Category Archives: Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Vienna Declaration and Action Plan: Eliminating Nuclear Weapons

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,
Source: Culture of Peace News Network

The first Meeting of States Parties to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was held in Vienna from 21 to 23 June 2022.

There were 82 states in attendance, including a delegation with observer status from the Australian Government led by Susan Templeman MP. Nuclear-endorsing states Germany, Norway, Belgium and the Netherlands also attended.

A Declaration and Action Plan were adopted on the final day of the meeting. Continue reading Vienna Declaration and Action Plan: Eliminating Nuclear Weapons →

Australia to attend the first Meeting of States Parties to TPNW in Vienna

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Source: Pressenza International Press Agency

Ever since the Labor Party’s election victory on 21 May 2022, members of the nuclear disarmament movement, led by ICAN and supported by MPG, have been urging the government to attend the first Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW or Treaty) in Vienna from 21 to 23 June 2022.

The Australian government has now confirmed that it will attend the first Meeting of States Parties as an observer. The government has also indicated that it will participate in the fourth Conference on the Humanitarian Impacts of Nuclear Weapons on 20 June 2022, hosted by Austria. Continue reading Australia to attend the first Meeting of States Parties to TPNW in Vienna →

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – First Meeting of States Parties – 21 to 23 June 2022

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,

The First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will take place in Vienna, Austria from 21 to 23 June 2022. Originally scheduled for January 2022, this meeting was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Background

In 2017 the United Nations convened a conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination. The conference took place from 27 to 31 March and from 15 June to 7 July in New York. Continue reading Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – First Meeting of States Parties – 21 to 23 June 2022 →

ICAN Petition – Condemn Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons: join TPNW now

Nuclear Disarmament, Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, War in Ukraine

The Australian branch of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN Australia) is circulating a petition to Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne.

It condemns Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons and urges the Australian government to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

The petition states:

The world has moved closer to a nuclear catastrophe with the order by Russian President Vladimir Putin to put Russia’s nuclear arsenal on combat readiness amidst his country’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. Continue reading ICAN Petition – Condemn Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons: join TPNW now →

Peru – 59th state party to ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Nuclear Disarmament, Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,
Antonio García Revilla, a Director-General at the Foreign Ministry of Peru, signs the TPNW in New York on 20 September 2017. Photo: ICAN. Click photo to enlarge.

On December 23, 2021, Peru become the 59th state party to ratify the United Nation’s Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). In a press statement, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry stated that Peru’s ratification of the TPNW highlights its “high commitment to its obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law”, adding that it “is in line with Peru’s commitment to promoting international peace and security to facilitate the development and growth of our peoples”.

The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has congratulated the Peruvian Foreign Ministry, as well as Peruvian and Latin-American activists, particularly those associated with the Human Security Network for Latin America and the Caribbean (SEHLAC), who campaigned for this outcome. Continue reading Peru – 59th state party to ratify the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons →

76th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – 6th and 9th August 2021

Nuclear Weapons, Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Hiroshima’s Genbaku Dome

On the 6th and 9th of August, community groups around the world will commemorate the 76th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

In 1945, the United States detonated two nuclear weapons over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima (6th August) and Nagasaki (9th August). Over the following two to four months, the effects of the atomic bombings killed between 90,000 and 146,000 people in Hiroshima and between 39,000 and 80,000 people in Nagasaki. Roughly half of these deaths occurred within 24 hours of these bombings. For months afterwards, large numbers of people continued to die from the effects of burns, radiation sickness, and injuries, compounded by illness and malnutrition. Most of the victims were civilians. Continue reading 76th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki – 6th and 9th August 2021 →