Nuclear-Weapon-Ban treaty

Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
UN vote on adoption of the treaty on 7 July 2017      Yes      No      Abstention      Did not vote
Type	Arms control, nuclear disarmament
Signed	20 September 2017
Location	New York, U.S.
Sealed	7 July 2017
Effective	not in force
Condition	90 days after the fiftieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession has been deposited
Depositary	United Nations Secretary-General
Languages	Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish
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The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons, with the goal of leading towards their total elimination. It was passed on 7 July 2017. In order to come into effect, signature and ratification by at least 50 countries is required. For those nations that are party to it, the treaty prohibits the development, testing, production, stockpiling, stationing, transfer, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons, as well as assistance and encouragement to the prohibited activities. For nuclear armed states joining the treaty, it provides for a time-bound framework for negotiations leading to the verified and irreversible elimination of its nuclear weapons programme.

According to a mandate adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2016, negotiations on the treaty began in the United Nations in March 2017 and continued from 15 June to 7 July 2017. In the vote on the treaty text, 122 were in favour, 1 voted against (Netherlands), and 1 abstained (Singapore). 69 nations did not vote, among them all of the nuclear weapon states and all NATO members except the Netherlands.

The nuclear-weapon-ban treaty, according to its proponents, will constitute an "unambiguous political commitment" to achieve and maintain a nuclear-weapon-free world. However, unlike a comprehensive nuclear weapons convention, it was not intended to contain all of the legal and technical measures required to reach the point of elimination. Such provisions will instead be the subject of subsequent negotiations, allowing the initial agreement to be concluded relatively quickly and, if necessary, without the involvement of nuclear-armed nations.

Proponents of the ban treaty believe that it will help "stigmatize" nuclear weapons, and serve as a "catalyst" for elimination. Around two-thirds of the world's nations have pledged to work together "to fill the legal gap" in the existing international regime governing nuclear weapons, and view a nuclear-weapon-ban treaty as one option for achieving this objective.