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2 The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)
It was in this context that the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons was launched in 2006. The result of extensive international cooperation among activists and NGOs, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is now comprised of over 700 partner organisations in well over 100 countries around the world. It has focused on the humanitarian threat posed by nuclear weapons, and its central mission has been to encourage governments to sign, ratify and adhere to the TPNW.
The TPNW clearly prohibits the development, testing, production, stationing or use of nuclear weapons. Unlike the NPT, the treaty applies equally to all signatory countries, in theory resolving the tension between nuclear ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ of the earlier treaty. It also builds on the NWFZ treaties you learned about in Session 5, expanding some of these provisions to the entire world. The TPNW was adopted by the UN in 2017 and entered into force in 2021. The TPNW is now a binding international law and as a result, nuclear weapons are illegal. As of 2024, 93 states have signed the treaty, with 70 of these taking the next step and ratifying the TPNW, demonstrating the widespread global support for nuclear disarmament. Problematically, none of the nuclear weapons states have signed the TPNW.
Take a look at the following chart which highlights the main differences between the 1968 NPT and the 2017 TPNW.
Table 1 explains some of the key differences between the NPT and the TPNW.
| The NPT (1968): | The TPNW (2017): |
|---|---|
| Prohibits five of the nine nuclear-armed states – China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US – from transferring their nuclear weapons to anyone else or assisting other states to acquire nuclear weapons. | Prohibits a wide range of activities relating to nuclear weapons, including their use, threatened use, development, testing, manufacture, and possession, as well as assistance with any of those activities. |
| Prohibits all other parties from manufacturing or otherwise acquiring nuclear weapons. | Establishes a legal framework for the verified, time-bound elimination of nuclear-weapon programmes and the removal of foreign-owned nuclear weapons from the territory of parties. |
| Facilitates the exchange of equipment, materials, and scientific and technological information for the ‘peaceful uses of nuclear energy’, subject to safeguard agreements. | Reinforces and extends the NPT requirement for safeguards to ensure that nuclear materials and technology are not used for weapons. |
| Requires all parties to ‘pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to the cessation of the nuclear arms race and to nuclear disarmament’ (without specifying what those measures must be or imposing any timeline). | Establishes a legal framework for assisting victims of the use and testing of nuclear weapons, and for the remediation of contaminated environments. |
Activity 1
In 2017, ICAN was awarded the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize ‘for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons’.
Watch this video featuring ICAN’s Executive Director at the time, Beatrice Fihn, after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize, and then answer the questions below.
Transcript
[APPLAUSE]
[CHUCKLING]
[CHUCKLING]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
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[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[CHEERS AND APPLAUSE]
[APPLAUSE]
- What motivated ICAN to take action against nuclear weapons?
- What are the next steps towards nuclear disarmament described in the speech?
Discussion
- Beatrice Fihn explains that those involved in ICAN had lost patience with the lack of progress towards nuclear abolition, despite commitments such as those in the 1968 NPT to work towards nuclear disarmament. She also cites the importance of the hibakusha, who have worked for decades to ensure nuclear weapons are never used again.
- Beatrice Fihn explains that, following the adoption of the TPNW in 2017, the next step is to ‘go local’ to ensure individual national governments sign and ratify the treaty. She encourages citizens to put pressure on their representatives so that their country signs and ratifies the TPNW.
As you heard in Beatrice Fihn’s speech, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons includes anyone interested in the issue and willing to work towards a world free of nuclear weapons. As a result of ‘going local’ and individuals putting pressure on their governments to sign and ratify the TPNW, the treaty entered into force in 2021 – a landmark achievement in the history of anti-nuclear activism.