Melissa Parke, executive director of International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), will be visiting Parliament House in Canberra this week to urge the Albanese Labor government to sign and ratify the United Nation’s Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), also known as the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. Continue reading When will Australia join the TPNW?
On 7th July 2017 an overwhelming majority of the world’s nations adopted a global agreement to ban nuclear weapons, known officially as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW or Treaty).
The TPNW entered into force on 22nd January 2021. As a result, the third anniversary of this landmark Treaty will be marked on 22nd January 2024.
The TPNW has become a key component of international law on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. It is effectively the only international agreement with the potential to rid the world of nuclear weapons and the catastrophic threat they pose to humanity and the environment. Continue reading ICAN & ACF sponsor nuclear ban treaty petition – still open
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
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
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
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
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
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
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The Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) entered into force on January 22, 2021. Antoinette Riley (pictured holding the Nobel Peace Prize medal awarded to International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) in 2017) was amongst members of MPG who attended an event to celebrate the occasion in Martin Place (Sydney). They heard Gem Romuld (Director of ICAN Australia) who explained that the event in Sydney was just one of more than 150 similar events taking place around the globe.
Continue reading Celebration of Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty’s entry into force
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) enters into force on Friday January 22, 2021.
So far the TPNW has gained 86 signatories and been ratified by 52 nations. The Treaty required a total of 50 ratifications before coming into force. The current list of signatories and ratifications can be viewed here.
To celebrate this historic achievement, a number of events are being organised in Australia and around the world.
Continue reading Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force on January 22, 2021!
At its last online meeting for the year on December 8, 2020, the Inner West Council endorsed the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons’ Cities Appeal.
MPG congratulates Council for endorsing ICAN’s Cities Appeal.
The global Cities Appeal states:
Our city/town is deeply concerned about the grave threat that nuclear weapons pose to communities throughout the world. We firmly believe that our residents have the right to live in a world free from this threat. Any use of nuclear weapons, whether deliberate or accidental, would have catastrophic, far-reaching and long-lasting consequences for people and the environment.
On October 24, 2020, the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (the Treaty) reached the required 50 states parties for its entry into force, after Honduras ratified it just one day after Jamaica and Nauru submitted their ratifications. The Treaty will enter into force on January 22, 2021, instituting a ban on nuclear weapons, 75 years after their first use.
This milestone means the Treaty will become international law on January 22, 2021, increasing pressure on nuclear armed states and other countries to support the treaty. The treaty now has 84 signatories and 50 states parties.
Continue reading UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons hits 50 ratifications!
Malaysia has become the 46th nation to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Foreign Minister, Hishammuddin Hussein, signed the instrument of ratification on behalf of Malaysia on 30 September 2020. It was deposited with the United Nations later that day. Just four more ratifications are now needed to bring the treaty into force.
In a video address played at the signing ceremony in the nation’s capital, Kuala Lumpur, to mark the occasion, Hishammuddin Hussein expressed concern that the nuclear-weapon states have been regressing in the area of disarmament.
Continue reading UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – only 4 ratifications to go!
A total of 44 states are now parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (also known as the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty) which was adopted by the United Nations on July 7, 2017. This landmark treaty prohibits nuclear weapons and establishes a legal framework for their elimination. It will enter into force after 50 states have signed and ratified the treaty.
The latest endorsements of the treaty coincided with the 75th anniversary of the US atomic bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9 in 1945. To mark Hiroshima Day, Ireland, Nigeria and Niue ratified the treaty on August 6, while the Caribbean state of Saint Kitts and Nevis has moved to do the same this Nagasaki Day. Continue reading UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons – only 6 ratifications to go!
The date July 7, 2017 marks two years since the historic adoption of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW or the treaty). To celebrate the occasion, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has launched a new resource entitled Campaigner’s Guide to Signature and Ratification of the TPNW.
ICAN was a major influence behind the negotiation of the TPNW and was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its endeavours. The treaty is wide ranging and aims to prohibit the use or the threat of use of nuclear weapons along with their development; production and testing; acquisition, possession and stockpiling; transfer; and stationing and deployment. Continue reading Ridding the world of nuclear weapons