcome the treaty, it’s important to be realistic. Given that the UK parliament voted almost a year ago to give the £205bn project to replace Trident the green light, it is unlikely that Theresa May will be signing up to the treaty any time soon. CND will continue to work with all our partners in Parliament and across civil society to oppose the replacement of Trident, as well as raising awareness of the treaty and the potential it has to bring about positive change.
