The Bomb has been banned!
As END Info 20 goes to press, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) has secured fifty ratifications and will come ‘into force’ on 22 January 2021. This historic event is the result of consistent and heroic efforts on the part of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and reflects growing international concern about nuclear tensions.
Meanwhile, the United States is engaged in desperate measures to undermine the TPNW. The Associated Press has obtained a copy of a letter sent by the US to TPNW signatories which claims that the treaty “turns back the clock on verification and disarmament and is dangerous ... Although we recognize your sovereign right to ratify or accede to the ... [TPNW] we believe that you have made a strategic error and should withdraw your instrument of ratification or accession”.
Responding to the letter, Beatrice Fihn from ICAN characterised such claims as “straightforward lies, to be frank.” The US pitches its objection around the TPNW being a threat to the NPT. This is not only false, given that the NPT explicitly calls for further measures to advance complete nuclear disarmament, but is a bit rich coming from a nuclear armed state that has done little to advance work on the NPT and which has systematically undermined a host of other global nuclear treaties.
This latest action by the US is part of an ongoing effort by the nuclear armed states to undermine the TPNW and to coerce non-nuclear armed states into rejecting the treaty. Perhaps the most significant obstacles have been the actions of the US, UK and NATO allies. The effects of the ‘NATO factor’ can be seen in the fact that the only European states that have ratified the TPNW to date are all non-NATO members. This poses questons about the future direction of the campaign around the TPNW and suggests that a focus on NATO along with consideration of complementary initiatives might be appropriate.
Meanwhile, the TPNW is a reality. The existing, truly inspiring, efforts to achieve ratification will surely continue. In a number of countries there are lively efforts to win further support. Likewise, a planned conference of TPNW ‘ratifiers’ which looks set to take place in Austria, will put additional pressure on those states that have not already ratified the treaty. In addition, such a conference will be an important platform for exposing the dangers of nuclear tensions, nuclear weapons and the nuclear risks we face.
The TPNW will be an essential political tool for campaigners dealing with political parties that present themselves as ‘defenders and promoters of human rights and international law’, but who in contradiction to their professed policies maintain a commitment to weapons of mass murder and attempt to ignore this global treaty.
The TPNW is here. The bomb has been banned. Now it’s up to the peace movements across the world to promote, extend and mobilise to ensure that the TPNW truly comes “into force”. Much work to do in 2021, but the TPNW is a powerful and essential tool in our work for a nuclear free world.