The UN General Assembly approved the TPNW on July 7, 2017 with support of 122 countries and territories. So far 84 UN members have signed the Treaty and 50 UN members approved it.
No nuclear weapons for a safer future
Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross described the enforcement of the Treaty a victory for humanity, and a promise of a safer future.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, which played a key role in promoting the TPNW and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017, said that by becoming the 50th ratifier of the TPNW, Honduras had made history.
 A nuclear missile blasts. (photo: SPUTNIK) |
UN Secretary General Antonio Gutteres said that since its earliest days, the UN has recognized the need to totally eliminate nuclear weapons, but the goal has remained elusive. For the security of all nations, the world needs to get on a path with no nuclear weapons.
On August 6, after additional 3 countries had ratified the TPNW, Gutteres said the chance of nuclear weapons being used, intentionally, by accident, or by miscalculation, is dangerously high. The only solution is to eliminate all nuclear weapons.
Analysts have pointed out that the US and Russia, with the two biggest nuclear arsenals in the world, are unable to agree to extend the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
 Visitors inside the Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Museum on the 75th anniversary of the bombing. (photo: AFP) |
Pending concerns
Advocates of a world with no nuclear weapons are concerned that the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council – the US, UK, France, Russia, and China – have not ratified the TPNW.
Japan, the first and only country ever attacked by atomic bombs, has also refused to ratify the Treaty. Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato said Monday that Japan shares the goal of this treaty, the abolition of nuclear weapons, but differs in how to approach the issue.
The world community is worried about nuclear weapons on the Korean peninsula, Iran’s nuclear program, and tense relations between nuclear countries like India and Pakistan.
Vietnam, which has suffered multiple devastating wars, consistently advocates building a peaceful, stable world with no nuclear weapons.
Ambassador Dang Dinh Quy, head of the Vietnam mission to the UN, spoke on behalf of ASEAN countries at the UN Disarmament and International Security Committee on October 9. He said ASEAN continues to support international efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. ASEAN emphasizes the importance of fullly and effectively implementing other non-proliferation programs, including Security Council Resolutions.
Ambassador Quy said ASEAN is concerned about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences using nuclear weapons and the risks posed by their continued existence. ASEAN agrees that the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only way to guarantee they won’t be used.