• World
  • Oct 26

UN nuclear weapons ban treaty to enter into force in January

The United Nations announced that 50 countries have ratified a treaty to ban nuclear weapons triggering its entry into force in 90 days, a move hailed by anti-nuclear activists but strongly opposed by the United States and the other major nuclear powers.

In what leading campaigners are describing as “a new chapter for nuclear disarmament”, the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will now come into force on January 22, 2021, after Honduras became the 50th Member State to ratify it on October 24.

The 50th ratification came on the 75th anniversary of the ratification of the UN Charter which officially established the United Nations and is celebrated as UN Day.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres commended all the countries whose ratification of the accord have helped bring the ban on weapons this far, singling out the work of civil society groups.

India has not signed the treaty. 

What is the treaty about?

• The initiative to seek a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons is an outcome of the discourse centred on promoting greater awareness and understanding of the humanitarian consequences that would result from any use of nuclear weapons.

• Adopted on July 7, 2017 at a UN conference in New York, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) represented the first multilateral legally binding instrument for nuclear disarmament in two decades.

• The treaty was adopted by a vote of 122 in favour to one against (Netherlands). 

• TPNW includes a comprehensive set of prohibitions on participating in any nuclear weapon activities. These include undertakings not to develop, test, produce, acquire, possess, stockpile, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons. 

• It also prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons on national territory and the provision of assistance to any State in the conduct of prohibited activities. 

• States parties will be obliged to prevent and suppress any activity prohibited under the TPNW undertaken by persons or on territory under its jurisdiction or control. 

• The treaty also obliges States parties to provide adequate assistance to individuals affected by the use or testing of nuclear weapons, as well as to take necessary and appropriate measures of environmental remediation in areas under its jurisdiction or control contaminated as a result of activities related to the testing or use of nuclear weapons.

• Concerted efforts by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) as well as many other civil society organisations contributed to the adoption of the treaty. The Nobel Peace Prize 2017 was awarded to the ICAN 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.

• India and other nuclear-armed nations — the US, Russia, Britain, China, France, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel had not participated in the negotiations.

Why has India not supported the treaty?

In its Explanation of Vote (EoV) given for its abstention on the resolution, India had said that it was “not convinced” that the proposed conference could address the longstanding expectation of the international community for a comprehensive instrument on nuclear disarmament.

It had said that international verification was essential to the global elimination of nuclear weapons. India feels that the current process does not include the verification aspect.

India maintained that the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament (CD) is the single multilateral disarmament negotiation forum.

The country supports the commencement of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament on a Comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Convention, which in addition to prohibition and elimination also includes verification.

In 2019, the ministry of external affairs clarified in the Parliament that India will not be a party to the treaty. 

The ministry said that:

“India has attached a high priority and is committed to universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable nuclear disarmament. India believes that this goal can be achieved through a step-by-step process underwritten by a global and non-discriminatory multilateral framework. In this regard, India has supported commencement of negotiations on a Comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Convention in the Conference on Disarmament. India did not participate in the negotiations of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons because of its concerns regarding the impact of the treaty on the existing disarmament machinery, in particular, the Conference on Disarmament, which is the world’s sole multilateral disarmament negotiation forum, working on the basis on consensus. India also believes that this treaty will not contribute in realisation of the goal of nuclear disarmament. India will not, therefore, be a party to the treaty and shall not be bound by any of the obligations that may arise from it.”

Conference on Disarmament

• The Conference on Disarmament (CD), was recognised by the first Special Session on Disarmament of the United Nations General Assembly (1978) as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community.

• It succeeded other Geneva-based negotiating fora, which include the Ten-Nation Committee on Disarmament (1960), the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament (1962-68), and the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (1969-78).

• The terms of reference of the CD include practically all multilateral arms control and disarmament problems.

• As originally constituted, the CD had 40 members. Subsequently its membership was gradually expanded to 65 countries. 

• India is a member of the Conference on Disarmament.

• In 1979, the CD developed a comprehensive decalogue by taking into account the relevant provisions. They are: 

1) Nuclear weapons in all aspects.

2) Chemical weapons.

3) Other weapons of mass destruction.

4) Conventional weapons.

5) Reduction of military budgets.

6) Reduction of armed forces.

7) Disarmament and Development.

8) Disarmament and International Security.

9) Collateral measures – Confidence-building measures (CBMs) and effective verification methods in relation to appropriate disarmament measures, acceptable to all parties concerned.

10) Comprehensive programme of disarmament leading to general and complete disarmament under effective international control. 

Based on the decalogue, the CD adopts its annual agenda.

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