The First TPNW Meeting and the Future of the Nuclear Ban Treaty (original) (raw)
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Osaka University law review, 2018
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted at the United Nations Conference by 122 affirmative votes with one opposition and one abstention on July 7, 2017. The Treaty was open for signature from September 20, 2017. The initiative for this treaty emerged from international civil society groups and many non-nuclear-weapon states that supported the idea. The conference to negotiate a treaty was held in 2017 to successfully conclude a treaty through the collaboration of these two groups and states, after a discussion held at the United Nations on this issue in 2016. This paper first examines the background and negotiation process, then surveys the content of the treaty as a central issue, next introduces opposing opinions and clarifies the significance of this treaty, and finally points out future challenges.
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, was also a candidate to be DG of the IAEA (and later was selected). For this reason, he was unable to attend the Conference physically, but he participated by video link. He delivered his talk and stayed connected for the discussion afterward. This is a transcript of his talk. I would like to thank the organizers of the Amaldi Conference, one of the most prestigious gatherings we have around this set of international policy issues. So, it is really an honour and privilege to share the podium with those who spoke before. I will lead with my own personal presentation on the NPT Review conference itself, and then have an exchange with you and listen to your ideas and your comments. By way of introduction, this time the Review Conference comes at a very special moment. It is the 10th Review Conference, which means that it is marking the 50th anniversary after the entry into force of this treaty, the largest idea known in international law which is in itself quite a feat, a remarkable issue. It is also a conference that is coming 25 years after the 1995 Review and Extension Conference, which decided on extending this instrument forever. And it comes at a time where there are lots of events ongoing in the world where multilateral approach to arms control, disarmament, and proliferation have been discussed, and where there are certain trends considered by some as worrisome. The Review Conference is a great opportunity to reassess how the treaty is being implemented and to have a larger view to other connected questions, matters that
Arms, Influence and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Survival, 2019
The 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) has correctly been described as a 'challenge to nuclear deterrence'. 1 But what, precisely, is the nature of the challenge? Prohibiting the development, hosting and use of nuclear weapons, as well as any assistance, encouragement or inducement of prohibited acts, the TPNW was negotiated with a view to amplifying anti-nuclear norms and galvanising nuclear-disarmament processes. Delegitimising nuclear weapons, supporters believe, will help create the conditions for the abolition of nuclear weapons and enhance international security in the long term. 2 For its most strident opponents, however, the TPNW constitutes little more than moralistic posturing or, worse, an enabler for clandestine nuclear-weapons programmes or withdrawals from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). 3 Others have praised the intentions of those seeking to abolish nuclear weapons, but hypothesised that the TPNW could produce dangerous unintended effects, such as unbalanced stockpile reductions or the destabilisation of deterrence relations and US alliances in Europe and East Asia. 4 Still others have expressed concern about the apparent polarisation of the nuclear-security debate, urging more intellectual engagement across the divide between 'righteous abolitionists' and 'dismissive realists'. 5
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The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR)-an autonomous institute within the United Nations-conducts research on disarmament and security. UNIDIR is based in Geneva, Switzerland, the centre for bilateral and multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation negotiations, and home of the Conference on Disarmament. The Institute explores current issues pertaining to the variety of existing and future armaments, as well as global diplomacy and local tensions and conflicts. Working with researchers, diplomats, government officials, NGOs and other institutions since 1980, UNIDIR acts as a bridge between the research community and governments. UNIDIR's activities are funded by contributions from governments and donor foundations. Note The designations employed and the presentation of the material in this publication do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication are the sole responsibility of the individual authors. They do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the United Nations, UNIDIR, its staff members or sponsors.
The TPNW Conference of Parties: What Is to Be Discussed?
Journal for peace and nuclear disarmament, 2020
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is one of the most important developments of the modern era. This paper addresses the question posed, of what issues are to be discussed at the 1st Conference of the States Parties to the Treaty, which will occur one year after entry-into-force with fifty ratifications. In summary four main issues are identified:-The legal status of the Treaty, in the short-term-An issue of logic: irreversibility of the prohibition and the right of withdrawal-The legal status of the Treaty, in the long-term-Political division over the Treaty and the law: the persistent objector rule. Scope exists for further political initiative at the appropriate time regarding the Treaty itself, pertaining to the two central concepts of the Treaty-irreversibility and universality. Such initiative draws from an assessment of the contemporary state of customary international law, and whether the non-possession of all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, might be attaining, or have the potential to attain, the status of an emerging peremptory norm. The minority of States opposing, irrespective of military power, may come to be regarded as persistent objectors to the norm. It is open for ratifying States to lead in such initiatives, consistent with the binding article in the Treaty to ensure universal adherence through encouraging non-state Parties to join. Such an initiative would serve the strengthening of the multilateral rules-based order.